More about Crime-Pics II
Crime-Pics II, which has been in widespread use since 1994, is the improved and carefully tested successor to CRIME-PICS, an instrument originally developed by the authors with the support of the Mid-Glamorgan Probation Service. The instrument, which takes only a few minutes to administer and score, offers a convenient and standardised means of measuring changes in offenders' attitudes to offending. It has been adopted by both the Probation and Prison services in the UK as standard measure for the impact of interventions with offenders. It is also used frequently in evaluations of rehabilitation projects in the private and voluntary sectors.
Traditionally, assessment of the effectiveness of interventions with offenders has been made either on the basis of simple activity measures such as compliance levels, or of outcome measures such as reconviction rates. The former, however, tell us nothing about the impact of the intervention, while the latter is not only a blunt instrument but involves an appreciable time lapse before outcomes can be evaluated.
Crime-Pics II, with its special focus upon attitude change, offers a powerful additional tool. It can be used, alongside other measures, as a 'before and after' evaluative measure of changes in offenders' thinking about crime and victims. CRIME-PICS II scores are statistically correlated with chances of reconviction, and changes in scores can be used as a proxy measure indicating a project or programme's likely impact on reconviction. Examples of its use in this way can be found on the 'publications' page.
Alternatively, the instrument can be used as a diagnostic instrument and a means of monitoring the progress of individual offenders in some detail. It is readily understood by offenders, and, when appropriate, its results can usefully be shared and discussed with them.