MAPPA

MAPPA REPORT 2009-2010

Introduction
Key Achievements
MAPPA Framework
How the MAPPA Operates Locally
Lay Advisors
MAPPA Statistical Information 2009/10
Contacts

1. Introduction

This is the ninth Annual Report of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) for Warwickshire. The purpose of the arrangements are to protect people from harm, and this report reviews how effective they have been in achieving this during the 12 months ending on 31 March 2010. Some examples of work that have been delivered are given, as well as performance data.

Managing potentially dangerous people in our communities can be difficult and challenging. Every effort must be made to ensure that it is done as effectively as possible, because mistakes can have tragic consequences. We hope this report helps to reassure people that the different local agencies that work in Warwickshire are united in providing the best possible protection.

Bill Holland
Assistant Chief Constable
Warwickshire Police

Gill Mortlock
Director of Offender Management
National Offender Management Service

Andy Wade
Assistant Chief Executive
Warwickshire Probation Trust

2. Key Achievements

The MAPPA process continues to evolve and the co-operation between agencies remains strong, all agencies within the county continue to be fully involved in the preparation and operation of Risk Management Plans in order to reduce the risk of re-offending.

During the year we have run a Circle of Support, through the Lucy Faithful Foundation, who found and trained the volunteers. Working in partnership with the Police, Probation and MAPPA, the circle helps to support the offender through a 12 month period. The offender was a lonely isolated individual, which was the basis of his offending, during this time the circle has helped to remove the isolation, improved his social skills, changed his attitude, challenged him regarding appropriate boundaries and held him accountable for his actions. Over the period there has been a noticeable change in the offender and there is a visible difference in his self- esteem.
As reported last year 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. The pilot was completed during this period and the assessments submitted to the Home Office for evaluation, this has resulted in a new assessment tool being developed for use by both the Police and Probation.
2009/10 Warwickshire piloted the Child Sex Offender Review Disclosure Pilot. Warwickshire was the only area to, initially,implement the pilot across the whole police force and as a consequence made a major contribution to the national project board, being instrumental in helping develop this work nationally. This pilot gave parents, carers and guardians in Warwickshire the ability to ask the police if a person who has significant contact with their child, has a record for sexual offences against children. The MAPPA process was then one of the major routes for making decisions about disclosure. Information was only disclosed when providing such information increased protection for a child or young person. The pilot 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 concluded in September 2009, but owing to its success the work has now been implemented as part of core services.
Warwickshire was one of eight areas chosen to evaluate the use of polygraph testing. This was introduced under Sections 28-30 of the 2007 Offender Management Act, which came into force on 19 January 2009. It means that a polygraph condition can now be made in the release license of prisoners who meet the requirements of the legislation. It allows a polygraph condition to be inserted in the licence of offenders who are aged 18 or over on the day of their release and who have been sentenced to a relevant custodial sentence for a relevant sexual offence. A relevant custodial sentence is a sentence of imprisonment for over 12 months (including indeterminate sentences). A relevant sexual offence is defined in Part 2 of Schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (specified sexual offences). This covers most if not all, sexual offences. It requires the released person to take part in a ‘polygraph session’ as instructed by the probation officer, to improve the way they are managed on licence. The polygraph can be used to monitor compliance with other licence conditions, or to monitor other risk factors, such as contact with victims, potential victims, or engagement in risky behaviour.

3. MAPPA Framework

What are Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (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
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 meetings attended by various agencies.

Which offenders are eligible for MAPPA?

There are three categories of offender eligible for MAPPA:

Category 1 - Registered Sexual Offenders: Sexual offenders who are required to notify the police of their name, address and other personal details and notify the police of any subsequent changes;
Category 2 - Violent Offenders: Offenders sentenced to imprisonment/detention for 12 months or more, or detained under hospital orders. This category also includes a small number of sexual offenders who do not qualify for registration and offenders disqualified from working with children; and
Category 3 - Other Dangerous Offenders: Offenders who do not qualify under categories 1 or 2 but who currently pose a risk of serious harm, there is a link between the offending and the risk posed, and they require active multi-agency management.

How are they managed?

There are three levels at which offenders are managed 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 (Violent and Sex Offender Register) 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 Multi-Agency Public Protection (MAPP) 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 two lay advisors to sit on the SMB. The lay advisors 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 (Violent and Sex Offender Register)is an electronic recording system for the management of people who pose a serious risk of harm to the public. Since the implementation of ViSOR 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

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements are overseen by the Strategic Management Board. The board is currently chaired by an Assistant Chief Constable. The vice chair is the Chief Executive of Warwickshire Probation Trust. Other members of the board are from the Prison Service, Health Services, Children’s Services, Adult Services, Youth Justice Service, Local Authority representative, registered Social Landlord representative, Education, Job Centre Plus, Fire Service and two Lay Advisors.

The SMB have three sub committees:

Serious Case Review - which only meet when and if there is a serious re-offence case to review. During this period there were no mandatory serious case reviews, but one voluntary review was undertaken.

Performance and Standards - This undertakes an audit of the MAPPA process every year and reviews the actions resulting from earlier audits to ensure any recommendations are brought into practice.

Training - During 2009/10 we have carried out a number of multi-agency MAPPA training events and organised individual agencies to train staff on MAPPA as well as participating in organising a regional SMB training day. All these assist in cementing the united approach the agencies have to protecting the public of Warwickshire.

In addition to the above, members of the SMB are also part of the local Safeguarding Children’s Board and its sub committees and sit on the local Community Safety Partnership and the local Criminal Justice Board

Case Study One

J was a fifteen year old youth who became involved with other older youths in a gang on an estate. He came from a household where alcohol and violence were the norm, children’s services were involved with the family from the point of child neglect.

A care order was in place, which placed J with a different family away from the place he was brought up. However this did not stop him becoming part of the gang, who used violence to “run” the estate. They frequently used robbery as a means of obtaining property and money. During one of these robbery offences by the gang the victim was stabbed several times and as a consequence died from his injuries. The main perpetrators of this offence were sentenced at Crown Court to substantial custodial sentences, J though being present at the scene played no actual part in the stabbing and was sentenced to 60 months custody for his part in the event, though he cannot understand why he was sentenced at all. Because of his age at the time of conviction he was detained in a secure children’s home away from Warwickshire, whilst they have been addressing his behaviour issues and he has been studying.

Prior to his release he was discussed at a MAPPA level 2 meeting, where the Youth Justice Service (YJS) reported on his good progress, Children’s Services had continued to work with the family and reported that the incidents of violence had substantially reduced within the family home, the family wanted to have J back home as soon as possible. The victims unit, who attend all level 2 and 3 meetings, represented the thoughts of the victim’s family regarding his release. The meeting came to the conclusion that it would be advantageous to both J and the community if on his release he were sent to a Probation Approved Premises. Probation agreed to this and he would continue to be managed by the YJS. Though there have been some minor discipline issues within the Approved Premises his continuing good progress has been maintained. He has been allowed extended home leave to his family address with a view to returning there at a point in the near future.

Case Study Two

C was 38 years of age when he was convicted of numerous offences of sexual activity with a female child under the age of 16. He had been separated from his wife for a number of years, because of her alcoholism he had custody of his daughter. The victim was a friend of his daughter who became a frequent visitor to the house. During one of these visits he began “play fighting” with her and bit her neck. This was seen by her parents on her return home and they informed the police. C was arrested for the offence and bailed back to his home address. At this point a referral was made to Children’s Services and a strategy meeting was held and an interim Child Protection Plan was put in place. However, whilst on bail he began receiving e-mail messages from the girl. She eventually turned up at his address late one evening, having slipped out of her bedroom without her parents knowledge. He was subsequently arrested for these offences and remanded in custody eventually receiving four years imprisonment.

Prior to his release a MAPPA level 2 meeting was held and agreed that this case would be best managed by being directed to the Approved Premises on his release, were he would be closely supervised by the Probation Service and by the Police Public Protection Unit (PPU). Children’s Services called a further strategy meeting to consider the need for a case conference and at this meeting it was agreed that in order to fully understand the risk the Health Service would be asked to carry out a full clinical psychology report. Part of his licence conditions were to be that he carry out a Polygraph test. The PPU would also carry out an extensive risk assessment using the Stable and Acute risk assessment tool which was on trial in Warwickshire at the time.

All these continued to be monitored through the ongoing MAPPA meetings. He has now moved on from the Approved Premises back to his own accommodation. He continues to be monitored by the Probation Service and the Police and following the assessment, requested at the strategy meeting, he is now allowed supervised contact, by Children’s Services, with his daughter. The PPU continue to carry out risk assessments on him, which show him having a better understanding of how inappropriate his previous behaviour was.

5. Lay Advisors

“The time since my appointment as a Lay Advisor on 21 October, 2009, has been quite busy and in addition to attending SMB and Level 2 meetings has included a day’s MAPPA Practitioner/Offender Manager training and membership of the Training Sub-Committee and the Performance and Standards Sub Group. I have also been a member of a Serious Case Review Panel.”

“However, possibly more demanding over this time has been working out in practice what the role of Lay Advisor really entails and how to be an effective “critical friend” offering constructive criticism and challenge. Having some forty years social work experience behind me it would have been relatively easy to develop a friendly but possibly rather collusive relationship with the co-ordinator, the SMB and its members. However, this would defeat the object of the role. There is also a critical balance between knowing “well enough” how the system works/is intended to work whilst remaining sufficiently separate from it to be able to objectively identify any weaknesses or to challenge practice. Finally, there is the need to try to represent the views and concerns of the “person in the street” while supporting the work of the MAPPA in providing protection to the public from very serious and violent offenders. Of course, achieving and maintaining “balance” is very difficult to do and has to be constantly worked at.”

“I have been very impressed by the working of the SMB and the strong commitment of the co-ordinator and its members to the MAPPA. The role of lay advisor seems well accepted by the professional members of the SMB. I have not actually needed to criticise any aspect of its working to date (which is not for the want of trying!) but feel fully involved and able to contribute whenever or however I wish. It is both a privilege to be involved in the work of the SMB and MAPPA and also a significant responsibility.”

“In conclusion, I am grateful for the assistance, advice and opportunities to contribute which have been afforded to me in the relatively short time that I have been in this role.”

Lay Advisor
Warwickshire Strategic Management Board

6. MAPPA Statistical Information 2009/10

Number of MAPPA eligible offenders at 31 March 2010

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
Category 1: Registered Sexual Offenders	250	10	0	260
Category 2: Violent Offenders	139	4	0	143
Category 3: Other Dangerous Offenders	-	0	0	0

Enforcement for offenders managed via MAPP meetings

*Returned to custody for breach of licence:*
Level 2	12
Level 3	1
Total	13

*Sent to custody for breach of Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO):*
Level 2	2
Level 3	0
Total	2

Total number of registered sexual offenders in Warwickshire per 100,000 head of population:	54.66

This figure has been calculated using the 2009 Mid-Year Population Estimate published by the Office for National Statistics on 24 June 2010, excluding those aged less than ten years of age. It is not directly comparable to figures published in previous years.

Registered Sexual Offenders cautioned or convicted for breach of notification requirements:	8

*Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPOs)*
Applied for	10
Interim Order issued	0
Full Order issued	10

Notification Orders:
Applied for	0
Interim Order issued	0
Full Order issued	0

*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 2010, (i.e. a snapshot). The rest of the data covers the period 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010.

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 (96% this year) 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 two MAPPA eligible categories, but who currently pose a risk of serious harm which requires management via MAPP meetings.

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.

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 travelling abroad where it is necessary to do so to protect children from the risk of sexual harm.

7. Contacts

Warwickshire Probation Trust
Andy Wade
Assistant Chief Executive
2 Swan Street
Warwick CV34 4BJ
Tel 01926 682282

Warwickshire Police
Detective Superintendent Noel McMenamin
Police HQ
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwick CV35 7QB
Tel 01926 682282

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