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Introduction
There are many different principles that make up the Risk Need Responsivity (RNR)
model. Three of them will be discussed in this paper. Risk, need, and specific responsivity are the
three that will be discussed and described. These three principles are the main principles from the
RNR model. They will also be talked about in context of the video from this weeks work called
the released. This video explores the lives of several different convicts who struggle with mental
illnesses. They are in and out of prison, mental health hospitals, and group homes for the
mentally ill. While these three principles are used correctly throughout the video, it be discussed
on how they could be used better and where they could have been used if they weren’t.
Risk Need Responsivity
Risk, need, and specific responsivity are three principles from the RNR model that
encompass the most important parts of the RNR model. They really help offenders with mental
health issues, create and maintain good habits, so they can re enter society. The risk principle
matches the intensity of service to the risk level of the offender. If the risk level of the offender is
high, then the intensity of the service they receive will be more. If the risk level of the offender is
low, then the intensity of the service will also be lower. The need principle targets the
criminogenic needs of the offenders and helps those criminogenic needs become strengths, rather
than weaknesses. The last principle is specific responsivity which adapts the style of the mode of
service to the personality traits of the offenders (Bonta, 2017). Basically, it looks at the
offender’s personality and how they respond to certain things and adapting the service they
receive to them. The specific responsivity also encourages the people helping the offenders re
enter society, to create strong relationships with them. These three things work well in
rehabilitation because it tailors the care, specifically, to the mentally ill offenders.
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Unfortunately, these things aren’t used as much or as consistently as they could be when
releasing mentally ill offenders. While they cannot be watched 24/7, they need more care and
attention than regular offender’s need. Mentally ill offenders need their medication and need help
with taking it. Their brains and minds are not developed in the way that a sane person’s brains
are developed. In the video we see that one of the offenders, Lynn Moore, who believes that he is
trying to catch/kill Bin Laden and other terrorists, has been to prison four times. He says that he
took his medication but stopped because he thought he was cured, and the delusions came back
(11:10). He was medicated and stabilized while in prison, and then released when it was
determined that he was safe to release back into society. He is released without parole or
supervision, which means there is no one to help him and he is on his own to remember to take
his medication (13:15) . He has his criminogenic needs filled by going to a Beacon for Hope
shelter. While they residents are being worked with, there is no way for them to enforce the
things they are asked not to do. Eventually Lynn Moore ends up back in prison because he
wasn’t helped in the way he could have been. I could be said that the risk principle is shown in
the video for Bennie Anthony because when he is released, he immediately goes off his meds and
becomes psychotic and ends up back in prison. Once it is realized how psychotic he is without
his medication, he is put into a mental health court where the mentally ill are treated not
punished and are given probation and treatment is mandatory (21:18). This falls under the risk
principle because they tailored the intensity of the program to how high risk he was. He did well
in the program and while on his meds, but they can’t force him forever. It would have been good
for them to follow the needs principle because he had very specific criminogenic needs that
mental health court cannot fulfill. The specific responsivity principle is shown in both of these
cases, Lynn Moore and Bennie Anthony, because the courts are tailoring the care to each of the
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people. Unfortunately the tailored care stops when the offender seems like they’re getting better.
Both men need to stay on their medication and they’re not in a place that is making sure they’re
taking the medication. Once they go off their meds, they end up back in prison. These principles
need to be implemented in ways that last long and are easy for people to continue to follow.
Conclusion
The RNR model is effective in helping mentally ill offenders re enter society when it is
consistently followed. If nothing is consistent in the offenders lives, and they’re released into the
world alone, they cannot be expected to be okay and continue to remain consistent in their
medication. When the correct needs are fulfilled for the offenders, they are less likely to end up
back in the system and they could potentially leave the cycle behind. It can be seen that the
model is effective in the video when the offenders are talking with clinicians consistently,
receiving extra help, and giving them the resources that they will need to lead successful lives.
That could mean that they are never without help.
