Reducing reoffending
BC Corrections continually develops and adopts new evidence-based approaches to supporting people who are under our supervision and in our care.
We offer behavioural, educational and work programs in custody and the community to help improve individuals’ thinking, behaviour and interaction with the world around them.
Individuals in custody and the community can access many BC Corrections programs and interventions that target what led to their behaviours and help them make positive changes in their lives.
They include:
- The Essential Skills to Success program, which helps individuals develop employability and basic life skills, enhance their readiness for other programs, and support their pro-social engagement while under supervision or in our care
- Cognitive behavioural programs that use a trauma-informed approach and target thinking patterns that lead to criminal behaviour
- Educational and vocational courses and programs in correctional centres that provide a foundation of skills that help individuals successfully transition back into their communities.
- Integrated Transitional and Release Planning that connects high-risk individuals with community resources upon their release from custody.
- Indigenous programs that help individuals connect or reconnect with their culture and community.
- Right Living Communities in all 10 of B.C.’s correctional centres, modelled on the success of an innovative therapeutic community at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre called Guthrie House
Probation officers in B.C. are extensively trained to use evidence-based skills and tools to help individuals alter their thinking and attitudes towards offending behaviours.
