Multi-Agency Public Protection Research Articles

A proven reoffending study of individuals managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) in England and Wales.

Past research into the effectiveness of multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) in reducing reoffending it limited. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate proven reoffending patterns for MAPPA managed individuals. Proven reoffending for 39,501 MAPPA managed individuals was investigated by (1) examining patterns in the timing and frequency of proven reoffending for MAPPA managed individuals; (2) examining 1-, 3-, and 5-year proven reoffending patterns of MAPPA managed individuals by MAPPA category, age, and gender; and (3) comparing crime harm levels and recall to custody for MAPPA managed individuals pre- and post-MAPPA adoption. Taken together, our findings show that proven reoffending rates for individuals managed under MAPPA are substantially lower than those reported in proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales. Our results suggest that MAPPA is making a positive contribution to a managing individuals convicted of sexual and violent offenses. Additionally, our findings provide the best evidence to date that MAPPA management may also be effective at reducing less serious offenses which do not typically involve immediate removal from society. These findings are considered in light of their theoretical and practical implications while potential limitations and avenues for future research are outlined.

The police as formal agents of change: Assisting desistance in individuals convicted of sexual offences

Comprehensive and multi-disciplinary public health approaches are necessary to prevent sexual re-offending. However, criminal justice solutions continue to dominate and the arrangement in England and Wales is no exception. The introduction of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in 2003 brought together the work of the police, prison and probation services in order to manage violent and sexual offenders. This paper focuses specifically on the work of the specialist police officers who are tasked under MAPPA with the Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) and whether or not they can assist desistance in those who have been convicted of a sexual offence. We argue that the risk-based, highly politicized model of public protection that MOSOVO staff operate within creates tensions more likely to hinder than facilitate desistance. As indicated by findings in an independent review of the police’s management of registered sex offenders (2023), successful desistance journeys are found in people who are supported by formal agents who actively promote hope and optimism and convey a belief that the person attempting desistance can change. In conclusion, we recommend that MOSOVO staff be willing and resourced to help individuals with sexual convictions develop a non-offending lifestyle and identity and support them in achieving this goal, which requires the provision ofcomprehensive support beyond risk management.

The reality of partnership: formal collaborations between law enforcement and community corrections agencies in Pennsylvania

ABSTRACTAs is the case in the UK, formal police–community corrections partnerships in the US have existed since the 1990s. However, unlike the UK where parliamentary developments and subsequent policy initiatives have provided a context in which criminal justice agencies formally work together, police–probation/parole partnerships in the US have experienced relatively little formalisation, with most extant partnerships existing informally based principally on interpersonal relations between individual police and corrections agency members. Relevant to research in the UK [Mawby, R.C., Crawley, P., and Wright, A., 2007. Beyond ‘polibation’ and towards ‘prisi-polibation’? Joint agency offender management in the context of the street crime initiative. International journal of police science & management, 9 (2), 122–134; Mawby, R.C. and Worrall, A., 2004. ‘Polibation’ revisited: policing, probation and prolific offender projects. International journal of police science and management, 6 (2), 63–73; Mawby, R.C. and Worrall, A., 2011. ‘They were very threatening about do-gooding bastards’: probation’s changing relationships with the police and prison services in England and Wales. European journal of probation, 3 (3), 78–94; Nash, M., 2008. Exit the polibation officer? Decoupling police and probation. International journal of police science and management, 10 (3), 302–312; Nash, M. and Walker, L., 2009. MAPPA – is closer collaboration really the key to effectiveness? Policing, 3 (2), 172–180; Wood, J. and Kemshall, H., 2007. The operation and experience of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). London: Home Office], the current study explores the patterns and characteristics of formal partnerships and the perceptions of police chiefs and probation/parole chiefs in a US state concerning experiences with partnering agencies, benefits, and problems. Findings are compared with research findings in the UK and Canada.

Legal Constraints on the Indeterminate Control of ‘Dangerous’ Sex Offenders in the Community: The English Perspective

This article explores the legal constraints imposed on the rising number of so-called ‘dangerous’ sex offenders in England and Wales, in particular once they have been released from prison into the community. The main methods of constraint are strict licence conditions, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements and civil protective orders such as Sexual Harm Prevention Orders. ‘Control’ in the community is thus widespread, but is difficult to assess whether it is either effective or necessary without a great deal more research and analysis. Post-sentence ‘punishment’ has been largely ignored by both academic lawyers and criminologists. The article concludes that financial austerity might prove to be as important as the human rights agenda in curbing the disproportionate use of powers of control.

Collaborative Outcomes Learning Tool (COLT) – A Multi-agency Educational Resource to Support Complex Public Protection Understanding and Practice

Multi-agency public protection practice has received significant media and government scrutiny in recent years, in response to failings to protect those most vulnerable people in society. Despite an appreciation by agencies that there are resource and outcome benefits to collaborative practice, how safeguarding public protection policy may be integrated into practice and education is often challenging. Public protection legislation directs core agencies to co-operate and work together with governmental direction setting out key shared safeguarding responsibilities and arrangements for individuals, professional groups and teams. Despite this there still remain difficulties between organisations to understand each other’s priorities and responsibilities. This can then transpose to an individual level where entrenched professional divisions can compromise joint working. Many health and social care curricula invest in inter-professional education to encourage exploration of information sharing, reporting and case management. However, when public protection issues are considered, uni-professional and inter-professional education tends to focus on single silos of harm, for example child and adult protection, radicalisation or domestic abuse. This paper discusses the development, application and future possibilities for innovation of a unique educational tool to address this gap in public protection multi-agency education. The tool aims to support understanding of key public protection issues in Scotland by encouraging learners within undergraduate and practice environments to recognise risk, explore overlapping and ‘grey areas’ of harm and understand partner agency best practice and response whilst encouraging cross-sector working, appreciation and support. Through gaining insight into other agencies safeguarding roles the learner has the opportunity to gain a deeper insight and broader perspective of the complexities of interventions beyond their own discipline whilst recognising opportunities for joint resource management.

Incorporating and adapting shared experience of mindfulness into a service for men who have committed serious offences and who have significant personality difficulties

This article describes an ongoing mindfulness group offered as part of an intensive sociotherapeutic programme for men with personality difficulties, all of whom are subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). A mindfulness group was incorporated into the programme following service user feedback and has been creatively adapted to suit this complex client group. Attention is drawn to the flexible and trauma-focused nature of the group which offers tailored opportunities to develop an appreciation of the mind−body connection. Insight obtained through this service innovation is shared to inform future applications of mindfulness approaches to therapeutic intervention and risk management in the community.

Disparities in public protection measures against sexual offending in England and Wales: An example of preventative injustice?

This article analyses the use of criminal justice measures aimed at the prevention of sexual offending across England and Wales. Specifically, it focuses on measures such as the ‘sex offenders register’ and sexual offences prevention orders (SOPOs) and the use of sanctions for their breach. Following a discussion of the apparent tensions between individual rights and public protection measures we present an original analysis of data collated from Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) area reports over a nine-year period. Our analysis reveals considerable variation between areas in both the risk-level allocation of cases, the imposition of SOPOs and sanctions for non-compliance with MAPPA. We argue that these disparities raise issues concerning both the rights and autonomy of those subjected to public protection measures and highlight the need for further detailed research into MAPPA practices.

Child sexual victimisation: ethnographic stories of stranger and acquaintance grooming

In recent years research into child sexual offending has highlighted “grooming” as an important part of the offence chain. Topics that have come to dominate the research agenda have focused on the offenders' perspectives, psychological models of offending behaviour and how child sex offenders (CSOs) are managed and treated in local communities (for example through Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements). Whilst these studies are extremely important, one area that has suffered from a lack of research and visible debate is how victims, their families and local communities experience grooming in situ and on a day-to-day basis. Using observational, interview and document data collected from an ethnography of a south-east coast community that houses a number of CSOs, this article examines the strategies used by strangers and acquaintances when grooming the local environment, significant others and children. Importantly, these grooming experiences are articulated from the perspective of the victims and their families. In doing so, the article discusses the implications that these experiences have for understanding offender–victim behaviours.

Trends in the management of registered sexual offenders across England and Wales: a geographical approach to the study of sexual offending

Social scientists, and geographers in particular, have long been interested in examining spatial patterns of offending in order to generate a “geography” of crime and criminality. This paper examines what value, if any, a geographical approach to the study of sexual offending might offer. Utilising published official data from England and Wales it presents for the first time geographical analyses of the registration, risk assessment and management of Registered Sexual Offenders (RSOs) across 42 Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement (MAPPA) areas. In doing so it considers and evaluates the methodological issues pertaining to the use of such data and such a geographical approach. We conclude that geographical interpretations of both the incidence of RSOs and the rates of risk allocations between MAPPA areas provide valuable insights and raise new questions about the way in which RSOs are managed nationally and are thus worthy of further exploration.

Resettle: a significant new step in an emerging pathway that manages risk and addresses need in high-risk personality disordered offenders on their release into the community

This paper will describe an innovative UK service development, Resettle, which is designed to address the needs and risks of personality disordered offenders who are released into the community from prison and whose high risks of harm and re-offending are linked to their personality disorder (PD). All the cases worked with are subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). This non-residential, intensive community-based service is nationally funded jointly by the Department of Health and Ministry of Justice, originally as part of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) programme for high-risk offenders. Resettle became operational in 2008. It is currently being independently evaluated via a randomised control trial that is due to complete in March 2013. Formal outcome data are, therefore, not yet available, however, the developing model of intervention based on experience and learning to date is described alongside the policy and service context for this area of work.

An Evaluation of Mandatory Polygraph Testing for Sexual Offenders in the United Kingdom

This research examined whether a government-initiated pilot project of mandatory polygraph testing would increase the disclosures made by community-supervised sexual offenders in the United Kingdom. The Offender Managers of 332 pilot polygraph sexual offenders and 303 sexual offenders who were receiving usual community supervision were telephoned quarterly, over a 21-month period, to collect information about numbers of clinically relevant disclosures, the seriousness of disclosures made, and actions taken as a result of disclosures. Perceptions of polygraph usefulness were also collected. Offender Managers in the pilot polygraph group-compared to comparison Offender Managers-reported (a) a higher proportion of offenders making at least one disclosure (i.e., 76.5% vs. 51.2% respectively), and (b) that their offenders made more total disclosures overall (Ms = 2.60 vs. 1.25 respectively). The majority of disclosures made by sexual offenders in the polygraph group were associated with the polygraph session itself. Polygraph Offender Managers reported being more likely to take an action that involved increasing supervision, informing a third party, informing Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), changing supervision focus, or issuing a warning to the offender. However, the relative seriousness of disclosures did not appear to differ across groups. In terms of polygraph test results, one third of offenders (most notably those who were higher in risk) failed their first test with "Deception Indicated." This outcome-received on a first test-was most likely to elicit clinically relevant disclosures. Offender Managers described the polygraph as aiding supervision strategies. This research and its associated caveats are discussed.

Circles South East

This article describes the first 10 years of the implementation of Circles of Support and Accountability (Circles) in the management of sexual offenders in South-East England by Circles South East (CSE). The Circles of 71 core members are reviewed in detail, with reference to demographic data, offense and sentencing histories, risk assessment data, and considerations regarding Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. A group of 71 comparison subjects who were referred to CSE and deemed suitable for but did not receive the service was identified. Follow-up behaviors of both groups are examined (including all forms of reconviction, breach of orders, and prison recall). Over a comparable follow-up period of 55 months, the incidence of violent and contact sexual reconviction in the comparison group was significantly higher than for the Circles cohort. Comparisons are made between expected and actual levels of sexual reconviction, with the Circles cohort showing lower than expected rate of sexual reconviction but not to a statistically significant degree.

Decisions on disclosure to third parties made at MAPP meetings: opinions and practice

Aims and methodWe investigated how decisions regarding disclosure of an offender's history to a third party without the offender's consent are made at Multi-Agency Public Protection (MAPP) meetings. Ten questionnaires were sent to a level 2 MAPP meeting in each of the 33 police and probation areas in London, with a request that the MAPP meeting administrator hand them out to up to 10 regular attendees.ResultsOf 321 questionnaires handed out, 196 were returned, giving a response rate of 61.1%. Seventy-six participants (37%) had made a disclosure without a MAPP meeting discussion in the past 12 months. A total of 109 participants (55.9%) reported that in their experience it had always been possible to reach a consensus on disclosure at MAPP meetings, but participants' responses to five hypothetical scenarios indicated a wide spread of opinions about when a disclosure should be made. Significant proportions of participants endorsed statements suggesting that people have a right to know offenders' histories.Clinical implicationsTraining on the evidence base, law and guidance relevant to disclosure decisions is necessary, and a governance system to monitor and improve decision-making should be considered. Advocacy for offenders may also improve practice.

MAPPA and detained patients: views from professionals about referral

Recent research indicates a positive correlation between Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and reduction in reoffending. Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements were introduced in 2001 to assist with the supervision of dangerous offenders by improving collaboration between agencies involved in their management. Since then there has been research into the value of MAPPA, but this has focused on offenders in the community. Many patients detained in psychiatric hospitals have committed MAPPA eligible offences and current Government guidance does not assist those concerned in the care and treatment of this small but significant group. In this pilot study this quantitative research looks at the views of professionals in relation to MAPPA and identified that a revision of the National MAPPA Guidance to take account of the specific issues for offender-patients would be helpful to staff who manage them and that additional training to those staff may also be of benefit.

MAPPA Level 3 offenders: Reconviction as a measure of effectiveness

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) provide a legislative framework for managing sexual and violent offenders in the community. Previous studies have examined this process; however,...

Thematic inspection of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements

Thematic inspection of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements

Practice report: A review of e-Safety remote computer monitoring for UK sex offenders

There are currently around 32,300 registered sex offenders in the United Kingdom for whom recent years have seen the implementation of extensive supervision strategies, such as Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and licence conditions. Concurrently, the last two decades have also seen heightened alertness to the use of communications technologies in the commission of child sexual abuse. This paper describes a 6-month pilot project investigating the management of computer use for registered sex offenders using e-Safety software, which examines PCs for specific inappropriate words and phrases, the results of which are monitored remotely by risk-management officers. The findings of the pilot project are discussed in the context of both the potential benefits for the detection of future inappropriate computer-related behaviour and also the potential benefits for promoting and identifying positive computer use by offenders. Finally, we discuss further development of the use of this software in sex offender management.

Risk typologies of serious harm offenders managed under MAPPA: Mental health, personality disorders, and self-harm as distinguishing risk factors

Little is known about the risk profile of the offenders managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), yet this information is central to ensuring appropriate resources to manage the risks posed. The aim of this paper is to explore typologies of risk among this offender group in order to identify the resources needed to strengthen the risk management strategies employed by MAPPA. Cases registered under the MAPPA as requiring the highest level of risk management (n = 230) were reviewed and the risks posed were identified. Using latent class analysis, this information was analysed to explore typologies within this high-risk cohort. Three distinct groups emerged, with a relatively small number of risk factors distinguishing one cluster of offenders from another. These relate to mental health disorders, psychological disorders, self harm and/or substance abuse, and the risk of sexual offending and/or the type of violence committed. The findings highlight the importance of consistent representation from mental health and psychology services at MAPPA meetings to ensure the appropriate assessment and management of this offender group.

Multi-agency public protection panels: speaking different languages

Multi-agency public protection panels: speaking different languages

Strengthening multi-agency public protection arrangements

Strengthening multi-agency public protection arrangements