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What is MAPPA?

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Lucy from Stop it Now!

Member since
September 2018

481 posts

Posted Thu October 27, 2022 4:31pmReport post

MAPPA stands for Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. It is the process through which various agencies such as The Police, The Prison Service, Children's Services, Mental Health and Probation work together to protect the public by managing the risks posed by persons convicted of sexual offences. MAPPA is not exclusively for this population and will include other non-sexual convicted persons too. Most agencies have a duty to cooperate with MAPPA. An individual convicted of sexual offences will be managed under MAPPA post-sentencing and not before.



For the majority of cases, you or your loved ones will not have any direct involvement or communication from MAPPA, it is a channel for professionals to come together to discuss cases and their management. These look like professional meetings whereby the person convicted is not present. It is most likely that your loved ones will be managed under Category One; then, depending on their risk level, will then depend on whether they are managed at level 1,2 or 3. The most common management for individuals covicted of Sexual Offences is Category One, Level One. These categories and levels are explained further below, taken from the Nacro website:

Category One –All registered sexual offenders. Registered sexual offenders are required to notify the police of their name, address and personal details under the terms of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Category Two –Violent or other sex offenders not subject to notification requirements, including violent offenders who have been sentenced to 12 months or more, or to detention in hospital, and who are now living in the community subject to Probation supervision.

Category Three– Other dangerous offenders who have committed an offence in the past and who are considered to pose a risk of serious harm to the public.

Level 1– Ordinary agency management is for offenders who can be managed by one or two agencies, such as the police and Probation, and will involve sharing information about the offender with other agencies if necessary and appropriate. Ninety-five per cent of offenders are managed at this level, usually by a single police or probation officer, although it is the police who are ultimately responsible for managing those under MAPPA.

Level 2– A local multi-agency management for offenders where the ongoing involvement of several agencies is needed to manage the offender. Once at level 2 there will be regular multi-agency public protection (MAPP) meetings about the offender to develop a coordinated plan.

Level 3– These are known as Multi-Agency Protection Panels, which are more demanding on resources and aimed at those who are deemed to pose the highest risk of causing serious harm, or whose management is particularly problematic.


MAPPA management will continue throughout the whole of the sentence for individuals convicted of sexual offences and sometimes post sentence too (as long as there is an active SOR/SHPO).



Individuals should be notified of their MAPPA status, typically by either Probation or their Police offender manager. If they would like any summary notes of the meetings held they should be able to request this. These meetings can be beneficial for individuals as it is a great direct way of discussing different support options and getting them actioned for your loved ones.


If you would like more information about MAPPA then please see the following information; alternatively, we can try and answer any questions:


https://www.nacro.org.uk/criminal-record-support-service/support-for-individuals/advice-prisoners-people-licence-sex-offenders-mappa/advice-people-mappa/


Best Wishes

The Forum Team

Edited Thu October 27, 2022 4:32pm