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assessment and treatment (Bonta & Andrews, 2017). Once it was discovered that rehabilitation
was more effective in reducing recidivism than punishment, the question of which treatments
were more successful arose. In 1990, Andrews, Bonta, and Hoge formulated the RNR principles
for the purposes of effective classification and correctional treatment. The three core principles
utilized within the video The Released were introducing human services, risk, and need. The
principle of introducing human services is important to successful outcomes because criminal
sanctions are ineffective at reducing recidivism specifically for the mentally ill offender. The risk
principle is highlighted here because criminal behavior is predictable and many of the
professionals involved in treating mentally ill offenders understood that the offender would be
back in the system within weeks. The need principle was utilized to address the dynamic needs
of mentally ill offenders to reduce their risk of recidivism. Treatment can only be effective when
the principles of the RNR model are consistently employed.
Principle 4: Introduce Human Services
The fourth principle of the RNR model informs professionals to introduce human
services into the context of the justice system. Sanctions have been shown to be ineffective in
reducing recidivism so reliance on deterrence or restoration should be avoided. The effects of
human services within the criminal justice context can have a positive impact on recidivism with
adherence to the principles of risk, need, and general responsivity (Bonta & Andrews, 2017).
This principle states that only through human, clinical, and social services can the major
risk/need factors of crime be properly addressed. Michael Grissett was lucky enough to be part of
a reentry program in Cleveland, OH that helps mentally ill offenders transition back into the
community (FRONTLINE, 2009, 7:51). Dr. James Rodio sees about 50 psychotically ill ex-
offenders, once every two weeks, who are likely to stop taking their medications and resume
experiencing hallucinations and delusions. He gages the state of the client to assess the risk to
themselves and others and asks the client if they are currently experiencing any psychological
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trouble. Mr. Grissett was doing well in his group home, taking his medication, and attending his
psychiatry appointments but was shot to death during a robbery. In the video, there were cases of
mentally ill individuals in the middle of a psychotic episode being brought into jail for
committing a crime. These people were released within 12 hours without being offered human
services. Because this principle of the RNR model was not followed, these individuals found
themselves in trouble with the law repeatedly. When human services are offered, like in Mr.
Grissett’s case, offenders can be provided with the tools to allow themselves to remain free from
incarceration and monitored to ensure their progress. The video describes how the Allegheny
Mental Health Court is a court that believes mentally ill offenders need treatment and not
punishment. There they mandate mental health treatment but give offenders parole instead of
prison sentences. Offenders find more success in rehabilitation when human services are utilized.
Principle 5: Risk
The risk principle of the RNR model covers two aspects. It states that criminal behavior
can be predicted and the level of intervention should match the level of risk of the offender.
Offenders need to be accurately assessed in order to be able to receive proper treatment. Higher
risk offenders must receive more intensive services for their chances of recidivism to
significantly decrease while lower risk offenders can receive minimal interventions. Bennie
Anthony had served several prison sentences and was arrested a multitude of times due to his
struggle with paranoid schizophrenia (FRONTLINE, 2009, 18:46). The cycle of his behavior and
subsequent incarceration was very much predictable. He would stabilize under supervision with
medical treatment and then be released where he would discontinue his medications and his
mental illness would cause him to behave criminally. Mr. Anthony would be considered a high-
risk offender and would benefit from consistent, long-term supervision within the community
setting. Two weeks before he was due to be paroled, he stopped taking his medication and found
himself back in jail for assault. He was in an active state of psychosis which was made clear by
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the confusion and yelling he displayed. If Mr. Anthony had been provided the level of
intervention required for an offender of his level of risk, his chances of recidivism would have
been reduced. He should have been provided intensive services and cognitive behavioral
programs. Research indicates that the effects would have been greater if he received them within
a community-based setting, but the RNR principles would still apply within residential and
institutionalized settings.
Principle 6: Need
The sixth principle in the RNR model states that offenders often have multiple needs such
as a place to live, a job to support themselves, or they need to stop abusing drugs. These needs
can be either criminogenic and dynamic or non-criminogenic. Criminogenic needs, when
changed, are associated with changes in recidivism. Lynn Moore was a great example of the need
principle (FRONTLINE, 2009, 10:24). He suffered from delusions when he stopped taking his
medicine and was arrested over 20 times. He was arrested for having paranoid delusions and
trying to break into a woman’s house but was released the same day and returned to continue the
criminal behavior. The arresting officers did not utilize the RNR model in this case. They did not
meet Mr. Moore’s needs or attempt to provide human services and he was rearrested within 12
hours. This is not an efficient use of time or money. Once stable, Mr. Moore was released to the
Refuge of Hope shelter (FRONTLINE, 2009, 14:20). Meeting his immediate need of a place to
live was crucial to his successful reintegration into the community. He expressed his desire to get
back to work and he tried to remain focused on moving forward despite his past with the
criminal justice system. Unfortunately, his attempt to secure housing was unsuccessful and he
turned to alcohol which broke his commitment to Refuge of Hope and he was removed for 30
days. Losing housing and hope caused Mr. Moore to repeat the cycle and again was arrested for
criminal damage in a psychotic state. He failed to have several of his needs met which increased
his risk of recidivism. Once released from prison, homelessness is large problem many offenders
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face. This obstacle makes it nearly impossible to receive or maintain treatment. An outreach team
brought a mobile mental health clinic to homeless people to address this need (FRONTLINE,
2009, 16:39). Dr. Michael Unger understood that mentally ill offenders often are released into the
community with only a week or two of medication and they often do not have the capacity to
keep appointments and remember to take their medication. By meeting them on the streets, Dr.
Unger hoped to remove some of the barriers they faced in rehabilitation.
Conclusion
The goal of deinstitutionalization was to provide mentally ill patients with the same
freedoms and rights as everyone else, but law makers failed to see how severe mental illness
truly impacts those afflicted. However, there is hope that supervision for these individuals within
the community can be an effective means of removing them from the revolving door of the
criminal justice system. Continuous support, like the support William Stokes received at
Bridgeview Manor, is the most important aspect of treatment that mentally ill people can be
given (FRONTLINE, 2009, 50:50). Their immediate needs must be met and that includes a home,
job, prosocial friends, and consistency with medication compliance. Mentally ill offenders can
become productive members of society without the need for incarceration or institutionalization.
The fact remains that treatment for offenders works when the principles of the RNR model are
applied appropriately. If entire task forces can be devoted to reducing drug usage, then why can’t
money be spent on proper education for criminal justice employees to utilize RNR principles
rather than institutionalizing mentally ill offenders? So much time and money are wasted in this
country trying to punish offenders when evidence has shown that education and treatment are far
more effective. James 4:17 reads, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it,
for him it is sin” (English Standard Version Bible, 2009). God’s word involves taking action
but society at large has allowed this knowledge and good intentions to stop short of
implementing evidence based treatments for mentally ill offenders. When millions of people
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are suffering due to ineffective criminal justice sanctions, it is time to take action and try
something that is proven to reduce recidivism.
References
Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2017). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct. (6th ed.) Routledge.
English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apoc-
rypha. (2009). Oxford University Press.
FRONTLINE | The Released | Season 2009 | Episode 9 | PBS. (2009, April 28). [Video]. PB-
S.org. https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-the-released/
