§ Dr. PalmerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will study the reasons for the fall in recidivism in Canada; and if he will make a statement. [116745]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Government are taking account of the work in North America, including Canada, in reducing recidivism when developing their own policies to reduce reconvictions of offenders. In particular, when developing the accredited offender programmes for offenders in the prison and probation services.
Evidence on what works in reducing offending is summarised in the Home Office Research Series Number 187, 'Reducing Offending', published in 1998, in particular Chapter 8, which deals with effective interventions with offenders and references many United States of America and Canadian reports. Close contact is maintained with those working in Canada, and a recent Home Office seminar was given by Dr. James Bonta from the Canadian Department of Corrections.
The Joint Accreditation Panel, set up in 1999 under the chairmanship of Sir Duncan Nichol to accredit offender programmes in the prison and probation services, includes several members from North America.