The `Scaled Approach' in Youth Justice: Fools Rush In…

There are few studies which examine the relationship between assessment, intervention planning and supervision (APIS) in detail, and none within the context of youth justice in the UK. One such study in probation which looked at risk assessment and intervention planning was Merrington (2001). The study upon which this article is based (Sutherland et al., 2005) aimed to replicate Merrington's research to allow reflection on current practice in a small sample of Youth Offending Teams (YOTs). The rationale for the original study was to inform changes to the youth justice system related to the introduction of an explicit risk-led (`scaled') model of practice (YJB, 2006a, 2007a). This article reports findings relating to the basic practice model suggested by this framework and reflects on the implications for YOTs and young people of the `scaled approach'.

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