Annual Report 2009/2010

Our overriding aim is to make the communities of Avon and Somerset safer. Protecting the public is the key priority for all the agencies involved in MAPPA.

By sharing information, building a clear picture of the risks an individual offender presents and directing resources in the best possible way to manage them, our agencies – statutory, voluntary and private – do all they can to lessen the likelihood of re-offending.

The needs of victims are at the core of our work and a primary concern of the three agencies who are the ‘Responsible Authority’ – Police, Probation and Prison Service. Serious violent and sexual crime impacts significantly on victims and their families, friends and the wider community. We take their concerns very seriously and work hard to protect and reassure them and make sure that their needs are met.

MAPPA also acts as an important conduit to other organisations, feeding the views of individual victims through to bodies such as the Parole Board, who make important decisions about particular offenders.

Close joint working across many agencies is crucial to ensure that offenders are continually risk assessed, from sentencing right through to their eventual release from prison back into the community. A combination of controls, treatment and monitoring manages this risk, with MAPPA activity at its most intensive when the offender returns to the community.

Managing risk of this kind is a highly complex, difficult and sensitive business and the risk of an offender assessed as dangerous committing another crime cannot be eliminated in all cases. Although Police, Probation, and the Prison Service are the three ‘responsible’ authorities our job would be impossible without the active support and contributions of agencies as diverse as health, education, children’s services, employment services, youth offending teams and housing providers.

All have an important role to play and together we are committed to providing the best possible protection for victims and communities in the Avon and Somerset area.

Andy Marsh, Assistant Chief Constable, Avon and Somerset Police

David Thomas, Assistant Chief Probation officer

Nick Evans, Governor, Shepton Mallet Prison

Managing offender risk, protecting victims, building public confidence, and keeping the communities of Avon and Somerset safe.

Working to keep the communities of Avon and Somerset safer

Q What is MAPPA?A Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements are

designed to manage the risk posed by certain serious sexual and violent offenders. Police, Probation and Prison Services are the MAPPA ‘Responsible Authority’. A number of other agencies have a duty to co-operate including 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.

Q What are the purposes of MAPPA?A MAPPA must ensure that comprehensive risk

assessments are completed by taking advantage of joint information sharing across the agencies, and directing the resources available to best protect the public from harm.

Q How do the MAPPA work?A Offenders eligible for MAPPA are identified and

information is gathered / shared about them across the 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 of any agency with supervisory responsibility. A number of offenders require active multi-agency management and their risk management plans will be formulated and monitored via MAPPA meetings attended by various agencies.

Q Who are the MAPPA offenders?A There are three categories of offender eligible for

MAPPA: Registered sexual offenders – Category 1: Sexual

offenders are required to notify the police of their name, address and other personal details and notify any changes subsequently.

Violent offenders – Category 2: 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.

Other dangerous offenders – Category 3: These are offenders who do not qualify under categories 1 or 2 but who currently pose a risk of serious harm, for whom there is a link between the offending and the risk posed, and a requirement for active multi-agency management.

Q How are they managed?A There are three levels of management, based on

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: Offenders are subject to the usual management arrangements applied by whichever agency is supervising them and this will include information sharing between agencies, via the Violence and Sexual Offenders Register (ViSOR) and other routes.

Level 2 – Active Multi-agency Management: Offenders subject to Level 2 risk management require the active involvement of several agencies via regular multi-agency public protection (MAPP) meetings.

Level 3 – Active Multi-agency Management: The same principle as Level 2 but with 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.

Q What is ViSOR?A ViSOR is a database holding details of sexual and

violent offenders and other dangerous individuals. It enables the three responsible authorities – Police, Probation and Prison Service – to work on a common IT system allowing them to share risk assessments and risk management information on individual violent and sexual offenders in a timely way to reduce re-offending.

Q What is the role of the Strategic Management Board?

A 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.

Q What do the Lay Advisors do?A The responsible authority must appoint two lay

advisors to sit on the SMB. Their role is to act as independent yet informed observers, able to pose questions which the professionals closely involved in the work may overlook. They also bring their understanding and perspective of the local community where they must live or have strong links.

The MAPPA Framework

“ We became MAPPA lay advisers at a time when interest in public protection was particularly high in the wake of such cases as those of Sarah Payne and the Soham murders.

We were intrigued to see how we would be received by professionals from the Police, Probation and Prison service: would it be a case of resigned tolerance in the light of yet another government initiative or would we be welcomed as critical friends with opinions and ideas worth listening to?

There is a lot of detail to learn - in fact the learning never stops - but we soon found at our very first Strategic Management Board meeting that our presence was welcomed as two independent individuals with an objective public perspective and a very positive role to play.

It quickly became clear to us that without the ability of MAPPA to coordinate information and action, there would be many more cases of re-offending by offenders who have been released and now live in the community. This makes it a system that is very well worthwhile.

We have been able to bring a “member of the public” point of view to a variety of situations, including the conduct of serious case reviews, responses to public information requests, policy-making and the adoption of preventative measures.

A lay advisor has the opportunity to play an important role in the arena of public protection, a role that really does engage with professionals doing a very demanding job in extremely difficult circumstances. We have to accept that we will never completely eradicate re-offending but it’s the target we must aim at. MAPPA works within an existing system over which it has no control. We cannot influence who is released into the community and have surprisingly little influence on those that do, which makes MAPPA’s successes all the more remarkable.

Nevertheless we have been immensely impressed with the way the professionals carry out their difficult tasks and the positive manner in which they welcome a public perspective into their operational and strategic deliberations.”

Five years in the life of a lay adviser

As their five year term nears its conclusion, John Pridham and Charles Beal reflect on their time as lay advisers.

The case of Mr B

Background, risk assessment and management plan

In 2005, Mr B was sent to prison for 12 months for indecently exposing himself to a child and breaching one of the conditions of his Sex Offender Prevention Order (SOPO). In addition to the 12 months imprisonment, he was also given an extended supervision period of 4 years and a new SOPO.

Because of repeated breaches of his licence conditions during that supervision period, he spent the majority of the following five years in custody, and was finally released in early 2010. At the time of his release, he had been assessed as presenting a very high risk of serious harm.

Through Avon and Somerset MAPPA, detailed plans were made to manage Mr B’s release. Accommodation issues were discussed and resolved, psychiatric assessments were arranged and steps taken further to understand his learning disabilities.

OutcomeWithin days of his release Mr B was seen trying to engage a child in conversation. The police reacted quickly, before the child was placed in any danger, and arrested him. He was later convicted of breaching the conditions of his SOPO and was imprisoned once more.

The case of Mr DBackground, risk assessment and management plan

Mr D was released in 2010 after serving a 9 year prison sentence for his involvement in a series of “distraction” burglaries. These offences typically involved Mr D and an accomplice knocking on a door, engaging the home-owner in conversation, and stealing property whilst the homeowner was occupied. On one occasion, within minutes of Mr D’s departure, a home-owner realised what had happened, had a heart attack and died.

Mr D was initially released to Approved Premises (a bail hostel) where his behaviour was closely monitored by probation officers. At MAPPA meetings, plans were made to manage his risk and information was shared with other agencies, including the police.

When the police came to investigate a new distraction burglary, Mr D’s presence in the area was already known and his involvement was considered in light of the available evidence and quickly ruled out.

OutcomeAt first, Mr D’s licence conditions (including a curfew) were stringent. His stated aim was to “go straight”. Repeated checks of his compliance by the MAPPA partners showed that Mr D was living up to this intention. Over time, following detailed discussions at MAPPA meetings, his conditions were gradually relaxed to prepare him for life after the expiry of his licence.This approach has proved successful. To date, Mr D has not come to further police attention, is in regular employment and is rebuilding his family life.

The case of Mr MBackground, risk assessment and management plan

Mr M has been linked to unproven sex offences committed abroad dating as far back as the early 1970’s. In the UK, in 2002, he was convicted of a serious sexual assault on a female student who, prior to the offence, had been a complete stranger. As a result he served an initial five years of imprisonment.

However, within three months of release, a search of his room in the Approved Premises revealed a knife and a woman’s scarf, knotted as if to form a restraint. He was returned to prison for a further three years.

On his release back into the community in 2010, Mr M’s risk was managed through MAPPA. Detailed discussions led to a number of activities being undertaken: the staff handling Mr M’s benefits claim were for example made aware of the risk he presents; an application for a Sex Offences Prevention Order was made; details of his convictions were disclosed to a member of the public with whom he had contact; and the local policing team were brought in to help manage the situation.

OutcomeTo date, Mr M has not been linked to any further offences and is settling into his life in the community. Close monitoring will continue for a number of years.

Making the Communities of Avon and Somerset safer – case examples

Improving our co-ordination: In January 2010 a Planning Day brought together partners from all of the Avon and Somerset agencies involved in MAPPA. This resulted in a renewed drive to improve MAPPA, highlighted new opportunities for joint working and forged even stronger links across all of the partners involved.

Working with mental health services: In particular, greatly strengthened links with local mental health services have led to immense improvements in joint working and information-sharing between MAPPA and mental health over the last year.

Raising public awareness and providing reassurance: In autumn 2009, Bristol MAPPA was the subject of a positive and extensive feature in the Guardian. The journalist was offered unprecedented access to MAPPA resulting in a highly informative and reflective piece.

Circles of Support: Circles of Support are aimed at assisting child sex offenders reintegrate into society by addressing and lessening the potential risks they present in the community, and challenging and holding them to account for their personal behaviour.

The Circle is a group of volunteers, often with an interest in restorative justice, who meet regularly with the registered sex offender. They help that person make

positive life choices, assisting them in re-evaluating their life and preventing isolation which in itself may be a significant risk factor.

At the end of 2009, Avon and Somerset MAPPA joined forces with Dorset MAPPA to form a joint Circles Wessex project. They share a paid Circles coordinator who trains, monitors and supports the volunteers in their role. Avon and Somerset currently have three Circles in operation, two within the Bristol area and one in Somerset. A further Circle is anticipated later this year, again in the Somerset area.

Wessex Circles is currently working to become a registered charity which will become self funding.

Training: Over the last year Avon and Somerset MAPPA has provided a series of multi agency training events to increase awareness of the process of risk management within the community. Utilising a national training manual that gives guidance to a variety of different roles within the MAPPA process, we have so far improved the awareness of more than a hundred and forty people from a variety of different agencies.

The multi-agency training events are aimed predominantly at those within the criminal justice and health arenas to provide a greater understanding of the processes involved in the risk management of violent and sexual offenders within the community and an increased understanding of the role that each agency plays. Pooling the knowledge and sharing information between the agencies adds to increased efficiency in the assessment of risk, and by correctly identifying that risk we are able to take reasonable steps to reduce it.

Managing MAPPA in Avon and Somerset

The Strategic Management Board in Avon and Somerset is jointly chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable for Protective Services and the Assistant Chief Probation Officer.

The last year has seen some significant improvements in the scope and quality of the MAPPA work, thanks largely to the hundreds of people involved in the public, private and voluntary agencies who work together to keep victims and communities safe. The SMB has been instrumental in supporting and driving some of these improvements.

Avon and Somerset MAPPA information 2009/10

Explanation/CommentaryThe totals of MAPPA eligible offenders, broken down by category, reflect the picture on 31 March 2010, (ie. 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 (x% 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 2 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 traveling abroad where it is necessary to do so to protect children from the risk of sexual harm.

Enforcement for offenders managed via MAPPA meetings

Returned to custody for breach of licence:Level 2 32Level 3 0Total 32

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

Further data on Registered Sexual OffendersRegistered Sexual Offenders in:BCU Bristol 310BCU South Glos 105BCU B&NES 69BCU East Somerset 139BCU West Somerset 192BCU North Somerset 109

Total number of registered sexual offenders in Avon and Somerset per 100,000 head of population* 64.54

Registered Sexual Offenders cautioned or convicted for breach of notification requirements 10

Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPOs):Applied for 0Interim Order issued 0Full Order issued 75

Notification Orders:Applied for 1Interim Order issued 0Full Order issued 1

Foreign Travel Orders Applied for 0 Interim Order issued 0Full Order issued 0*The 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. This is not directly comparable to figures published in previous years.

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3 TOTAL

Category 1: Registered Sexual Offenders

888 35 1 924

Category 2: Violent offenders 177 27 2 206

Category 3: Other Dangerous Offenders

- 14 0 14

Number of MAPPA eligible offenders at 31 March 2010