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Abstract: 

The articles in this issue address some of the ideas and issues raised in the desistance literature. The lead article, by Ulrich and colleagues, addresses the role and quality of the relationship between the offender and the supervisor or case manager. The authors assert the need to investigate and integrate the therapeutic alliance with treatment for high-risk/ high-need offenders and suggest the importance of responsivity in the RNR model. The second article follows from the premises of Ulrich and his colleagues’ findings, namely, the importance of staff in the process of reducing reoffending. The third article, by Dr. Elaine Gunnison of the Department of Criminal Justice at Seattle University, takes advantage of a change in assessment tools in Washington State to examine work release offenders with regard to their risk factors, needs, and recidivism by gender. The findings include problems reported by work release offenders regarding lack of employment and the need for money as a factor in reoffending, as well as problems with alcohol and drug use. The fourth article, ICCA’s policy position on transition and reentry, outlines a set of principles and makes recommendations that should improve the chances of successful reintegration of offenders to their communities. Russ Immarigeon, our book review editor, introduces us to four books that should widen our horizons and give us an opportunity to reflect on what we are doing and where we might be going. The books examine corrections and sentencing, an encyclopedic look at community corrections, an examination of poverty and wealth in the United States, a reminder of the growing inequality gap, the risk of a “them-us” society and the dangers for all of us in such a society, and the issues of race and mass incarceration.

Keywords: Desistance; Offender Rehabilitation, Transition and Reintegration; Staffing; Work Release

Affiliations:  1: Journal Editor.