Understanding Risk in Criminal Justice

* How significant is risk to the formation and implementation of penal policy?

* To what extent are the tasks and activities of frontline criminal justice workers informed by concerns to assess and manage risk?

* Has there been a significant 'sea-change' in the delivery of criminal justice, and if so, what are the future implications of this?

This illuminating text examines the significance of the concept of risk in criminal justice policy, and in the role of criminal justice agencies and crime prevention initiatives. Particular features of the book include its use of practical examples, coverage of previously unpublished research, and a full review of current risk assessment tools for use with offenders. It is designed with undergraduate courses in mind, providing frequent summaries, lists of further reading, and a glossary.

The identification, assessment and management of risk has become a central theme of criminal justice policy. For some penal policy commentators this represents a 'sea-change' in crime management to a new era of 'actuarial justice', that is the management of crime opportunities and risk distribution rather than the management of individual offenders. By drawing on key areas of criminal justice practice such as policing, probation and crime prevention, this book examines the actual extent of this change and reviews the case for a new risk-based penology.

The book combines a review of current theories on actuarial justice with a detailed examination of current practices in key frontline agencies. The result is an essential text for criminology students and trainee professionals in criminal justice.

Hazel Kemshall is Professor of Community and Criminal Justice at De Montfort University. She has research interests in risk assessment, risk management and risk policies in criminal justice and has carried out research into risk under the Economic and Social Research Council's 'Risk and Human Behaviour' programme. She has investigated the work of public protection panels for the Home Office, and has developed training materials for the Probation Service in England and Wales, and for social workers in Scotland. She has published numerous books and articles on risk in social care and criminal justice.