Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)

Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) were established under the terms of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2005, which placed duties on police, local authorities, the Scottish Prison Service and health authorities to establish joint arrangements for the assessment and management of risk posed by certain high-risk offenders such as sexual offenders. These arrangements are supported by national guidance and procedures.

Other agencies are also required to co-operate with these responsible authorities to manage the risks posed by high-risk offenders including Jobcentre Plus, registered social landlords, voluntary organisations and companies providing electronic monitoring of offenders.

The South West Scotland Community Justice Authority Area MAPPA Strategic Oversight Group is responsible for the planning, performance and improvement of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

The Strategic Oversight Group consists of senior representatives from Strathclyde Police, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, South, North and East Ayrshire Councils, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

To ensure there is an overview of all public protection arrangements in South Ayrshire, the work of the Strategic Oversight Group is reported directly to the South Ayrshire Chief Officers Group, which consists of the Chief Executives of South Ayrshire Council and NHS Ayrshire and Arran and the Local Divisional Commander from Strathclyde Police.

The Strategic Oversight Group is responsible for the commissioning of significant case reviews in respect of significant incident(s) involving an offender subject to MAPPA. The purpose of the review is to consider whether the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements were effectively applied, and whether agencies worked together to do all that they could reasonably have done to reduce the risk of further offending. This learning can then be applied to practice and disseminated more widely on a multi-agency basis.

When commissioning a review, the Strategic Oversight Group will develop a remit for the review and will outline how it will be conducted. This will be dependent on the circumstances and nature of each significant incident(s) and may include the appointment of an independent review officer to ensure objectivity and appropriate scrutiny.

On completion, the Strategic Oversight Group reports the findings and recommendations to the South Ayrshire Chief Officers Group.

MAPPA Annual Report 2022 for South West Scotland (PDF) [4MB] (opens new window)