Ending Government's Offending Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Ending Government's Offending Program - Essay Example Also, we wish to specifically know the length of time by which an offender commits another crime. Time series analysis in which we compare the result of for those offenders before and after the program was instituted will be done. The data will be gathered from the concerned institution and regression analysis will be conducted. The Ending Offending Program particularly targets treatment for offenders who are found to be substance abusers. The specific concern that the government faces with the substance abusers is the number of re-offending cases even after a punishment is served. This is based on the belief that until substance abuse is stopped, no significant change in behaviour will be expected, thus the likelihood of re-offending is still high. This particular program targets four treatment strategies: substance abuse awareness, lifestyle choices, awareness of attitudes or behaviour related to alcohol use and relapse prevention planning to manage triggers relating to alcohol abuse and to establish positive lifestyle choices (Queensland Corrective Services, 2009). The Queensland Corrective Services describe the program as "a culturally-specific program designed for Indigenous offenders to help address aspects of their criminogenic behaviour relating to alcohol abuse" (2009). ... ulturally-specific program designed for Indigenous offenders to help address aspects of their criminogenic behaviour relating to alcohol abuse" (2009). Specifically, the Ending Offending Program is an intervention that wishes to alter the drinking and drug use behavior of the offenders through a cognitive behavioural model that "uses both active and experiential learning exercises that are culturally appropriate" (Queensland Corrective Services, 2009). The specific goals of the program include changing the offenders "understanding, attitudes and behaviour in regards to alcohol use" (Queensland Corrective Services, 2009). For the purpose of evaluation, we will be looking at the effectiveness of the model in terms of curtailing substance and alcohol abuse and subsequently criminal offenses. So far, there are specifically four mentioned intervention programs and we will analyze each one - the substance abuse awareness, lifestyle choices, awareness of attitudes or behaviours related to alcohol use and relapse prevention planning to manage triggers relating to alcohol abuse and to establish positive lifestyle choices. The study will be conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative method particularly time-series analysis will be done to test the over-all effect of the program versus the absence of the program. This necessitates the use of dummy variable so as the differentiate the period from which the intervention was introduced versus the period prior to the introduction of the program. Over-all, the program aims to reduce recidivism, reduce the negative consequences of alcohol and drug use, enhance the process of restitution and reparation and foster partnership in aboriginal development (Hunter, 1999). For this particular paper, we