MAPPA

MAPPA REPORT 2008-2009

Introduction
Key Achievements
The MAPPA Framework
How the MAPPA Operates Locally
Lay Advisors
Statistics
Contacts

1. Introduction

The Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in Warwickshire are an outstanding example of the Police, Probation Service, Prisons and others working together to protect people from harm. The purpose of this Annual Report, the eighth to be produced, is to review progress over the last year and also explain how the group operates. It describes some key achievements over this time, and also gives some performance statistics for the year ending March 2009.

When you have read it, I hope you will feel as we do that good progress is being made in managing people in our communities who would otherwise pose significant threats to public safety. In doing this work we have to respect the rights of the people concerned, not least as laid down in the Human Rights Act 1998, but our priority is always protecting the public from harm. This commitment extends to everyone involved in the MAPPA.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff involved in the MAPPA process for their professionalism and commitment. The results that have been achieved in Warwickshire reflect this.

Bill Holland Assistant Chief Constable Warwickshire Police

Gill Mortlock Director of Offender Management National Offender Management Service

Andy Wade Assistant Chief Officer Warwickshire Probation

2. Key Achievements

The processes introduced over the previous years have continued to evolve and expand and as detailed in last years business plan we have achieved the following.

During the year we have made more use of the Violent and Sex Offenders Register (ViSOR) (see below) giving the police continuous access twenty-four hours a day every day. The Probation Service are now full partners to ViSOR records, where they are involved in the management of the case.
We have a fully joined up system via effective links with the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC’s) that manage the risks to the victims of Domestic Abuse, and with the Prolific and Priority Offenders (PPO’s) so that cases are discussed at the most effective forum for information sharing.
We have created a Serious Case Review process and a Training Group in line with the National MAPPA guidance. We have continued the training of staff about the MAPPA process.
Warwickshire was one of the pilot areas for the Stable & Dynamic Risk Assessments, these are specialist tools designed to assess and track changes in risk status over time by assessing changeable dynamic risk factors. These assessments are now being evaluated by the Home Office.
The County has been one of four Police areas chosen to take part in the Child Sexual Offender Disclosure Pilot. Warwickshire was the only area to implement the pilot across the whole force area and as a consequence has made a major contribution to the national project board, being instrumental in helping develop this work nationally. This pilot gives parents, carers and guardians in Warwickshire the ability to ask the police whether a person who has significant contact with their child, has a record for sexual offences against children. The MAPPA process has been one of the major methods used to make the decisions about disclosure, however information will only be disclosed when providing such information will increase protection for a child or young person. The pilot has resulted in a significant increase in contact from the public, concerned about child protection issues and assisted all agencies to further enhance their protection to children. This pilot is ongoing until September 2009.
We have also appointed a deputy MAPPA co-ordinator and created new databases to record our performance against the National Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).

3. MAPPA Framework

What is MAPPA?

MAPPA are a set of arrangements to manage the risk posed by certain sexual and violent offenders. They bring together the Police, Probation and Prison Services in Warwickshire into what is known as the MAPPA Responsible Authority.
A number of other agencies are under a duty to co-operate with the Responsible Authority. These include: Children’s Services, Adult Social Services, Health Trusts and Authorities, Youth Offending Teams, local housing authorities and certain registered social landlords, Jobcentre Plus, and electronic monitoring providers.
The purposes of MAPPA are:
- to ensure more comprehensive risk assessments are completed, taking advantage of co-ordinated information sharing across the agencies; and
- to direct the available resources to best protect the public from serious harm.

How do the MAPPA work?

Offenders eligible for MAPPA are identified and information is gathered/shared about them across relevant agencies. The nature and level of the risk of harm they pose is assessed and a risk management plan is implemented to protect the public.
In most cases, the offender will be managed under the ordinary arrangements applied by the agency or agencies with supervisory responsibility. A number of offenders, though, require active multi-agency management and their risk management plans will be formulated and monitored via Multi-Agency Public Protection (MAPP) meetings attended by various agencies.

Who are the MAPPA offenders?

MAPPA eligible offenders – there are a number of offenders defined in law as eligible for MAPPA management because they have committed specified sexual and violent offences and/or currently pose a risk of serious harm, although the majority are actually managed under ordinary agency (level 1) arrangements rather than via MAPP meetings.

Registered Sexual Offenders (RSOs) – those who are required to notify the police of their name, address and other personal details and notify any changes subsequently. Failure to comply with the notification requirements is a criminal offence which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment.

Violent Offenders – this category includes violent offenders sentenced to imprisonment/detention for 12 months or more, or detained under hospital orders. It also includes a small number of sexual offenders who do not qualify for registration and offenders disqualified from working with children.

Other Offenders – offenders who do not qualify under the other 2 MAPPA eligible categories but who currently pose a risk of serious harm which requires management via MAPP meetings.

How are they managed?

There are 3 levels of management which are based upon the level of multi-agency co-operation required to implement the risk management plan effectively. Offenders will be moved up and down levels as appropriate:

Level 1 - Ordinary Management These offenders are subject to the usual management arrangements applied by whichever agency is supervising them. But this does not rule out information sharing between agencies, via ViSOR and other routes.

Level 2 - Active Multi-agency Management The risk management plans for these offenders require the active involvement of several agencies via regular meetings.

Level 3 - Active Multi-agency Management As with level 2, but these cases additionally require the involvement of senior officers to authorise the use of special resources, such as police surveillance or specialised accommodation, and/or to provide ongoing senior management oversight.

What is the role of the Strategic Management Board

Senior representatives of each of the agencies involved in MAPPA form a strategic management board (SMB), which meets at least quarterly to monitor the arrangements and direct any necessary improvements.

What do the Lay Advisers do?

The responsible authority is required to appoint 2 lay advisers to sit on the SMB. The lay advisers act as independent yet informed observers; able to pose questions which the professionals closely involved in the work might not think of asking. They also bring to the SMB their understanding and perspective of the local community – where they must reside or have strong links.

ViSOR

ViSOR is a database holding details of sexual and violent offenders, and other dangerous persons. The three MAPPA Responsible Authority agencies - police, prison and probation - are able to work on the same IT system enabling the sharing of risk assessments and risk management information on individual violent and sex offenders in a timely way to reduce re-offending.

4. How the MAPPA Operates Locally

The MAPPA protect the public in some of the following ways;

They share critical information about high-risk offenders so that each agency has the most complete picture they can get in making decisions and managing that person.
They make critical decisions together and bring greater accountability into that process on behalf of the community.
In certain cases they make decisions to inform schools, parents, employers etc, about the risks an offender poses.
They enable special resources to be found for difficult cases, which would not usually be available. For example, specialist risk assessments from outside experts or specialist housing provision that would reduce the offender’s potential opportunity to offend.
Each agency has a range of different legal powers, which can be sought to control or prevent behaviour, including Anti Social Behaviour Orders, Notification Orders, Sexual Offences Prevention Orders, Foreign Travel Orders and Licence Conditions, power to evict, electronic tagging and Curfew Orders. These, when used together, can often help make a package of measures that ensure offenders are managed more safely.

Panels can sometimes offer specific measures to help protect victims, such as accommodating the offender in another area. The panels can also, via the agencies, inform victims of the plans being made for release and rehabilitation of high-risk offenders, and give victims police alarms and reassurance.

During the year 2009/10 we aim to achieve the following;

Introduce the pilot for the use of Polygraph testing (lie detector) in the East and West Midlands Regions which Warwickshire is part of. This will use the MAPPA process to decide the areas of concern.
Expand the use of ViSOR within Probation, by training more staff in its use.
Develop a specific Diversity Plan for MAPPA in conjunction with all agencies.
Implement a Communication sub group of the SMB.
Maintain and enhance our links with Safeguarding Children Board, Safeguarding Adults Board, Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership and Supporting People.

Case Study

D is a fifty-year-old single man who was convicted in 2006 for possessing a large number of indecent images of children under sixteen on his computer at his parent’s address where he lived. When he appeared at the Crown Court he received a custodial sentence of three years. There was no evidence of any other offences.

On his release from custody he was allowed to return to live with his elderly parents, who still resided at the same address where he committed his offences on his computer. One of the reasons for returning to that address was he needed the emotional support of his parents as he was constantly having thoughts of suicide and had tried on several occasions to take his own life.

On his return to his parents address, the neighbours became very agitated and vociferous. They were making veiled threats of violence towards him, if he was seen out on the estate and they also told the police that they were going to the press to inform them about D living on an estate that had a considerable number of children living there. The neighbours also raised concerns about how he had been with the children on the estate prior to his convictions. These allegations were fully investigated by the police and no further offences were discovered. As a consequence a MAPPA level 3 meeting was held and put in place a risk management plan (RMP). Part of that plan was that, as D was on licence to the Probation Service, both the police from the Public Protection unit and his Probation Offender Manager, should visit him jointly and explain to him the consequences of him remaining at that address. They would also visit the neighbours and explained to them that D was being managed through the MAPPA process and that a full risk management plan was in place.

It was also agreed at the MAPPA meeting that in view of the feeling on the estate towards D, he was to be advised to move away from his parents address immediately.

He stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation until such time as he was able to find some private rented accommodation in another town. Before he was allowed to move to this address the police and the probation service checked the address and deemed it to be suitable.

The case was again discussed at a MAPPA meeting and it was agreed that the landlord of the property should be informed of his previous convictions; so that when he was letting other accommodation he did not let them inappropriately. D was present when the disclosure was made to the landlord, who then agreed to let D rent the property.

D continues to be seen by both the police and probation on a regular basis and has started on the Regional Sex Offender Treatment Programme.

Through the immediate response of the MAPPA in managing this case, to date there have been no further issues with him in terms of offending.

Case Study

K is a nineteen-year-old man who was in a long-term stable relationship with his girlfriend; they had been seeing each other since he was seventeen.

He was convicted of sexual assault on a female child and received twelve months imprisonment for the offence.

The offence came to light when his girlfriend became pregnant at fifteen and her mother reported it to the police. On his release from prison he registered his address with the police in compliance with the requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. He was subsequently discussed at a MAPPA meeting and as part of the risk management plan (RMP), he was visited by the police, at his home address.

They found him depressed and suffering from anxiety and chest pains. He had no heating and very little furniture. The police persuaded him to attend the accident and emergency unit of the local hospital and a psychologist saw him later. The police brought issues back to a further MAPPA meeting and as part of the ongoing RMP help was requested of the Supporting People Programme. The Supporting People Programme offers vulnerable people the opportunity to improve their quality of life by providing a stable environment, which enables greater independence. It delivers high quality and strategically planned housing-related services, which are cost effective and reliable, and complement existing care services. The planning and development of services is needs led. Supporting People Programme is a working partnership of local government, service users and support agencies. They assisted him in obtaining his benefits, which had been stopped, in order for him to be able to buy some furniture and obtain some heating.

Another of the reasons for his ongoing depression was that his girlfriend, who now had the baby, no longer wanted anything to do with him. As a direct consequence of the “falling out” she disclosed to his neighbours that he was a sex offender and he began to receive threats, both physical and verbal.

As part of the ongoing MAPPA RMP and in order for him to be able to see the child, Children’s Services have put in place a full child protection plan allowing him supervised access only.

Due to the difficulties with his neighbours the Local Housing Authority have re-housed him in a different part of town in the same type of accommodation he was in before.

The effective outcome of this case was facilitated by the close co-operation of all agencies involved in the MAPPA process.

5. Lay Advisors

“Having now completed a full four-year term as a Lay Adviser I want to reflect on the fact that the role is changing. As the role of the Lay Adviser has developed, I think we do have to be careful that it does not become too closely related to that of the professionals. I feel that increasingly the benefit of the role of the Lay Adviser rests on their NOT becoming integrated into the system.

The Lay Adviser role was set up to be that of an independent free thinking outsider who could think outside the box and contribute to the best interests of the public in terms of public safety. It becomes harder to do this if one is immersed in the systems of the process. I also feel that it is important that enough resource is allocated to this work to ensure a broad range of inputs continue to be encouraged and facilitated to fully inform the processes.

All that being said, in Warwickshire, I am in the fortunate position that the SMB afford me the opportunity and encouragement to question aspects of the work involved in MAPPA. I remain fully committed to an SMB that is open to discussion and inclusive.

As a group, considerable effort and dedication is consistently applied to maintaining the highest possible standards and that makes the role of Lay Adviser in Warwickshire a pleasure and an honour.”

Larayne Kyffin
Warwickshire Lay Adviser

6. MAPPA Statistical Information 2008/9

Number of MAPPA eligible offenders at 31 March 2009

Registered Sexual Offenders	263
Violent Offenders	54
Other Dangerous Offenders	1
Total	318

Offenders managed via MAPP meetings - Level 2

Registered Sexual Offenders	67
Violent Offenders	49
Other Dangerous Offenders	1
Total	117

Offenders managed via MAPP meetings - Level 3

Registered Sexual Offenders	2
Violent Offenders	1
Other Dangerous Offenders	0
Total	3

Enforcement for offenders managed via MAPP meetings

Returned to custody for breach of licence
Level 2	30
Level 3	0
Total	30
Sent to custody for breach of Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO)
Level 2	0
Level 3	0
Total	0

Serious Further Offences involving offenders managed via MAPP meetings

Charged with a serious further offence
Level 2	0
Level 3	0
Total	0
Of those charged during the year (level 2 and 3 combined) plus those who remained charged with an SFO last year, ie at 31 March 2008:
Convicted of a serious further offence	N/A
Other outcome	N/A
Remain charged with serious further offence	N/A

Further data on Registered Sexual Offenders

Total number of registered sexual offenders in Area per 100,000 head of population
52
Registered Sexual Offenders cautioned or convicted for breach of notification requirements
10
Sexual Offences Prevention Orders
Applied for	17
Interim Order issued	3
Full Order issued	14
Notification Orders
Applied for	1
Interim Order issued	0
Full Order issued	1
Foreign Travel Orders
Applied for	0
Interim Order issued	0
Full Order issued	0

Explanation/Commentary

The totals of MAPPA eligible offenders, broken down by category, reflect the picture on 31 March 2009, ie a snapshot. This year has seen a sharp drop in the total number of Category 2 and 3 offenders reported. This is due mainly due to the difference in reporting method made to ensure a more accurate picture of the number of MAPPA eligible offenders living in the community at any one time. Last year’s figure reflected the number of such offenders over the whole year rather than the snapshot given this year. The Category 1 figure has been a 31 March snapshot for some years. The rest of the data covers the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, in order to give an indication of activity and outcomes in relation to those offenders managed at MAPPA levels 2 and 3 over the whole year.

Breach of licence – offenders released into the community following a period of imprisonment of 12 months or more will be subject to a licence with conditions (under probation supervision). If these conditions are not complied with, breach action will be taken and the offender may be recalled to prison.

Serious further offence (SFO) – serious sexual or violence offences listed in Probation Circular 22/2008. Other outcome means that the case has been dealt with by 31 March 2009 but that the offender was not convicted of an SFO; eg the offender was acquitted or the case was not proceeded with, or s/he was convicted of a lesser offence. The data may include offenders who remained charged with an SFO at 31 March 2008 and, where so, this is indicated.

Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) – a court may make a SOPO at the time of dealing with certain sexual offenders or when the police make a special application on account of the offender’s behaviour in the community. The full order lasts for a minimum of 5 years and can last indefinitely. A SOPO will require the subject to register as a sexual offender and can include conditions, for example to prevent the offender loitering near schools or playgrounds. If the offender fails to comply with (i.e. breaches) the requirements of the order, he can be taken back to court and may be liable to up to 5 years’ imprisonment.

Notification Order – requires sexual offenders who have been convicted overseas to register with police, in order to protect the public in the UK from the risks that they pose. Police may apply to the court for the order in relation to offenders in or intending to come to the UK.

Foreign Travel Orders – prevent offenders with convictions for sexual offences against children from traveling abroad (where it is necessary to do so) to protect children from the risk of sexual harm.

7. Contacts

National Probation Service
Andy Wade
Assistant Chief Officer
2 Swan Street
Warwick CV34 4BJ
Tel 01926 415807

Warwickshire Police
Detective Superintendent Neil Hewison
Police HQ
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwick CV35 7QB
Tel 01926 415000

Detective Inspector Roy Wheelwright
Police HQ
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwick CV35 7QB
Tel 01926 415000

MAPPA Co-ordinator Derek Ridgway
Police HQ
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwick CV35 7QB
Tel 01926 415226