Treating criminals: ANGER MANAGEMENT

Anger is a strong emotion which many offenders struggle to control, and aggression is strongly associated with anti-social behaviour such as offending. 

Anger management programmes are therefore employed to help offenders combat their anger problems, and help them to better manage it. 

The main anger management course in prisons is Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it (CALM). It consists of 24 two-hour sessions, which aim to reduce the frequency, intensity and duration of anger. It is specifically targeted to benefit males. 

There are 6 stages of CALM, which generally focus on thinking patterns that lead to criminal behaviour, learning how to solve problems without getting angry, improving communication skills and developing strategies to prevent relapses of anger. 

Study: Ireland (2000) conducted a natural experiment comparing 50 prisoners who had completed CALM and a control group of 37 who hadn't. The study used a cognitive behavioural interview alongside questionnaires, which looked at the effectiveness of anger management. Prison officers also monitored angry behaviour on a Wing behavioural checklist of 29 “angry behaviours”. Both measures were compared. Offenders who’d been part of a CALM programme rated themselves as less angry, and officers also tended to rate these offenders as less angry. 92% showed improvement on at least one "angry behaviour" measure, which suggested that anger management is effective at least in short term. However, 8% deteriorated.