ABSTRACT
It is probably fair to say that criminal justice programmes are scrutinised more closely these days than they have been at any time in the past. It is widely accepted that not only do all areas of public service have to deliver services that meet the needs of their clients and the broader community, but they also have to demonstrate that the services and programmes that are offered achieve their intended outcomes. Managers and policy makers alike have become interested in issues of effectiveness, accountability and transparency, and despite concerns expressed by some practitioners that their professional autonomy is being eroded, terms such as ‘best practice’ and ‘good practice’, originally developed to assist business and manufacturing to be more internationally competitive, are now commonplace across criminal justice settings.
