Addressing criminogenic needs: What the research shows

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has been engaged in identifying evidence-based strategies designed to reduce recidivism. By focusing on evidence-based rehabilitation, these “reforms are targeted to address the core behavioral issues that result in criminality, with the goal of reducing the likelihood that inmates re-offend either while incarcerated or after their release.”

Research shows that recidivism risk can be effectively reduced through such evidence-based programming that targets criminogenic needs, according to the BOP. We support this statement wholeheartedly.

In this post, we will review the top 6 criminogenic needs identified in the literature, share the results of two relevant studies from 2012 and 2014 that have successfully targeted criminogenic needs, and then we'll highlight a current research project in the field. 

Criminogenic needs

Criminogenic needs are life factors that are directly related to recidivism. Research has identified six such factors related to crime: anti-social cognitions, anti-social associates, substance abuse, family/marital relations, work and school, and leisure/recreation.

According to several authorities in this field, including the National Institute of Health and National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and numerous published research reports, there are an established “Top 6” criminogenic needs or factors:

1. Antisocial beliefs; criminal orientation and thinking
2. Antisocial associates or peer relationships
3. Family dysfunction, parenting and family relationships
4. Education and employment
5. Leisure and recreation
6. Substance and alcohol abuse

Many organizations serving justice-impacted individuals have successfully implemented evidence-based programs that address these risk factors head-on. Key objectives of these programs are to reduce recidivism and improve reentry success rates. 

A brief review of the top six criminogenic risk factors

1. Anti-Social Cognitions/Criminal Thinking: Individuals who display anti-social cognitions often don’t show concern about how their actions affect others and may not feel any remorse for what they have done. Their thought patterns often reinforce participation in criminal activities through self-interest, minimization of pro-social activities, and denial of responsibility for behavior. 
2. Anti-Social Peers/Associates: Associating with others who engage in criminal behavior increases the likelihood of someone recidivating. Someone who is immersed in a group of peers who continue to commit unlawful acts is more likely to commit more crimes. 
3. Family and Marital Relations: Someone who lives in a dysfunctional family is more likely to be in a setting where they learn criminal behaviors. Such individuals may not have positive role models within the home to help teach pro-social values.
4. Work and School: When employment is unstable and individuals have had limited school achievement, they are more likely to engage in criminal activity.
5. Leisure and Recreation: Individuals who report fewer leisure and recreational activities that are pro-social are more likely to engage in criminal behavior than those who report more frequent engagement in these activities. 
6. Substance Abuse: Research shows a relationship between substance abuse and criminal behavior. The prevalence of alcohol and drug use is 4 times higher among offenders than in the general population. Evaluations of substance abuse treatment programs have generally established treatment as an effective tool at reducing drug use and crime, according to research (Wooditch, Tang, and Taxman, 2014). 

Research addressing criminogenic risks

A 2012 study conducted by researchers Brooks Holliday, Heilbrun, and Fretz (2012) investigated an intervention designed to address criminogenic risk factors that aimed to reduce the risk of future offending.  The study examined overall change in specific criminogenic needs of participants during their brief intervention period.

In the program, 71 male residents who were under the custody of the New Jersey Department of Corrections attended lectures on topics related to criminogenic needs, such as antisocial attitudes and criminal thinking patterns, drug and alcohol abuse, the role of previous patterns of behavior, and companions. Individual and group counseling sessions the followed a cognitive behavioral model helped participants examine their own potential deficits in these areas. 

The researchers then tested whether improvements in criminogenic needs were observed during the program. For the 71 participants who completed the program, there was a significant improvement in criminogenic needs.

“Participants improved significantly with respect to their family and marital relationships; their attitudes toward crime, offending, supervision, and treatment; and their antisocial patterns of behavior” the researcher claimed. 

Although the intervention period was of a relatively brief duration, the researchers stress that these findings have important practice implications. “The results of this study suggest that participants experienced improvements in their criminogenic needs and overall risk despite the relatively short duration of the interventions.” 

Other research conducted by Wooditch, Tang, and Taxman in 2014 supported the claims made by Brooks Holliday et al. In their research involving 251 probationers who had participated in an 18-session intensive cognitive-behavioral therapy program over 6 months found that probationers had significant changes in three main areas of criminogenic needs: family and friends, time spent engaging in prosocial activities, and fewer alcohol and drug use days. 

Current research on targeting criminogenic needs

We find that the two studies mentioned above provide a foundation for the research currently underway to evaluate the effectiveness of a prison theological training program. World Impact’s TUMI program (The Urban Ministry Institute) is being implemented in correctional settings to target criminogenic needs.

TUMI's purpose is to provide a "Capstone Curriculum," which is "a 16-module training program, taught at a seminary level, which we specifically designed to serve as the most essential knowledge and skill learning necessary for effective urban ministry and church leadership" (see TUMI's website). 

In this research, we have already implemented two focus groups with formerly incarcerated TUMI participants and collected surveys from men and women who are currently incarcerated.  We have plans to conduct focus groups in three to four prisons in Texas and two in Kansas, and we are scheduling other focus groups throughout the United States. We are also working with partners to distribute surveys to currently incarcerated TUMI participants who will not be involved in focus groups.

A recent report from the National Academies says this about the problem targeting recidivism rates as a program outcome:

Recidivism is an inadequate measurement of success after release from prison, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report recommends researchers develop supplementary measures that evaluate success across multiple areas of a person’s life after prison — including employment, housing, health, social support, and personal well-being — and that measure interactions with the criminal justice system with more nuance. 

More than targeting recidivism, TUMI cares for the whole person and works to transform the hearts of justice-impacted individuals, build a system of support, and positively impact entire communities.

You can read a discussion of our initial findings in a three-part series of articles:

• Part 1: Criminogenic Risk Factors
• Part 2: What Works to Reduce Recidivism
• Part 3: Justice-Involved Individuals' Perceptions of a Prison Theological Education Program

The TUMI program is breaking the cycle of crime, changing lives, and transforming communities through education, employment, prosocial cognition, prosocial behavior, prosocial personality and prosocial relationships.

We press on to fight the good fight of reducing criminogenic factors and changing lives.