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“What works in reducing criminality.”

McGuire, James
June 4, 2015

Source: (2000) Paper presented at the Reducing Criminality: Partnerships and Best Practice conference. Perth, 31 July – 1 August 2000. Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Criminology.

Against the widespread belief that nothing works, McGuire reviews evidence that certain programs have the capacity to reduce rates of offender recidivism. His paper deals with outcomes of sentencing for serious crimes in England and Wales. The paper also deals with the impact of punishment. He concludes that neither varieties in sentencing nor the threat of punishment produced significant results in reducing recidivism. McGuire then considers evidence in the last decades showing significant reduction can be achieved when intervention programs are appropriately designed and administered. He concludes by listing a number of key characteristics or features of such programs.

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