Chapter 6 – Risk Assessment in Youth Justice: A Child-Centered Approach to Managing Interventions

Risk assessment in the criminal justice system is a complex and dynamic concept that covers a wide range of behaviors and situations, for example, dangerousness. In addition, it also aims to predict outcomes for a number of different potential outcomes and scenarios, such as reoffending. Not surprisingly, even the most valid and reliable instrument has to balance the competing elements of sensitivity against specificity. While risk assessment inventories have largely demonstrated increased efficiency in guiding practitioner decision making, the problems with being able to accurately limit the false-positive/-negative nexus have particularly stark implications for practice in youth justice settings. Evidence from many recent international studies suggests that for the majority of young people referred to youth services a “light touch” approach is the most suitable approach and that these individuals should be seen as potential suffering further harm if embroiled within formal sanctions. Interventions such as restorative approaches in schools have demonstrated a more practical and pragmatic approach to dealing with problematic behaviors in youth cohorts.