The provision of rehabilitation programmes to offenders is expensive, and policy makers are constantly faced with the need to justify resourcing of these programmes. The problem is compounded because while treatment costs are known at the outset, the benefits, if they do occur, may only be measured over an extended follow-up period. Despite the obvious relevance to policy makers, cost-benefit analysis of treatment in criminal justice settings is not common and a recent review was able to identify only a few studies, all of which suffered from methodological limitations.
But a recent investigation1 examined the cost/benefits of an intensive treatment programme for difficult-tomanage delinquent youth. Focusing on severe and violent delinquent offenders, the investigation compared the costs and benefits of this group with a similar comparison group who received standard correctional services. The treated group was composed of 101 consecutively released male youth released from a facility which had provided a blended regime of cognitive behavioural treatment and mental health services.
The participants in this programme and a carefully matched comparison group were followed up for an average of four-and-a-half years. Future costs for offenders in each group were calculated conservatively, taking into account only the direct tax payer funded costs of the sentences up until the end of the follow-up period, and costs involved in the processing of these offenders through the Court system. Evaluation of reoffending at the end of the follow-up period indicated that the group receiving intensive treatment registered fewer convictions overall, and also significantly fewer violent and felony convictions.
The additional cost incurred by the treated group in terms of rehabilitative services was just over US$7,000, representing only 4.5% of the total cost of administering the sentence. When all the costs associated with re-offending over the follow-up period were calculated, the average cost saving for those in the treatment group was a little over US$43,000; in other words a dividend on each treatment dollar of 600%!
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ISSN 1178-8453