Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements - MAPPA
MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements) are a set of arrangements set up by law to manage the risk posed by offenders.
The Management of offenders etc Scotland Act 2005 placed a legal responsibility on Chief Constables, Local Authorities and Scottish Prison Services to establish a set of arrangements to assess and manage the risk posed by certain categories of offenders.
In the main, Criminal Justice Social Workers and Northern Constabulary will lead on these arrangements along with the SPS for offenders in custody. However the Multi-Agency identification of individuals posing a risk, information sharing, risk assessment and risk management processes will also involve a wide range of local authority and voluntary services.
Who are the MAPPA offenders?
Category 1: Registered Sex Offenders - sexual offenders required to comply with the notification requirements (often referred to as registration) set out in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Category 2: Violent offenders - violent offenders convicted on indictment of a crime inferring personal violence and who are on probation or subject to licence following release.
Category 3: Other Offenders - offenders who do not fall into categories 1 or 2, but who have been convicted of an offence which leads the responsible authorities to believe that they continue to pose a risk of serious harm to the public and require multi agency management.
How are offenders managed?
MAPPA enable resources and attention to be focused on those who present the highest risks.
National MAPPA guidance indicates the use of three levels of management:
• Ordinary Management Level 1: the risks posed by the offender are such that they could be competently managed by a single agency without significantly involving other agencies. The majority of MAPPA cases fall into this level.
• Multi-agency Management Level 2: Inter-agency risk management. This level of risk or complexity of the case is effectively managed by active involvement of more than one agency.
• Multi-Agency Public Protection Panels (or MAPPPs) Level 3: The criteria for these critical few cases present as high or very high risk and require close co-operation and oversight at a senior level.
Who checks it is all working?
A Strategic Management / Steering Group has been established to monitor and review the effectiveness of MAPPA arrangements across the Responsible Authorities that make up Northern Community Justice Authority (CJA) area.
The Strategic Management Board is chaired by a senior representative from one of the Responsible Authorities which include the Police, Social Work Services, Scottish Prison Services, Health and other local authority and voluntary agencies.