Risk in Action: the Practical Effects of the Youth Management Assessment

Abstract

This article illustrates the importance of empirical investigations that reveal `risk in action'. Using interviews, operation manuals and correctional policies, I examine the governance of female young offenders at `Youth House' (an open custody facility in Canada). This article focuses on the ways in which risk discourses and practices shape the governance process. Particular attention is paid to the discretionary power of front-line workers and administrators who employ the Youth Management Assessment (YMA), a risk tool used to govern young offenders. My research shows that contrary to the belief that risk tools remove the subjective nature of the governing process, such practices not only still exist but are necessary for risk tools to operate. Furthermore, I reveal an unanticipated outcome of risk tools. I argue their use unintentionally results in the surveillance of an unsuspecting population: those that govern. Risk tools are implemented seemingly with the intent to manage offenders, however, in practice the YMA also governs those that govern.