Today’s rehabilitative efforts do still carry punishment and societal protection as goals, but the focus of 
rehabilitation is on the changing of offenders behaviors so that they are not committing crimes in the future. 
This is done by understanding what are the items that make offenders at risk for offending. Additionally, 
based on the levels of risk items, some offenders are at higher risk for offending than other offenders. This 
includes items like prior criminal history, antisocial attitudes, antisocial (pro-criminal) friends, a lack of 
education, family or marital problems, a lack of job stability, substance abuse, and personality characteristics 
(mental health and antisocial personality). Collectively these are considered as risk factors for offending 
(re-offending). While we can change the number of priors someone already has, all of these other items 
can be addressed. These are considered as criminogenic needs. Criminogenic needs are items that when 
changed, can lower an individual’s risk of offending. This is a core component of Paul Gendreau’s (1996) 
principles of effective intervention, and are at the heart of most modern effective rehabilitation programs. 
2 Additionally, thousands of offenders have been assessed on these items, which has helped to develop 
evidence-based rehabilitation practices. These are efforts that are based on empirical data about offenders. 
When these criminogenic needs are addressed, higher-risk offenders demonstrate positive reductions in their 
risk to offend. 
Over the last 40 years, efforts to change these characteristics, in order to reduce offending have been 
varied. One of the most useful approaches to changing the antisocial attitudes and behaviors of offenders 
has come in the form of behavioral and cognitive behavioral change efforts. Cognitive behavioral change 
for offenders is based on the concepts that the behaviors that one exhibit can be changed by changing 
the thinking patterns behind (before) the behaviors are exhibited. That is (criminal) behavior is based on 
cognition, values, and beliefs that are learned vicariously through the interactions and observations of others. 
It is especially relevant since we are receiving individuals from prison, where these ideas, peers, values, and 
beliefs may dominate the institution. For a more detailed explanation, please see https://www.apa.org/ptsd-
guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral.pdf. 
Today, evidence-based rehabilitative efforts are now used as benchmarks when establishing programs that 
are seen as effective, versus ones that show little to no (or even negative) results.  Rehabilitation programs 
that follow these principles of effective intervention are showing that they can achieve these three goals of 
corrections (punishment, societal protection, and offender change). In fact, the U.S. Federal Government has 
a section of the National Institute of Justice devoted to these evidence-based practices, and what programs 
are seen as effective, promising, and not effective. This site is called “CrimeSolutions,” and can be visited 
at https://www.crimesolutions.gov/. This resource provides invaluable information for individuals making 
decisions on what works for offenders and is based on empirical studies of hundreds of different approaches. 
2. Gendreau, P. (1996). Principles of effective intervention with offenders. Choosing correctional options that work: Defining the demand 
and evaluating the supply, 117-130, Alan T Harland, ed. -- See NCJ-158983) https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/
abstract.aspx?ID=158988 
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