This article defines an offender "need" as "something that an offender lacks, which if put right will result in less offending." This is followed by a listing of offender needs, which if met, will reduce recidivism. These include increasing skills in constructively solving daily problems; increasing self- management and self-control; reducing the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol; and becoming better at the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gaining secondary and tertiary qualifications. This is followed by a listing of correctional activities that are not likely to reduce recidivism. These include encouraging offenders to talk about their feelings without challenging criminal attitudes and teaching new behavior, increasing hours of contact with probation officers without increasing involvement in effective rehabilitative programs, and subjecting offenders to harsh conditions. The article then notes that effective rehabilitation programs are those that match the number of program hours and the types of program activities to the various identified needs of offenders. Guidelines for doing this include putting offenders in programs that address a problem previously identified, putting offenders with more severe problems into more intensive programs, and selecting programs that match what is known about the most effective way to counter an identified offender problem.