Reducing prison misconducts - What works!

A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of correctional treatment for reducing institutional misconducts. Sixty-eight studies generated 104 effect sizes involving 21,467 offenders. Behavioral treatment programs produced the strongest effects (r = .26, CI =. 18 to .34). The numbers of criminogenic needs targeted and program therapeutic integrity were found to be important moderators of effect size. Prison programs producing the greatest reductions in misconduct were also associated with larger reductions in recidivism. The magnitudes of various indices of treatment effect size with respect to misconducts were remarkably similar to results in the correctional treatment literature where community recidivism is the criterion. Recommendations are made that will assist prison authorities to manage prisons in a safe and humane manner.