ABSTRACT
One of the success stories of the 1990s in the development of healthcare and policy was the emergence of evidence-based practice. This approach rapidly developed into an international movement. Evidence-based practice has spread across most areas of healthcare such as mental health, dentistry, nursing and physiotherapy. This has now become a theme across social policy with education, criminal justice and social care all being encouraged to be evidence based. These disciplines and professions have adopted this approach but to varying degrees. In criminal justice the new emphasis on evidence-based practice has converged with the ‘What Works’ movement. But although some of its more enthusiastic adherents see this as bringing a clearer, more consistent and effective way of working it has been criticised heavily by opponents in various disciplines such as education, youth justice and social care.
