The fall and rise of evidence in criminal justice

Practitioners within the criminal justice system have been cautious about claiming that their work with offenders directly impacts on the level of subsequent re-offending. This article provides an overview the generation and use of evidence on effectiveness within the criminal justice system, particularly focusing on the supervision of offenders by the probation service. The article outlines the continuing debates about appropriate methodologies for evaluating effectiveness. It also describes some of the problems encountered in trying to get research evidence to have an impact on offender supervision practice. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the present move towards evidence-based criminal justice services are explored in, order to provide learning opportunities for other public services.