Devon and Cornwall MAPPA Annual Report 2002

NATIONAL PROBATION SERVICE

for England and Wales
1. Introduction

There is a history of close working and collaboration between Police and Probation in
Devon and Cornwall. The former Probation Services of Devon and Cornwall were
amalgamated in April 2001, alongside the introduction of the National Probation
Service. This is a large geographical area, which consists of four Police areas and
four Probation divisions. Each of these divisions has made local arrangements for
multi agency management of potentially dangerous offenders, under the existing
protocols and procedures. Work is currently in progress to further improve these
arrangements and ensure consistency of standards and practice.

Formal arrangements in Devon and Cornwall began in response to the Sex Offenders
Act 1997, when Police and Probation began to make joint arrangements for the
assessment of registered sex offenders. We have built on those arrangements over
the past few years and we now have multi-agency arrangements between Police,
Probation, Health, Housing and Social Services for information sharing and the
assessment and management of sex offenders and other potentially dangerous
offenders. This document will provide further details of arrangements made in Devon
and Cornwall and give contact points for any additional enquiries including agencies
other than Police and Probation (see page 8).

Section 7 iv details additional specific costs consequent upon the introduction of the
Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. This does not reflect the overall costs
of these arrangements within the Devon and Cornwall Probation Area and the Devon
and Cornwall Constabulary.
2. Summary of Roles and Responsibilities
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
employs a 'Dangerous Offenders
Officer' in its 'Force Intelligence
Centre' whose role is to oversee and
monitor the sex offender register and
work with a recently appointed Risk
Assessment Officer to assess
offenders prior to release from
prison, working with other agencies
to devise release plans. There are
plans to appoint two further Risk
Assessment Officers and one other
Dangerous Offenders Officer. The
work of this officer is overseen by a
Dective Inspector in the Force
Intelligence Centre and in co-
operation with the ‘Victim Centred
Crime’ Unit at Police Headquarters in
Exeter.
The Constabulary employs four
additional 'Dangerous Offender
Officers' each of whom is based in
one of the four territorial policing
areas, which are broadly consistent
with the local Probation divisions of
Exeter and North Devon, South
Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall.
These officers work closely with
Probation staff in the local
management of the multi-agency
public protection process, assessing
and managing potentially dangerous
offenders.
Devon and Cornwall Probation Area
employs specialist Probation staff
who are trained and experienced in
the assessment and management of
3. Outline of Arrangements Made
Within Devon and Cornwall,
arrangements have been made for
multi-agency conferencing of all
potentially dangerous offenders. This
process involves sharing of
information and close working to
protect the public.
potentially dangerous offenders.
Probation Officers undertaking these
roles are based in each of the four
divisions; they work primarily with
offenders sentenced to
imprisonment, both during their
sentences and on release, although
they sometimes manage potentially
dangerous offenders on community
sentences. The Probation Area also
employs specialist staff who deliver
offending programmes to sex
offenders. All divisions have
established working arrangements
with other agencies. Local middle
managers responsible for
resettlement work line manage the
Probation staff, chair and manage
the multi-agency conferencing
process with the Police, review cases
and oversee local registers of
offenders assessed as posing a risk
of harm to the public.
There are three prisons in Devon;
Dartmoor, Channings Wood and
Exeter. Probation and Prison staff
within these establishements work
together with Police, Probation and
others in the community to plan for
the release of offenders under
conditions, which address the risks
they pose to the public. Prison
based staff provide reports and other
information, sometimes attend multi-
agency meetings and ensure that
offenders are clear before release,
about any licence conditions to which
they may be subject.
All registered sex offenders are
initially assessed by the Police, using
an assessment system entitled
'matrix 2000'. Those who are
assessed as medium or high risk are
discussed at MAPPP meetings,
which take place every two weeks.
Examples of agencies involved in
local partnerships include:
a) Health Service staff provide a
range of services including
community mental health, psychiatric
and forensic assessment. Local
forensic psychologists provide
assessment and treatment packages
for offenders where appropriate.
Health professionals attend multi-
agency meetings and contribute to
assessments and supervision plans.
b) Social Services Departments in
Devon and Cornwall have a ststutory
duty to provide for the protection of
children and vulnerable adults. Their
representatives contribute to the
multi-agency assessment and
management process in all divisions,
attending Multi-Agency Public
Protection Panel (MAPPP) meetings,
providing written and verbal reports
where appropriate and working
closely with all relevant agencies in
the implementation of supervision
plans.
c) The NSPCC has a partnership
agreement with the Devon and
Cornwall Probation Area. This
partnership covers the provision of
sex offender treatment groupwork,
staff training and consultation and
appropriate contribution to the
MAPPP process.
Violent Offenders who serve prison
sentences of 12 months or more are
released under the supervision of the
Probation Service.
Specialist Probation staff trained in
the assessment and management of
risk work closely with Police and
other agencies to manage all
offenders who are assessed as
posing a high risk of harm to the
public. To improve public protection,
Police, Probation and any other
relevant agencies share information
and make joint plans. For the highest
risk offenders, a MAPPP will be
convened. MAPPP meetings are
usually chaired by Probation
Managers and they are always
attended by Police representatives,
who may also chair the meeting.
The Police co-ordinate MAPPP
meetings and provide secretarial
support. The length of meetings is
dependent upon the nature of the
case to be considered, risks posed
and the need for a risk management
plan. As much relevant information
as possible from Police, Probation
and other agencies in contact with
the offender is considered, so that
informed decisions can be made.
MAPPP meetings routinely consider
previous offending history, proximity
and vulnerability of potential victims
and the likely nature of future
offending. A risk management plan is
constructed, detailing multi-agency
roles and responsibilities and any
joint approach to the management of
risk. Registered offenders are
reviewed through the MAPPP
process; regularity of reviews is
dependent upon the requirements of
individual cases. All cases are
4. Strategic Management Arrangements
In Devon and Cornwall, a
Superintendent from Devon and
Cornwall Constabulary and an
Assistant Chief Officer from Devon
and Cornwall Probation Area meet
regularly to review and monitor
arrangements for MAPPPS. Further
development of this alliance is
planned, in the form of a Multi-
Agency MAPPP Steering Group, to
include senior representatives of
reviewed at least three monthly,
many more frequently.
Registration criteria under the
MAPPP arrangements fall under the
following definition:
'Individuals living in the community or
about to be released into the
community, who have a high
probability of inflicting serious harm
on others'
Serious harm is defined as:
'…death or damage which is life
threatening and / or traumatic, and
from which a full recovery is unlikely.
It can be psychological as well as
physical.’'
Offenders who do not fall into the
above categories, but who are
assessed as posing a risk of harm
are considered through inter-agency
liaison and meetings. If the risk
escalates, they are referred to the
MAPPP process.
Risk management of high-risk
offenders can take a variety of forms,
including the following:
a) Information to local police officers
about the residence of such
offenders on their beat
b) 'Flagging' of offenders on police
intelligence systems
c) Compliance checks and regular
home visits for registered sex
offenders
d) Joint Police and Probation home
visits
other agencies, including Social
Services and Health.
The Steering Group will make
decisions about resource allocation
and implications and commission
inter-agency training.
In Devon and Cornwall, as a result
of a recent review of MAPPP
arrangements, Police and Probation
e) Disclosure of relevant information
to those at risk, or to relevant non-
statutory agencies where the interest
of public protection is paramount
f) The use of sex offender and anti-
social behaviour orders
g) Surveillance
h) Conditions attached to post
release licences, including exclusion
from certain areas, not to approach
certain persons, hostel residence or
electronic tagging
i) Intensive programmes of work
undertaken by or on behalf of
Probation staff, in the community or
in prison. These programmes are
increasingly validated through
extensive research and include sex
offender treatment programmes,
which involve comprehensive
analysis of offending, impact upon
victims, repeat patterns of behaviour
and how to avoid them and work
aimed at preventing a relapse into
offending. Work of this nature is
undertaken in prison and in the
community; its impact upon
offenders, successful or otherwise, is
used to inform release plans and can
affect decisions made by the Parole
Board about timing of release.
Protection of the public is the
paramount concern and the specific
risks to potential victims can be
managed through a variety of
measures. In cases where the risk of
harm to others is particularly high,
hostel residence, police surveillance
and electronic tagging can be used.
representatives plan to establish a
structure for co-ordinating the
assessment and management
systems for potentially dangerous
offenders across the area. This will
ensure greater consistency and
strategic oversight of systems and
processes within this large
geographical area.
5. Disclosure
One option available to agencies
involved in the management of
potentially dangerous offenders is to
disclose information to individuals,
groups or sections of the community
if this is proportional and justifiable.
Decisions to disclose must be
justified on the basis of the harm,
which is likely to occur if disclosure
does not take place.
Examples of disclosure are as
follows:
a) A registered sex offender with a
history of indecency against
6. Victims Work
Under section 69 of the 'Criminal
Justice and Court Services Act'
2000, the National Probation Service
has a duty to contact victims of
sexual or violent offences, where the
perpetrator is serving in excess of
twelve months imprisonment. Devon
and Cornwall Probation Area
employs specialist Victim Liaison
Officers, who work alongside victim
support and who ensure that victims
are consulted and informed at
appropriate stages throughout the
offender's sentence. The protection
of victims from further offending is
paramount. They may express a
wish that the offender should not be
released to an address near to
them, resulting in a licence condition
prohibiting the offender from living in
their area, or from approaching or
seeking to contact them. In this way,
Victim Liaison Officers provide
information to their colleagues who
vulnerable youths continued to
involve himself in youth football. A
sex offender order was obtained
prohibiting participation in such
activity. It was subsequently
discovered that he intended to
referee youth football matches in a
forthcoming tournament.
Authorisation to disclose was
obtained and the organiser of the
tournament was contacted and
confirmed suspicions. The offender
was then arrested.
b) An offender convicted of serious
sexual assault was resident in a
manage offenders, which informs
sentence planning and release
plans.
Some sexual offences occur within
families. In such instances, a
number of people from the same
family can be affected, either
directly, or as a result of a traumatic
experience to someone close to
them. In such cases, all victims will
be offered contact with Probation. If,
as in many cases, there are fears
about what will happen when the
offender is released, as he or she
may wish to sustain relationships
with some family members, then all
steps are taken to protect vulnerable
former victims from further traumatic
experiences or abuse. These can be
complex situations and often require
the intervention of several agencies.
local Probation Hostel. He was
subject to post release licence with
a condition not to approach his
former victim or her family. This man
failed to return to the hostel at the
appropriate time and the Police and
Home Office Sentence Enforcement
Unit were immediately informed. A
decision was made to advise the
former victim and her family, who
received police protection until the
offender was apprehended by the
Police. He was returned to prison for
breach of his licence conditions.
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. Trained 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
Supportline - 0845 30 30 900 - for
information and support and details
of local services and other relevant
organisations.
The contact numbers for local Victim
Support services are contained on
page 8.
7. Statistics

i. Number of Registered Sex Offenders in Devon and Cornwall on 586

31/03/02:

Number of Registered Sex Offenders per 100,000 of the population 37

ii. Number of Sex Offenders cautioned / convicted for breaches of 45

registration requirement:

iii. Sex Offender Orders 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002: 1

(a) Total applied for: 1

(b) Granted: 1

(c) Not Granted: 0

(d) Applications still in progress: 0

iv. Number of Offenders 01/04/01 to 31/03/02:

a) Violent Offenders and other Sex Offenders: 837

5
b) Other Offenders:
v. Cost of Local Arrangements

Staff Costs COST

Probation Staff Costs £90,000

Police Staff Costs £80,000

Total £170,000
Contacts

Devon and Cornwall Probation Area Address Phone

Chief Officer Queen’s House 01392 474100

Little Queen Street
Exeter
EX4 3LJ

Devon and Cornwall Police Address Phone

Chief Constable Middlemoor 0870 5777444

Exeter
EX2 7HQ

Devon and Cornwall Victim Support Phone

Victim Support Exeter East & Mid Devon 01392 427117

Victim Support North Devon 01271 324005

Victim Support Plymouth 01752 777118

Victim Support South & West Devon 01626 203295

‘

Victim Support Torbay 01803 665989

Victim Support Cornwall 01872 263464