Cullompton : Willan ( 2007 ) 311pp. £19.99pb ISBN 978-1-84392-286-5 This guide to youth justice practice is based on a series of sections – on: assessment and supervision; mental health; substance misuse; neighbourhood prevention programmes; parenting; restorative justice; and intensive supervision and surveillance programmes – originally commissioned and published by the Youth Justice Board. The present authors have edited, revised, updated and synthesised the originals (for which they were not responsible) to provide what they describe as evidence-based guidance to effective practice, their principal target audience being Open University youth justice courses, in particular the certificate in effective practice. They acknowledge that the New Labour approach to, and the Youth Justice Board's role in delivering, youth justice has been subject to several criticisms. They concede that the ‘risk and protective factors’ framework for youth justice is open to certain objections and that the ‘what works’ model has limitations. But having stated those criticisms, objections and limitations that is the framework within which they set out their effective practice stall. Thus the familiar principles of: risk assessment and risk proportionality for intervention; a focus on criminogenic needs; appropriate dosage; responsivity; problem solving with a cognitive behavioural approach; and maintaining intervention programme integrity. Does the ‘what works’ approach work? The underlying assumption is that it's the best we've got. In addition to the discrete subject areas of the original sections there are chapters on education, training and employment, mentoring, offending behaviour programmes and custody and resettlement. There's a substantial, though unannotated, bibliography, concluding chapter summaries and a good index. Trainees who read and absorb this text will almost certainly gain their certificate in effective practice. It does what it says on the tin.