EBP: How Good is Your Aim?

This is the 5th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 3a: Target Interventions 

Key takeaways

• Aim where it matters most. Prioritize higher-risk clients and the “big four” criminogenic needs—antisocial attitudes, peers, personality traits, and substance use—to move the public-safety needle.
• Phase targets to prevent overload. Start with one or two high-impact behaviors, then layer in employment, family, and leisure goals as momentum builds.
• Measure behavior, not minutes. Track demonstrated effort and real-world skill use; time spent in a program means little without observable change.

Ever feel like you're going through the motions with assessments and plans, but real change still feels elusive? You're not alone.

In the progression of "ready", "aim", "fire", the relationship, assessment, and motivation collectively provide the "ready". Focusing the "aim" is the next step. The assessment results, formal and informal, provide the foundation, but putting all the ingredients together can be a challenge. With a collaborative relationship and sufficient motivation, deciding what to target may involve some negotiation, but that is a logical and reasonable part of the process. While public safety must come first, even the most resistant clients goals and values should be reflected in the game plan to some extent.

The most important concept is that the assessment is not just a set of documents to check off and file away. Developing the plan is part art and part science. 

When it comes to driving real results in corrections or behavioral programs, how well you aim your interventions is just as important as the tools you're using. In fact, one of the core Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) — Targeting Interventions — is where many professionals stumble without realizing it.

Let’s break this down into something that’s actionable, insightful, and (hopefully) inspiring.

Why getting the "aim" right is a game-changer

In the behavioral change sequence—ready, aim, fire—the aim step represents clarity, intentionality, and strategic precision.

When we're unclear on our aim, we throw darts in the dark. Even with the best intentions and extensive programming, we might invest energy in low-impact areas while missing opportunities for meaningful transformation.

Here’s the bottom line: A well-aimed intervention doesn't just treat symptoms. It targets root behaviors, strengthens accountability, and, most importantly, reduces the likelihood of reoffending.

In other words, getting your aim right helps you stop repeatedly cycling people through the same systems.

Targeting isn’t just about logistics, it’s about impact

Targeting interventions is more than a procedural task. It’s the intersection of data, psychology, motivation, and strategy. It involves asking important questions like:

• Who should receive the most attention and resources?
• What behaviors or traits pose the greatest threat to public safety or long-term success?
• How can we tailor each intervention's timing, method, and goals to fit the individual?

The beauty of evidence-based practice is that it gives us a roadmap — but there’s still room for professional judgment and creative adaptation. That blend of science and art is where real progress begins.

So, who should you focus on?

Who and what to target is a matter of science (see below). How and when to target the various concerns involves science, relationship and creativity. Do you target the most important area first even if it is the area that creates the least motivation for the client? How do you prioritize the top needs since working on everything at once would be overwhelming and possibly counterproductive?

It’s not uncommon for service providers to devote disproportionate time to clients who are more compliant, eager, or easy to work with. After all, who doesn’t like seeing quick wins?

But if we zoom out, the data tells a different story: interventions are most effective when directed at higher-risk individuals.

Why?

Because these are the people who:

• Exhibit entrenched criminal thinking patterns
• Lack of stable prosocial networks
• Struggle with impulse control, substance use, or untreated trauma
• Often face multiple, overlapping barriers to reintegration

These individuals are more likely to reoffend, but also stand to gain the most from change. Well-targeted interventions can significantly reduce their risk level and help break the cycle of justice involvement.

And what about lower-risk clients?

Let’s be clear: low-risk doesn’t mean “no risk.”

While they may not need high-intensity programming, they still benefit from guidance, encouragement, and accountability. Overprogramming these clients can actually do more harm than good—it can expose them to higher-risk peers or undermine their intrinsic motivation.

The takeaway? Tailor intensity to risk level. Save your most intensive strategies for those who need them most, while offering structured support to everyone else.

What behaviors should you prioritize?

Once you’ve identified who should be in the spotlight, the next step is pinpointing what you need to address. This is where research has given us a hierarchy of “criminogenic needs” — the behavioral and situational drivers most closely linked to criminal behavior.

Tier 1: The Big Four

These are the top-priority targets that have the strongest empirical connection to criminal conduct:

1. Antisocial attitudes and beliefs – Justifying rule-breaking, minimizing harm, or blaming others for their actions.
2. Antisocial peer associations – Spending time with individuals who reinforce harmful behaviors.
3. Antisocial personality traits – Impulsivity, aggression, low empathy, or thrill-seeking behavior.
4. Substance use and addiction – Especially when it leads to risky decisions or criminal activity.

Targeting these areas is non-negotiable if we want to reduce recidivism. They represent the engine driving many justice-involved behaviors.

Tier 2: The Stabilizers

These are still important, but they tend to be more peripheral or supportive:

• Employment readiness and vocational stability
• Healthy family and marital relationships
• Meaningful leisure or recreational activities

While not usually the direct cause of crime, deficits in these areas can sabotage progress. For example, without a legal income or social support, even someone with the best intentions may struggle to stay on track.

Prioritizing without paralyzing

It’s tempting to tackle everything simultaneously, especially when a client has a laundry list of risk factors. However, too much too soon can overwhelm the provider and the participant.

Here’s a more sustainable approach:

• Start with one or two top-tier needs — preferably those with the most significant influence on public safety or program compliance.
• Layer in secondary targets as the client builds confidence, capability, and momentum.
• Reassess frequently to stay aligned with the client’s progress and real-time challenges.

This phased strategy respects both the science and the client’s psychological bandwidth.

Make room for client voice — even when it’s hard

One of the most underutilized strategies in effective targeting is collaborative goal setting.

Yes, public safety must always come first. But within that framework, there’s usually space to reflect a client’s own goals or values — even if just partially. Whether reconnecting with children, finding steady work, or managing anger more effectively, tapping into personal motivation boosts engagement.

Clients who care about the goal are more likely to stick with the process. That’s human nature.

Remember: Negotiation isn’t weakness. It’s a strategy.

When symptoms get in the way

In some cases, visible or acute issues might not fall neatly into your top-tier priorities, but they still need immediate attention.

Let’s say a client is dealing with severe substance withdrawal, untreated mental illness, or lack of basic housing. It may not be the core criminogenic need, but until that situation stabilizes, no deeper work is possible.

In these cases, treating the symptom first is a necessary detour. Once the storm calms, you can redirect focus to the behaviors driving long-term risk.

Building systems that support targeted interventions

Precision matters. Especially when lives — and public safety — are at stake.

When interventions are scattershot, even the most well-intentioned efforts can fall short. But when they're targeted, strategic, and responsive to individual risk and need, we see fundamental transformation in clients, outcomes, and communities.

That’s where CorrectTech comes in.

At CorrectTech, we equip justice professionals with tools that help translate evidence-based principles into everyday practice. Our platform is designed to support dynamic assessments, prioritize high-impact needs, and track measurable behavioral progress, not just attendance or time served.

So if you’re ready to move beyond checklists and toward interventions that work, let us help you fine-tune your aim.

In our next blog in this series, we will address Principle 3b, Collaborate on a Treatment Plan. Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

This a 12 part series. Here are all 12 blogs in the series:

1. An Introduction to Evidence Based Principles (EBP)
2. EBP: Building the Therapeutic Relationship
3. Community Corrections Interventions Must Begin with Assessment
4. To Be or Not to Be: Framing Offender Motivation
5. EBP: How Good is Your Aim?
6. Discovering Values in Collaboration
7. Practice Makes...Habit
8. Structure & Accountability Still Matter!
9. Catch Them Being Good!
10. It Takes a Community to Transition an Offender
11. What Works Anyway? Prove it!
12. Feedback Please!