Innovation inom vissa gränser : En intervjustudie om hur tjänstepersoner i Kriminalvården implementerar det återfallsförebyggande arbetet utifrån principerna risk, behov och mottaglighet

Sammanfattning: Crime is a social problem and leads to many negative consequences, and it is therefore of interest to analyze how officials in The Prison and Probation Service implement the principles risk, need and responsivity, (RNR-model) in crime prevention measures to reduce the risk among incarcerated prisoners to relapse into crime based on the informants’ perceptions. Furthermore, differences in the official’s autonomy regarding the implementation of crime prevention measures will be analyzed based on the RNR-model and what consequences these differences have according to the officials. The RNR-model is an innovation that has been spread in The Prison and Probation service and will be analyzed by Rogers (2003) Diffusion of innovation theory. The officials' autonomy to implement the RNR-model will be analyzed by Lipsky's (1990) theory of street-level bureaucracy. In this case study, I have conducted eight individual semi-structured interviews and the sample consists of officials who have many years of experience working with treatment in The Prison and Probation Service. The results show that the informants take a similar approach to the RNR-model and that the RNR-model pervades the entire crime prevention measures. The conclusion is that the prevention measures consist of treatment programs combined with work management, adult education, and other structured activities and that these parts are interconnected. The crime prevention measures are characterized by helping the prisoners develop necessary skills to be able to get out of crime and get the best possible conditions to reduce the risk of relapsing into crime. The results also show that there are differences between the officials' autonomy regarding the implementation of the RNR-model in the crime prevention measures and that the officials' do not act from a common approach. The officials have, based on their autonomy, the opportunity to create their own interpretations of the RNR-model that can affect the outcome of the work, which can mean that the prisoners are treated differently depending on how the officials have chosen to implement the RNR-model. The conclusion is that the RNR-model contributed to clear structures and guidelines, but that there is a certain problem with implementing the receptivity principle in a similar way because of the officials' having difficulty understanding the meaning of the principle.