Criminogenic Need
Definition
A dynamic risk factor that is causally linked to reoffending and that changes in response to intervention. Distinguished from non-criminogenic needs that affect wellbeing but not recidivism.
- Type
- Dynamic risk factor
- Link
- Causally linked to reoffending
- Key property
- Changes in response to intervention
- Contrast
- Non-criminogenic needs affect wellbeing, not recidivism
Common questions
Why does the distinction between criminogenic and non-criminogenic needs matter for treatment planning?+
Risk-need-responsivity models prioritise addressing criminogenic needs, such as antisocial attitudes or substance misuse tied to offending, because targeting them is what reduces reoffending risk, whereas addressing only wellbeing needs without touching criminogenic factors does not reliably lower recidivism.
Can a factor be both a criminogenic and a non-criminogenic need at once?+
A single factor such as substance misuse can affect both wellbeing and reoffending risk, so classification depends on whether treating it measurably changes reoffending likelihood for that individual, not on the factor category alone.
Related terms
- ATSA
- Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (US); their 2014 practice standards set the international benchmark for assessment, treatment programme design, and...
- Good Lives Model (GLM)
- Tony Ward's strengths-based treatment framework, holding that offending reflects maladaptive pursuit of universal human goods. Effective treatment builds prosocial routes to those...
- Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT)
- Greg Little and Kenneth Robinson's manualized group programme targeting moral reasoning development through structured workbook exercises. Widely used in US corrections; evidence...
- Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR)
- Andrews and Bonta's three-principle framework for corrections: match treatment intensity to risk level, target criminogenic needs, deliver in a responsive way. The...
- SOTP
- UK Sex Offender Treatment Programme, the largest structured sex-offender treatment system in England and Wales, withdrawn in 2017 after a Ministry of...
- Static-99R
- A 10-item actuarial sex-offender risk instrument; the -R denotes the age-at-release weighting adjustment. Scores map to relative-risk labels (Below Average through Well...
- SVP Civil Commitment
- A US legal mechanism (following Kansas v. Hendricks, 1997) that allows indefinite civil detention of convicted sex offenders assessed as likely to...