The Freakonomics podcast has a very interesting, two part episode on the use of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in fighting crime. Based on three, widely different case studies - fighting crime in in the inner city gangs of Chicago, rehabilitation of child soldiers in Liberia and lower risk domestic abuse cases in the UK; the podcasts certainly make a compelling case. In all three cases, participants are put through a CBT course with support and mentoring; and the results are quite impressive - an average of about 40% reduction across the use cases in the best cases.
Given South Africa's similarities to some of the case studies, I wonder if anyone has thought about using the same approach? The stories are certainly compelling.
