How to Implement Effective Risk Practice

The recent CYCJ report ‘Balancing rights and risk: How can we get it right for children involved in violent behaviour?’ highlights that in Scotland we have a way to go to ‘get it right’ for some of our children involved in violent behaviour (Murphy, 2018). This is particularly so for those where there are concerns about a range of risks and who present with more complex needs and vulnerabilities. To begin developing more effective risk practice, CYCJ and the Scottish Government have been working to increase the capacity to deliver training in structured professional judgment (SPJ) approaches such as the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) (Borum, Bartel & Forth, 2006) and the Short Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV) (Viljoen, Nicholls, Cruise, Desmarais, & Webster, 2014).