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.
