Public protection arrangements working to defend Greater Manchester's communities

Date published: 17 October 2005

The  police,  probation  service  and  other  agencies involved in managing Greater  Manchester's  most  serious  offenders  today  welcomed the fourth publication  of  the  area's  Multi-Agency  Public  Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) report.

The   Annual  Report  describes  how  serious  offenders,  including  those convicted of sexual and violent offences, are managed.

This is the fourth year in which local annual reports by the 42 responsible areas  in  England  and  Wales have been published. They highlight the work undertaken by MAPPA to protect communities from the risk posed by dangerous offenders.

MAPPA  was  established  in  2001  to  provide  a  statutory  framework for collaborative  working  in  order  to  assess and manage violent and sexual offenders in England and Wales. Police, probation and prisons work together in  a  formal  way, supported by other agencies such as housing, health and Social  Services,  to  manage  the risk dangerous offenders can pose to the public.

The  local  report reveals that there are 1,800 registered sex offenders in the  Greater Manchester community in 2004/05. Sex offender registration can last  a minimum of two years but many offenders will be on the register for life.

Greater  Manchester's  Chief  Probation  Officer John Crawforth, said:  "We have  to  be  aware that there are a small number of dangerous offenders in our communities. Although we can never create a situation of zero risk, the MAPPA  arrangements  mean  that rigorous plans are put in place to minimise those  risks and protect the public. The annual report sets out how this is being achieved within Greater Manchester."

Detective   Sergeant  Neil  Prunnell,  Greater  Manchester  Police's  MAPPA Strategy  Manager,  said:  "I  want  to reassure the public, that since the introduction  of  MAPPA,  significant  steps  have  been  taken  in Greater Manchester,  to  ensure that all sexual offenders are managed and monitored in  a  very thorough and professional manner, by staff specially trained to do so.

"Only a small number of violent and sex offenders in Greater Manchester are considered  to  pose  a  significant  or  serious risk to the public. These offenders  are  referred  to  Multi-Agency  Public Protection Panels, where their  management is closely monitored by senior representatives of all the agencies involved.

"GMP   has  considerable  expertise  in  investigating  crimes  that  would ultimately  result  in MAPPA registration. We continue to encourage victims to  come forward and report offences and we hope the report published today will  give  the  public  a  wider understanding of the extensive work being undertaken in this field."

Earlier  this  year,  building  on  many  years working in partnership, GMP teamed  up  with  Greater  Manchester  Probation  Area  to launch the MAPPA Support  Unit,  which  has  improved  information  sharing  between the two agencies. It is a significant step forward in multi-agency work in managing and  monitoring  offenders  and  it  is  already  making  a difference with improved information sharing and closer work with partner agencies involved in public protection.  The unit consists of a team of specialist Police and Probation  Officers, a forensic psychologist and administrative support and is the largest co-located unit of its kind in the UK.

Additionally,  the  use  of ViSOR, a new national database, has allowed the MAPPA  Support  Unit  to  access  a  wide range of important information on violent and sexual offenders.