Enhanced Thinking Skills (England)
Problems addressed
Recidivism
Violent crimes
Effectiveness

Effective

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Effective

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Life periods served
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Prisons or socio-educational residential centers
Country of application
United Kingdom
Description

This is a cognitive behavioral intervention carried out in prisons with incarcerated individuals. The aim is to reduce recidivism by working on beliefs and behavior patterns.
The program addresses skills such as impulsivity control, flexibility of thought, moral and ethical reasoning, interpersonal problem-solving, empathy and critical reasoning, applying roleplay techniques, exercises, and debates.
The intervention is implemented by prison staff in 20 interactive sessions, three to five times a week, for four to six weeks.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that program participants had statistically significant reductions in overall recidivism rates and in the frequency of recidivism compared to the control group, which did not receive the intervention. No significant effects were observed on recidivism into violent crimes [1] [2] [3].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Friendship, C., Blud, L., Erikson, M., Travers, R. & Thornton, D. (2003). Cognitive-behavioural treatment for imprisoned offenders: An evaluation of HM Prison Service's cognitive skills programmes. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 8(1), 103–114. https://doi.org/10.1348/135532503762871273

[2] Sadlier, G. (2010). Evaluation of the impact of the HM Prison Service Enhanced Thinking Skills programme on reoffending: Outcomes of the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) sample (Ministry of Justice Research Series núm. 19/10). London, England. Ministry of Justice (UK). https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis…

[3] Travers, R., Wakeling, H. C., Mann, R. E. & Hollin, C. R. (2013). Reconviction following a cognitive skills intervention: An alternative quasi-experimental methodology. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 18(1), 48–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8333.2011.02026.x

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