Protecting the Public in Warwickshire
Multi-Agency Arrangements are Protecting Public in Warwickshire
Warwickshire's Assistant Chief Constable today welcomed the publication of the area’s Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) report.
Today sees the publication of 42 local annual reports detailing the work of MAPPA in safeguarding the public and managing dangerous offenders in the community. The MAPPA ensure much closer supervision of offenders, meaning that earlier pre-emptive action can be and is being taken against them.
Established in 2001, MAPPA provide the statutory framework for inter-agency co-operation in assessing and managing violent and sex offenders in England and Wales. Under the arrangements, police, probation and prisons, supported by additional agencies including housing, health and social services combine forces to manage the risk to the public posed by dangerous offenders.
Those "critical few" offenders that pose the highest risk are referred to a Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel (MAPPP), where their cases are regularly scrutinised by senior representatives of local agencies. In the year to publication, some 39,492 offenders were covered by MAPPA arrangements, 2,152 of whom were referred to MAPPP.
A great deal of work has been done in Warwickshire over the past year to build on the county’s MAPPA. There is now a more sophisticated referral process in place, which targets resources at the highest priority cases. The Domestic Violence Project has been integrated into the MAPPA to provide extra support to high risk and problematic cases of domestic violence. In addition, Warwickshire has one of the lowest numbers of sexual offenders per head of population.
This year the MAPPA were further strengthened by a number of provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Prison Service has been made a ‘Responsible Authority’ alongside Police and Probation, reinforcing the interaction between the three leading agencies in dealing with dangerous offenders.
The Act also formalised the relationship of other agencies supporting Police, Probation and Prison Services, introducing a ‘duty to co-operate’ with the MAPPA for a range of criminal justice and social care agencies including; health, housing and social services – factors known to be critical to the successful resettlement of offenders.
In addition, the Act introduced direct public scrutiny of MAPPA by requiring the Secretary of State to appoint two lay advisers to each of the 42 strategic management boards that review them. The lay advisers are intended to bring an ordinary person’s perspective to the boards, and have an opportunity to question what is done and why in their area. Warwickshire is currently in the process of recruiting lay advisors.
Assistant Chief Constable of Warwickshire, Bob Golding said, “Protecting the public from sexual and violent offenders is the highest priority for the police and the probation service. Working with other agencies within Warwickshire and sharing information through the multi-agency panels we are able to develop more effective management plans to monitor and manage these people in order to minimise risk to the public.”
Minister for the Correctional Services, Paul Goggins said:"Warwickshire and the other areas running MAPPA have combined to create a system of managing and monitoring dangerous offenders that is world-leading, and succeeds in protecting the public better than ever before.
"The arrangements have enabled police, probation and prisons, with the committed involvement of partner agencies, to work at their very best in supervising dangerous cases through active co-operation with each other.
"The further strengthening of the MAPPA following the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act has provided an even stronger relationship between agencies, as well as a vital voice from the community in the shape of lay advisers.
"We can never eliminate the risks posed by dangerous offenders, but we can do a huge amount to minimise them and protect our communities. As a society we have to face up to the fact that there are dangerous offenders in all our communities and manage the risks they pose.
"The small proportion of offenders that pose the highest risk are more closely scrutinised than ever by the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panels (MAPPPs). And only a very small proportion – this year as low as 1 per cent – of offenders referred to MAPPPs are charged with serious further offences."
For more information please contact:
James Reason,
LCJB Communications Officer
01926 415 062
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