Alongside the current media public preoccupation with high-risk
offenders, there has been a shift towards a greater focus on risk and
public protection in UK criminal justice policy. Much of the academic
debate has centered on the impact of the risk paradigm on adult offender
management services; less attention has been given to the arena of youth
justice and young adults. Yet, there are critical questions for both
theory - are the principles of risk management the same when working
with young people? - and practice - how can practitioners respond to
those young people who cause serious harm to others? - that need to be
considered. The distinguished contributors to "Young people and 'risk'"
consider risk not only in terms of public protection but also in terms
of young people's own vulnerability to being harmed (either by others or
through self-inflicted behaviour). One of the report's key objectives is
to explore the links between these two distinct, but related, aspects of
risk. Maggie Blyth is a member of the Parole Board for England and Wales
and independent chair of Nottingham City Youth Offending Team. She also
works independently as a criminal justice consultant. Kerry Baker is a
researcher in the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford and
also a consultant to the Youth Justice Board on issues of assessment,
risk and public protection. Enver Solomon is Deputy Director of the
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, an independent charity affiliated
to the Law School at King's College London.
