Evaluating the Effectiveness of Community Penalties

Part 1 Evaluative research in probation - progress and prospects, Gill McIvor: in search of effectiveness; developments in evaluative research; building evaluation into practice - the reflexive practitioner. Part 2 Evaluating probation - a moving target, Peter Raynor: rethinking probation at least twice; evaluating probation in the "treatment" era; probation research in the era of diversion; evaluation issues for the new rehabilitation. Part 3 The limitations of reconviction rates, Geogre Mair, Charles Lloyd, Mike Hough: problems associated with reconviction rates; using reconviction rates. Part 4 Evaluating the "tackling offending" initiative - effects without a cause, Adrian James, Keith Bottomley: context, methodological issues; the effects of "tackling offending" intiative; summary and conclusions - success or failure?. Part 5 Evaluating intensive probation, George Mair: intensive probation; the evaluation methodology; the main findings of the study; reflections on the methodology. Part 6 Evaluating Scottish special probation schemes, Bryan Williams, Anne Creamer: aims of the research; methodology; the four probation initiatives; methodological issues; results of the study; discussion and conclusion. Part 7 Trying to unravel the Gordian knot - an evaluation of community service orders, Jean Hine: understanding the context; the research design; choosing the schemes; the research methods; research in practice; deconstruction accepted constructs; messages for evaluating effectiveness. Part 8 Evaluating intensive probation - the American experience, Todd R. Clear: the "goals" problem; the context for ISP failure; the goals of ISP. Part 9 The cost and cost effectiveness of community penalties - principles, tools and examples, Martin Knapp, Ann Netten: introduction - demands and needs; framework and principles; comprehensiveness; establishing and exploring cost variations; comparing like with like; costs and outcomes. Part 10 Evaluation methodology - back to basics, Ray Pawson: out with the old - the demise of experimental evaluation; in with the new - the rise of scientific realist evaluation; a realist research design.