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Treatment and rehabilitation have been central to the development of criminal justice policy, and have played an important role in the development of criminology. In recent years punishment and retribution have attracted more attention than rehabilitation, but there has been a resurgence of interest in treatment and rehabilitation, with indications that some things do 'work', and an emphasis on 'evidence-based' policy making. It is also the belief of many that a penal policy without an adequate treatment strategy is unjust and a denial of human rights.

In this book Iain Crow provides an accessible overview of the concepts of treatment and rehabilitation, adopting a deliberately broad definition, and considers the historical basis of treatment, and its place within the penal system and British criminology. The collapse of the 'rehabilitative ideal' is examined, along with what followed it and the development of the more recent 'what works' movement. The basis for evaluating 'what works' is also subjected to critical examination. In the second part, the book looks at the part that particular agencies such as the Probation Service, prison and non-statutory organisations have played in the treatment of offenders. In Part Three, the issues raised by treatment and rehabilitation are illustrated with reference to three groups of offenders: sexual offenders, drug misusers and mentally disordered offenders.

The Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders will be essential reading for students of criminology and criminal justice at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels.