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Summary

Rex, Sue (2000). Beyond cognitive-behaviouralism? Reflections on the effectiveness literature In Community penalties: Change and challenges, eds. Anthony Bottoms, Loraine Gelsthorpe, and Sue Rex, 67-86. Cambridge Criminal Justice Series. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.

In this article, Rex acknowledges the value of teaching cognitive skills to help people stop offending, yet she also asks what might be needed beyond cognitive-behavioral programs. The focus of her inquiry concerns work with female offenders. She begins by examining the efficacy of teaching cognitive skills and the application of this strategy in probation services in the 1990s in the United Kingdom. While this has been valuable, she asserts that environmental factors contributing to offending have been neglected. This leads further to her consideration of the use of authority to encourage socially responsible behavior (what has been called “pro-social modelingâ€?). Finally she reviews the use of community service with respect to helping offenders desist from criminal behavior.

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