CAMBRIDGESHIRE MAPPA Annual Report 2002

1. INTRODUCTION

Local arrangements in the Cambridgeshire area began

with a pilot project in Peterborough in September 1997
to set up Dangerous Offender Conferences between
the local Senior Probation Officer and the Detective
Inspector for the Divisional Intelligence Unit at which
offenders who had committed serious sexual or violent
offences could be discussed. The conferences were
also attended by Probation Officers who had
supervisory responsibility for working with such
offenders and by the local Police Officer responsible for
the Registration of Sex Offenders under the Sex
Offenders Act 1997. The success of this pilot project
led to similar regular conferences being introduced on a
county wide basis under a protocol agreed between the
Cambridgeshire Probation Service and the
Cambridgeshire Constabulary in September 1998. With
the advent of the new statutory duty these Dangerous
Offender Conferences were officially redesignated as
“MAPPPs” (Multi Agency Public Protection Panels) and
the initial protocols between Police and Probation have
been replicated with other agencies so that Social
Services, Youth Offending Teams, Health Services and
a range of Housing authorities and providers are now
also involved. These protocols set out local
arrangements for the assessment and management of
sex offenders and other potentially dangerous
offenders and this document will give further details of
those arrangements.
2. SUMMARY OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
In January 2002 a document was
drawn up which sets out the
arrangements for Multi-Agency
Public Protection Panels in the area
served by the Cambridgeshire
Constabulary and the National
Probation Service, Cambridgeshire.
The current list of partners to this
arrangement is as follows:
National Probation Service – agencies enable relevant staff from
Cambridgeshire Area
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cambridgeshire Social Services
Department
Peterborough Social Services
Department
Peterborough Youth Offending Team
Cambridgeshire Youth Offending
Team
Peterborough City Council Housing
Department
Cambridge City Council Housing
Department
East Cambridgeshire District Council
Housing Department
South Cambridgeshire District
Council Housing Department
Fenland District Council Housing
Department
Huntingdonshire District Council
Housing Department
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. OUTLINE OF THE ARRANGEMENTS MADE
In addition to the day to day work of
police and probation services, as
outlined in the Home Office report,
Cambridgeshire has developed multi
agency arrangements so that,
whenever a joint or multi agency
approach would improve public
protection, Police, Probation and any
other relevant agencies will share
information and develop joint action
plans if necessary. Formal child
protection conferences have long
been one of the major ways that
agencies come together in this kind
of work but there are a range of
informal contacts that build on the
day to day networks of local
Hereward Housing Association Ltd
Huntingdon Housing Partnership
Cambridgeshire Health Authority.
(The current restructuring of local
NHS Trusts will lead to a review and
transfer of the health protocols as
appropriate)
Protocols signed by the partnership
these agencies to attend where this
will assist the management of risk in
a particular case. Police and
Probation staff will always be
present at every discussion and in
the Peterborough meetings there is
already a consistent input from
Social Services and the City Housing
Department. In the Cambridge
Division there has been a input on a
case by case basis by staff from
other agencies and further work to
identify the particular agency staff
who should either attend on a
regular basis, or be invited as the
case circumstances dictate, is
currently being undertaken by the
newly appointed MAPPP Manager
whose role is described below. This
work is also being undertaken in the
Mid-Cambs area.
practitioners, backed by agency
policies that set down the
parameters of confidentiality and
disclosure. For the highest risk
offenders there can be a referral by
any agency to the MAPPP
conferencing system.
In Cambridgeshire the system is
managed by a MAPPP Manager,
who is a seconded Senior Probation
Officer based at police headquarters
who took up appointment on March
th
4 2002. The MAPPP Manager
works alongside the Force Sex
Offender Intelligence Officer so there
can now be a particularly effective
All the agencies who are parties to
the 2002 arrangements have agreed
the need to identify potentially
dangerous offenders who come
within their remit. Moreover, all these
Services recognize the need for
effective multi-agency working,
involving themselves and others, in
managing the risk posed by
potentially dangerous offenders who
may cause serious harm. The
parties recognize the need to work
within existing protocols and policies
for child protection and mental health
and in particular have agreed that
they will work to promote and
safeguard children’s interests as
required by the Children Act. The
parties recognize that the normal
rules of confidentiality may need to
be overridden in order to protect the
public in respect of potentially
dangerous offenders. However any
information exchanged will be
subject to strict control and remains
confidential between the agencies
unless agreed otherwise.
exchange of information between the
two agencies. The role of the
MAPPP Manager is to coordinate
and manage the Multi Agency Public
Protection Panels on behalf of the
participating agencies. A regular
monthly meeting is held in each of
the three police divisions, chaired by
the MAPPP manager, who can also
call an emergency meeting at short
notice if, for example, a dangerous
offender is known to have moved
into the area. The MAPPP Manager
is a central point of reference for all
subscribing agencies and will ensure
that there is a consistent and
effective approach to the
management of individuals who are
considered potentially dangerous.
The MAPPP manager holds a
central register of registered
offenders and liaises with those
responsible for the Child Protection
Register and the Social Services
database of Schedule One
Offenders (Offenders convicted of
offences against children.) At a
MAPPP meeting on an offender,
information will be shared and an
assessment of risk to individuals and
the community, based on all the
information, will be made and a
decision reached as to registration.
An action plan will be formulated and
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
Initial arrangements for the creation
and funding of the MAPPP manager
post in Cambridgeshire have arisen
through a joint Police and Probation
Initiative but in order to broaden the
ownership of the arrangements a
Steering Group has been
established comprising
National Probation Service –
Cambridgeshire Area
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cambridgeshire Social Services
Department
Peterborough Social Services
Department
Peterborough Youth Offending
Team
Cambridgeshire Youth Offending
Team
Peterborough City Council
Housing Departments
Cambridge City Council Housing
Department
will identify who is to do what and in
what time scale. The date of review
will be set at the conclusion of the
meeting and must never exceed
three months (most offenders are
reviewed more frequently.)
Decisions are recorded in written
minutes that are circulated to the
relevant parties and the main
agencies all have procedures for
making it clear on their individual
recording systems when someone
has been registered to help inform
any subsequent operational
decisions. All are strictly bound by
the confidentiality rules. Any action
considered outside of the agreed
plan should only be conducted after
East Cambridgeshire District
Council Housing Department
South Cambridgeshire District
Council Housing Department
Fenland District Council Housing
Department
Huntingdonshire District Council
Housing Department
Cambridgeshire Health Authority
Hereward Housing Association Ltd
Huntingdonshire Housing
Partnership
Nene Housing Society Limited
The Steering Group meets every
six months to:
a) monitor the performance of
Multi-Agency Public
Protection Panels
b) identify and disseminate
best practice
c) review the arrangements
consultation with all parties
concerned and in any case with the
MAPPP manager.
In the case of very high risk
offenders where there are significant
accommodation or victim concerns
on release, or where there is
expected to be significant media
interest in the case, the MAPPP
manager will liaise with the
Dangerous Offender Unit of the
Home Office which takes an interest
in the proposed arrangements under
an “Early Warning” Scheme that has
been in place since 1999.
d) approve the Annual Report.
A complaints procedure has been
agreed in relation to process and
procedural issues, which will be
referred to the MAPPP Manager in
the first instance. Where the
complaint is about the MAPPP
Manager this will be investigated by
his or her line manager but if this
proves unsuccessful the case will be
referred to the Steering Group for
resolution.
The Steering Group will also ensure
that a programme of training and
development is made available for
all relevant members of subscribing
agencies.
______________________________________
5. DISCLOSURE
The Cambridgeshire MAPPP
meetings will consider the need for
disclosure according to existing
powers (see National document),
and this discretion will be exercised
where necessary. Examples to date
include specific disclosure to the
parents of a young boy identified as
a potential target for a sex offender.
In this case the parents were
informed of the sexual offences
previously committed by the
individual who had gained access to
their home and Social Services were
involved to assess the family’s ability
to protect the child concerned. In
another case there was concern
about the relationship between a
young woman in residential care
with learning difficulties and a
potentially violent offender who might
have been intending to contact her
on release. Disclosure about the
situation was made to the Manager
of the Project where she lived so that
protection could be put in place for
her. Disclosures have been made to
volunteer staff in a local project in
relation to the risks posed by a
specific sex offender who was
thought to be likely to use their
services. A disclosure of sex
6. VICTIMS WORK
In developing its response to the
new requirements for victim contact
also introduced by the Criminal
Justice and Court Services Act 2000,
the Cambridgeshire Probation
Service decided that it would
continue to require the Supervising
Probation Officer to offer face-to-face
contact to the victims of all those
sentenced to 4 years or more. In
these cases, the most serious, it was
felt that much would be gained by
continuing efforts to integrate the
work with victims into the daily
experience of Probation staff and
offences was authorised to a
member of an offender’s family who
had not been fully informed of the
nature of those offences. Disclosure
was made to a number of publicans
about a dangerous offender who had
a condition on his licence not to
enter a public house so that
information could be passed to the
relevant authorities.
These examples of the work done by
the MAPPP to identify and
specifically address the risks posed
by the individual are in addition to
the conditions on licences that are
often used by the Probation Service
in relation to preventing sex
offenders living or working with
children. This work will also be
assisted by the increasing use of the
Sex Offender Order to bar sex
offenders from any kind of risky
activity or course of conduct that
may lead to opportunities to reoffend
and by the use of Restraining Orders
that can be imposed at the time of
conviction and which can last for
five years after release.
Under the MAPPP system offenders
will be more effectively tracked
that it would also inform the multi
agency work, such as that done
through the MAPPP system. In
many of these cases, particularly
those that involve sexual offences
within the family, close liaison with
Social Services is of great
significance.
To deal with the increased volume of
work in other cases, a new post, of
Victim Contact Coordinator was
created from 1st April 2001 to offer
face-to-face contact primarily with
the victims of those sentenced to
between one and four years
through the prison system and use
made of pre-release conferencing to
clearly establish the special
conditions or other legal restrictions
which can assist in reducing and
managing risk. Disclosure will be an
important element in the work of the
MAPPP’s but is only one part of an
effective strategy which must also
make use of opportunities for police
surveillance and monitoring activity
and the gathering of intelligence from
good inter-professional commun-
ication and community contacts.
When an offender has been
registered under the MAPPP system,
a decision must be taken as to
whether or not this may be disclosed
to the individual concerned. There is
a presumption that offenders will be
informed of their registration unless
to do so will increase the risk that
they pose or otherwise act against
the interests of public protection.
Each case is decided on an
individual basis and information may
be given either verbally or in writing
as appropriate.
______________________________________
imprisonment - and to contact
victims of offenders who are
supervised by other areas, at their
request. The Victim Contact
Coordinator acts as the central
contact point for liaison with other
Services and is also responsible for
continuing contact with victims where
other Services have responsibility for
the offender. This addresses the
new statutory duty which requires
the Probation Board in which the
victim lives (if different from the
Board responsible for the offender)
to notify the victims of release
conditions and pass relevant
information back to the Supervising
Board.
A new data base has been
developed by the Cambridgeshire
Probation Service to keep victims’
details separate from those of
offenders and to ensure that their
views and wishes as to future
contact during the course of the
perpetrators sentence are clearly
recorded and acted upon.
The purpose of the Service's work
with victims continues to be to:
• provide victims with general
information about criminal justice
and custodial processes.
• consult victims about whether
they wish to provide information
which may be relevant to the
consideration of any
requirements or licence
conditions placed upon the
offender on his release from
custody.
• consult victims about whether
they wish to be informed about
those licence conditions.
• transmit any such information
put forward by victims to the
authority considering the
offender's conditions of release.
• inform the victim of any
conditions or requirements
attached to the offender's
release which are relevant to
contact with the victim or his
family, and any other
information.
The Probation Service has been set
targets for contacting the victims of
relevant crimes within eight weeks of
sentence. For 2001 – 2002 the target
set was that 85 % of the victims of
those sentenced to four years or
more should be contacted within
eight weeks. Cambridgeshire has
met that target in the second and
third quarters of the year. There was
no target set in relation to contact
with victims of those sentenced to
between one and four years but 252a Lincoln Road, Millfield,
again the figures show that the 85% Peterborough, PE1 2ND.
level was in fact exceeded in the Tel 01733 349897
second and third quarters of the
year.
Victim Support is the national charity
for people affected by crime. It is an
independent organisation, offering a
free and confidential service,
whether or not a crime has been
reported. Training staff and
volunteers at local branches offer
information and support to victims,
witnesses, their families and friends.
Victim Support provides the Witness
Service, based in every criminal
court in England and Wales, to offer
assistance before, during and after a
trial. You can also call the Victim
Support line 0845 30 30 900 – for
information and support and details
of local services and other relevant
organisations.
Contact numbers for local victim
support services are as follows:
LOCAL VICTIM SUPPORT
SERVICES
CAMBRIDGE VICTIM SUPPORT
The Bath House, Gwydir Street,
Cambridge CB1 2LW.
Tel: 01223 329000
ELY & DISTRICT VICTIM
SUPPORT
41 Fore Hill, Ely, Cambridge
CB7 4AA.
Tel: 01353 666641
FENLAND VICTIM SUPPORT
March Business Centre, Old School
Buildings, Dartford Road, March,
PE15 8AN.
Tel: 01354 658231
HUNTINGDON VICTIM SUPPORT
P.O. Box 99, Huntingdon, PE17 3PL
Tel: 01480 417600
PETERBOROUGH VICTIM
SUPPORT
7. STATISTICAL INFORMATION Number of offenders

The number of registered sex offenders in Cambridgeshire on 31/3/02. 266

The number of sex offenders in Cambridgeshire having a registration 10

requirement who were either cautioned or convicted for breaches of the
requirement, between 01/04/01 and 31/03/02.

The number of Sex Offender Orders applied for and gained between 1
April 2001 and 31 March 2002.

(a) The total number applied for 2

(b) The number granted 2

(c) The number not granted 0

(d) The number of applications still in progress 1

The number of offenders considered under the arrangements prescribed

by section 67 and 68 of the Act between 1 April 2001 and 31 March
2002.

• All offenders who fall within section 68 (3) on or after 1 April 2001 up to 433
and including 31 March 2002 (unless they already feature as a
registered sex offender)

• Any other offenders considered under the local multi-agency 24

arrangements because they were assessed as posing a high risk of
serious harm to the public (but who did not fall within either of the two
categories immediately above).

• Number of sex offenders per 100,000 of the population. 36

ADDITIONAL COST OF LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS

Probation Police Other Agencies Total

Board £’000
£’000 £’000 £’000

Staff costs £16,600 £16,600 0

Other costs £5,000 £4,000 0

Total £21,600 £20,600 0

Expenditure

Income 0 0 0

Net Expenditure £21,600 £20,600 0

Set up costs
included in net
expenditure

Andrew Powell Carol Ashford SPO

Assistant Chief Probation Officer Multi-Agency Public Protection Manager
Cambridgeshire Probation Area Cambridgeshire Probation Area
CONTACTS

Cambridgeshire Probation Area Address Phone

Name: Andrew Powell Probation Headquarters 01223 712345

Job Title: Assistant Chief Probation Officer 1 Brooklands Avenue
email address: andrew.powell@probation.camcnty.gov.uk Cambridge
CB2 2BB

Name: Carol Ashford Cambridgeshire Constabulary 01480 422672

Job Title: Multi Agency Public Protection Panel Manager Hinchingbrooke Park
email address: carol.ashford@probation.camcnty.gov.uk Huntingdon
PE18 8NP

Name: Fran Johnstone c/o Probation Headquarters 0789 9852722

Job Title: Press Officer (External) 1 Brooklands Avenue
email address: fran@fjpr.fsnet.co.uk Cambridge
CB2 2BB

Cambridgeshire Police Address Phone

Name: Paul Phillipson Cambridgeshire Constabulary 01480 456111

Job Title: Head of Force Investigations Bureau Hinchingbrooke Park
email address: paul.phillipson@cambs.pnn.police.uk Huntingdon
PE18 8NP

AP/CA/JAH/M:OFFENCE/OFFENDER/DANGEROUS/MAPPP- TEMPLATE/14/6/02