One method of dealing with individuals who break the law is to punish them. Generally it is accepted that the purpose of punishment is to discourage offenders, and others, from breaking the law again in the future. Punishment may include a period of imprisonment that will also serve to incapacitate offenders so that they cannot commit further crimes while they are locked up. Finally, as part of the punishment process, we might be able to intervene in the lives of offenders and help them to overcome the circumstances that led them to commit crime in the first place. This latter general justification for punishment is called rehabilitation.
What form should this rehabilitation take? There are a variety of programmes in UK prisons that aim to tackle what are seen to be the offender’s maladjusted thinking and behaviour. These include teaching anger management and problem-solving skills, and promoting pro-social behaviour. Such ‘social cognitive’ programmes have a variety of names and acronyms: Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R&R), Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS) and Think First.
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