Specifically, that approach must offer a method of reversing, or at least substantially reducing the impact of those factors. Furthermore, since the particular variables differ among different criminal offenders, an approach that is likely to be successful must incorporate aspects of assessment of the individual for the purposes of designing treatments that address the many different paths to criminal conduct. In that regard, Andrews (1995) offers a comprehensive set of "major" factors and "minor" factors responsible for most criminal conduct. According to Andrews, a successful approach to addressing criminal conduct primarily requires: (1) a system of understanding and addressing personal cognitive factors; (2) a method of reducing criminal associations and lifestyles; (3) treatment of personal factors of temperament and natural behavioral inclination; and (4) an understanding of the personal, family, and educational history of the offender. Unlike the traditional focus of classic theories of social behavior, Andrews...

Contemporary correctional studies have inspired significant consensus among researchers that only a treatment-oriented approach to corrections is likely to succeed because both centuries of anecdotal experience and more recent empirical data document the inability of punishment-oriented penal approaches to resolve the recidivism problem to any appreciable degree (Andrews, 1995; Cullen, 2002; Lipsey, 1999; Gendreau, 1996).
References

Andrews, D. (1995). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct and Effective Treatment.

Cullen, F.T. (2002). Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs.

Cullen, F.T., Gendreau, P. (2000). Assessing Correctional Rehabilitation: Policy,

Practice, and Prospects.

Gendreau, P. (1996). The Principles of Effective Intervention with Offenders.

Lipsey, M.W. (1999). Can…