What are Offending Behaviour Programmes?
These are rehabilitation programmes designed to identify the reasons why prisoners offend and reduce and monitor these factors. As well as reducing risk, programmes support risk assessment and the risk management of offenders. The Prison Service, through the Offending Behaviour Programmes Unit (OBPU), currently provides 13 different Offending Behaviour Programmes (excluding Drug Treatment Programmes) which have been fully or provisionally accredited by the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel (CSAP). The target for 2005/6 is 7000 offenders completing these programmes.
These programmes are briefly described below:
Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS)
ETS is a relatively short programme which addresses thinking and behaviour associated with offending. This includes impulse control, flexible thinking, social perspective taking, values/moral reasoning, reasoning, and inter-personal problem solving. It is the programme most frequently delivered, with over 40,000 offenders having completed this course within HMPS over the past 12 years.
Cognitive Skills Booster Programme
This programme is run by both the Prison and Probation Service and is designed to reinforce learning from general offending programmes (such as ETS) through skills rehearsal and relapse prevention.
Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage It (CALM)
This course is for offenders whose offending is associated with poor emotional control. CALM aims to enable participants to reduce the intensity, frequency and duration of negative emotions which are associated with their offending. These emotions include anger, anxiety and jealousy.
Programmes specifically targeting violent and sexual offenders:
Cognitive Self Change Programme (CSCP)
This programme targets high risk violent offenders and includes group and individual sessions. It equips prisoners with skills to help them control their violence and avoid reconviction. It is aimed at offenders with a history of violent behaviour and is suitable for those whose violence is reactive and/or instrumental.
Sex Offender Treatment Programmes (SOTP)
A range of programmes are available for sexual offenders, providing a menu which are offered according to the level of risk and need of the offender.
Healthy Relationships Programme (HRP)
The HRP programme is designed for men who have either been convicted of or admit to abusive and violent behaviour in the home and who have been assessed as a risk of being violent in their intimate relationships.
Chromis
Chromis is a complex and intensive programme that aims to reduce violence in high risk offenders whose level or combination of psychopathic traits disrupts their ability to accept treatment and change. Chromis has been specifically designed to meet the needs of highly psychopathic individuals and provides participants with the skills to reduce and manage their risk.
In development (in preparation for submission for accreditation):
FOR
This is a brief cognitive-motivational programme being piloted, with separate programmes for men and women. It aims to increase offenders' motivation to be actively involved in their own resettlement and move towards being more pro-social.
Choices, Actions, Relationships and Emotions (CARE)
This is a course for female prisoners whose offending is related to difficulties with emotion regulation. The course aims to help participants identify and label emotions and develop skills for managing emotion. In addition, the course aims to foster a positive self-identity that will enable participants to live the kind of life they would like to on release.
Additionally:
Short motivational package or: How to get where you thought you were going?
This is a short motivation programme designed to support offenders in engaging in pro-social activities and see a reason for moving away from offending. Pilots have been completed with a variety of offender groups including: women, vulnerable prisoners, sex offenders and drug users.
Programmes specifically for juvenile offenders:
JETS Living Skills
The JETS Living Skills programme is based on the ETS cognitive skills programme but has been specifically re-developed for use with a juvenile age group. As with ETS, JETS addresses thinking and behaviour associated with offending. The programme is currently being piloted at HMYOI Wetherby and has been provisionally accredited by CSAP.
