ABSTRACT

This chapter explores four clusters of ethical problems and dilemmas that frequently arise in the context of offender assessment and treatment: human rights; punishment; moral repair; and the dual relationship problem. It discusses the concepts of moral and human rights and examines their relevance for offender risk assessment and treatment. The chapter addresses ethical issues that arise from the moral concept of punishment for practitioners, a frequently overlooked normative problem. It explores ethical problems created by offenders' dual status as both victims of crime and as offenders; this is what has been referred to as the issue of moral repair. The chapter analyses a related ethical topic, the dual relationship problem, and overviews its impact on forensic practice. It suggests that all offender rehabilitation initiatives should be founded upon strength-based intervention plans that incorporate their core commitments and also addresses the need to protect the public. The issue of paternalism has been surprisingly overlooked in ethical analyses of offender rehabilitation.