Watching the BBC programme about parole last night, it was clear that they don't really have a clue about re offending. Both men had done all the behavioural courses and been well behaved in prison, prior to their release, so they ticked all the boxes, yet both were recalled within a year of being paroled.
The best indicator of whether somone will re offend, is the number of previous convictions they have. Thats obvious from the stats. Miller is a habitual offender.
The other thing that did become more obvious from the parole programme is the importance of therapy and mental health support. The ones who had therapy and understood the reasons for their offending did not re offend. My conclusion is that behavioural courses on their own are not enough. Regular offenders know how to bluff their way through them and give the right answers. Short sentences and tick box courses don't work on habitual offenders. Long term therapy is what people like Sam Miller need, but he won't get it, until he does something very serious and gets put away for a long time.
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