When professionals are asked to assess risk in young people, whether in youth justice, mental health, or social care, they’re often carrying the weight of significant responsibility:
Can this young person return home? Are they a risk to others? What type of intervention or treatment should I recommend? How serious is the risk they pose?
These decisions are rarely straightforward. They involve navigating many different known (and unknown) factors around the young person. Factors that often interact with each other in ways that may be unique to each individual. That’s why we need a structured, evidence-based approach to be able to make confident decisions about risk levels and risk management.
At Jackdaw Forensic, we advocate for the use of Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ) tools—not as checklists, but as frameworks that support thoughtful, individualised decision-making. SPJ tools are designed to bridge the gap between research and practice. They guide professionals through a structured review of empirically supported risk factors (things that increase the likelihood of harm) and protective factors (things that reduce or buffer against risk). These might include elements like prior behaviour, peer relationships, emotional regulation, family dynamics, or response to previous interventions.
What sets SPJ apart is its balance: it provides structure, but not rigidity. Rather than giving a numerical score or definitive prediction, SPJ tools help professionals to formulate risk—to tell a story about why this young person may be at risk, in what circumstances, and what can be done to reduce that risk. This approach keeps the young person’s individual context at the center, and allows space for clinical insight, developmental understanding, and cultural considerations. It encourages professionals to move beyond labels and focus on how risk functions in this specific case, at this specific time.
By supporting this kind of structured reflection, SPJ tools not only improve the quality and consistency of decisions—they also help professionals feel more confident, grounded, and supported in some of the most challenging work they do.
