ABSTRACT
As we embark on the second decade of the twenty-first century, our consciousness towards risk, danger and dominant discourses of protectionism and security continue. Be they in respect of, for example, the limitations of legal controls to maintain safety against domestic and international terrorism, and the legislative restrictions on gun ownership, to name but a few. Central to much of the public and political debate, though, are four core questions: who are seen to pose a substantial risk to the community; what those threats or risks may be; how might those risks be exercised; and what is the likely impact. This type of analysis can be applied to all manner of academic enquiries into crime, harm and society, but the answers to these questions debated in political, legal and scientific domains will shape the trajectory of criminal justice policy, and its responses, in turn, will shape the public view on this kind of offending.
