What Works to reduce reoffending: current state of the evidence

The seminar includes a briefing on which approaches to reducing re-offending work, which don’t work and which need more evidence before we can draw firm conclusions. We take a broad view of available approaches including interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, prison education and vocational training, but also include broader approaches to practice such as probation supervision and the size of caseloads. The seminar also looks at how we assess the evidence for different interventions and approaches, including a brief introduction to impact evaluation and evidence reviews.

This seminar is designed for senior practitioners, managers and policy-makers working in the UK criminal justice system. It assumes no prior knowledge of research methods and all information is presented in a non-technical, jargon free format.

The seminar leaders are Chris Fox who is Professor of Evaluation and Policy Analysis at Manchester Metropolitan and an expert on evidence-based policy and practice in criminal justice and Andrew Smith (Senior Research Associate) who runs the Reducing Reoffending website.