U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Joined-up Worrying: The Multi-Agency Public Protection Panels (From Sex Offenders in the Community: Managing and Reducing the Risks, P 207-218, 2003, Amanda Matravers, ed., -- See NCJ-204789)

NCJ Number
204799
Author(s)
Roxanne Lieb
Date Published
2003
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panels (MAPPP's) across the United Kingdom.
Abstract
These local bodies combine the efforts of police and probation services to manage the risks posed by sexual and violent offenders in the community. Risk assessment is rigorous and followed by robust management of that risk. Initial guidance from the Home Office defined the MAPPPs’ key tasks as sharing information on highest risk offenders and determining risk; recommending actions to manage risk; monitoring and implementing agreed actions; reviewing decisions when circumstances change; and managing resources. The Home Office emphasizes the central role of risk assessment in deciding which people may pose the highest risks. Once someone is listed as high risk, they are required to live at a specific address and obey a curfew; are prohibited from entering certain localities and making contact with certain people; and are restricted on types of employment. The rules of information sharing are of paramount concern to MAPPP's. Many MAPPP's have dedicated extensive efforts to defining how and when this sharing will occur and creating safeguards for transmission. The first set of MAPPP protocols reveals significant variety in the arrangements and decisionmaking. Early and important services have established confidentiality agreements and decisionmaking apparatuses. It is clear that MAPPP members have taken on significant responsibility for their community’s safety. The next phases of MAPPP’s evolution are likely to take individual groups in even more diverse directions as they try to meet their government’s directives. 4 notes, 17 references