Mission Impossible? The professionalisation of Austrian probation between desistance and “what works”

Abstract

Over the last few years, desistance research has gained importance as an alternative to the risk-based “what works” approach. When significant proponents speak of a new desistance-paradigm arising, it has to be borne in mind that their analyses focus mainly on the practice of probation in the UK where dramatic restructuring and cost-cutting were implemented under the “what works” label. This paper presents the results of a research project investigating the implementation of a cognitive behavioural programme in probation in Austria. This programme, developed on the basis of “what works” and Risk-Need-Responsivity ("RNR")-principles, is assessed from a desistance perspective. Probationers themselves reflect on what helped them to “go straight” and what role the programme played in the desistance process. It is shown that the “what works”- and the desistance-perspective may complement each other under specific circumstances, even if certain conceptual differences remain.