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? 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' 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. Understanding Risk in Criminal Justice examines the significance of the concept of risk in criminal justice policy, and in the role of criminal justice agencies and crime prevention initiatives. The book provides practical examples and covers previously unpublished research, and includes a full review of current risk assessment tools for use with offenders. It also contains frequent summaries, lists of further reading, and a glossary, making it ideal for undergraduate courses. 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.Kemshall, Hazel is the author of 'Understanding Risk in Criminal Justice', published 2003 under ISBN 9780335206537 and ISBN 0335206530.