Tools to Identify and Assess the Risk of Offending Among Youth

This research report presents some of the tools used in the prevention of youth offending. Some of these tools are taken from related fields such as developmental psychology, while others are designed specifically for youth justice. This report is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather an overview of the tools that may be used in the field of delinquency prevention among youth.The tools used by researchers and practitioners in the field of prevention are based on conceptual models of the social vulnerabilities and risk factors associated with delinquency. Longitudinal and experimental research conducted in Canada and other countries has helped improve our understanding of the main risk factors associated with delinquency and identify offending trajectories.Most of the tools available fall into two main categories: tools for identifying at-risk youth, and tools for assessing the risk of youth offending/re-offending.