Creating a people-centred view of risk and restorative justice

We live in a risky and risk-centred world, in which we are concerned about the potential negative impact of interaction with other people. This has promoted actuarial, group-based ideas of risk assessment in relation to criminal justice. Different paradigms for justice, such as restorative justice, offer different ideas and possibilities about risk and how risk may be mitigated and managed, which may be used to reflect back on current criminal justice processes and theoretical views. Stemming from research into experienced facilitators’ risk assessment and mitigation in restorative justice, the article argues that risk assessment in restorative justice incorporates a different paradigm, which is more individualistic, co-produced and strength-based. It fits the core purposes of restorative justice and the emphasis that people can change. Could it potentially be used to inform risk assessment in criminal justice? Our article considers the potential of restorative approaches to risk for criminal justice.