Conflicting knowledges on risk: The case of risk knowledge in the probation service

Risk is a key feature of contemporary life, within both the professional and private spheres. This paper begins with a contextualisation of current risk concerns in the Probation Service within the broader concerns of the 'risk society', and presents the differing knowledge constructions of risk utilised by frontline workers and by central policy-makers. The article concludes by examining the impact of competing epistemologies of risk on the professional experience of frontline workers, and the implications for the implementation of risk policies.