Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements Research Articles

Vigilance or Vigilantes: The Paulsgrove Riots and Policing Paedophiles in the Community Part II: The Lessons of Paulsgrove

Following on from Part I this article examines both the media myths surrounding Paulsgrove and the potential strategic and operational lessons that can be learned from this ethnographic study. In doing so we continue our account with a critique of Silke's proposition that the most effective operational response to vigilantism is to exploit media reports of vigilantes' personal weaknesses. In doing so we offer our own alternatives of how to relate to community vigilantism. We believe that by addressing the real origin and nature of the dispute, as opposed to the media myths, we provide alternative options for police forces and MAPPAs (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) that face the difficult task of managing potentially dangerous offenders in the community against a ***back-drop of high media scrutiny and immense public concern.

Community forensic psychiatry

Recent developments in mental health care have seen services move from their institutional settings into the community. Along with a range of specialist and non-specialist mental health services that have evolved, community forensic mental health teams (CFMHTs) have been established in many parts of the UK. While the evidence base for cost-effectiveness and better efficacy of specialist teams over generic teams is still being questioned, two main models of community forensic services have evolved: the ‘integrated’ model where specialists work as part of the community mental health teams, and the ‘parallel’ model, where they work as a separate service alongside community mental health teams. These teams offer risk assessments and advice for sector teams, case manage patients, offer court liaison and diversion schemes and are involved with Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). As specialists they have smaller case-load sizes, which enables them to work more effectively with patients with complex problems. They perform risk assessments with a combination of clinical and actuarial components. The staff also deliver a range of treatments to reduce the risk of violence from mentally disordered offenders. Forensic clinicians in the community have an ethical dilemma of offering empathic and patient-centeed care in an intrinsically coercive environment, and have a duty to protect the public from violence from mentally ill patients. Research into health care delivery systems and interventions to reduce violence are needed in community forensic mental health.

Multi‐Agency Public Protection Arrangements

Multi‐agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) involve joint working between agencies involved with certain offenders on their release from prison. This article looks at the statutory background and changes which are taking place from April 2004, as well as problems which can arise with regard to the sharing of information and identifying suitable housing.

Developing MAPPA: Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements

This chapter is written from the perspective of the authors, two criminal justice practitioners who had the opportunity of using their professional experience to help shape the creation and early development of these arrangements. The fact that we were secondees from the police service and the probation service into the Public Protection Unit (PPU) of the National Probation Directorate (NPD) allowed us to experience directly the creative tension that can develop from inter-disciplinary work as well as to model the critical relationship that now exists between the police and probation in the arena of public protection. Our experiences, many of them undertaken jointly, of writing the Initial Guidance, co-ordinating the production of the first year’s annual Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) reports, facilitating successive years of regional seminars and contributing substantially to the publication of The MAPPA Guidance in March 2003, have given us an invaluable insight into the work already achieved across the 42 areas of England and Wales. In particular, it has given us an appreciation of the potential for further development as well as the challenges of reaching that potential.