1. Police and Crime Commissioner’s comments
I welcome the findings of this thematic report as they highlight the work that needs to be done to improve in this important area of policing. The following sections set out how the Force are addressing the report’s recommendations, and I will monitor progress through my Office’s existing oversight mechanisms.
I have requested the Chief Constable’s view on the report, and he has stated:
We welcome the 2022 Criminal Justice Joint Inspection review of MAPPA, Twenty Years on. The review aimed to assess how effective MAPPA is at enhancing risk management and the protection of the public. Surrey police have already taken proactive steps to support MAPPA and the management of offenders with a MATAC process and active links to MARAC. MARAC has a dedicated chairperson to oversee the safeguarding of victims most at risk. We have considered in full the recommendations from this review, and these are addressed within this report.
Gavin Stephens, Chief Constable for Surrey police
2. Next Steps
The inspection report highlights four areas that required Police consideration, and I have set out below how these matters are being taken forward
3. Recommendation 14
- The Probation Service, police forces, and prisons should ensure that: Category 3 referrals are made to manage individuals who present a high risk of domestic abuse where formal multi-agency management and oversight through MAPPA would add value to the risk management plan
- Domestic Abuse (DA) is a key priority for Surrey Police internally and in partnership. An overarching DA improvement plan is in place to improve our response to all DA led by Chief Superintendent Clive Davies.
- In Surrey, HHPU (High Harm Perpetrator Units) are focused on the management of offenders who are deemed to pose the most significant risk. These include MAPPA offenders and Integrated Offender Management (IOM) offenders and has recently expanded to include DA offenders.
- Each division has one dedicated DA offender manager. Surrey has also set up a MATAC process to manage DA offenders and the MATAC coordinators are based within HHPU teams. It is through this process that a decision is made as to who will manage a suspect – HHPU or another team within Surrey Police. The decision is dependent on risk, offending history and what type of offender management is required.
- The aim of MATAC is:
• Tackling the most harmful and serial DA perpetrators
• Keeping vulnerable families safe
• Seeking harmful perpetrators out and trying to change their behaviour and stop reoffending
• Offering programmes like Healthy Relationships, 7 Pathways and working with a PC within HHPU in the area - Surrey Police, in partnership, currently have 3 High Risk DA cases, who are managed through MAPPA 3. We also have a number of DA cases managed at MAPPA L2 (7 currently). In these cases there are links to MARAC, to ensure safeguarding planning is robust and joined up. HHPU supervising officers attend both (MAPPA/MATAC) forums and are a useful link to be able to refer between forums as needed.
- Surrey has a process whereby MAPPA and MARAC/MATAC referrals should be reciprocally made in order to ensure the best possible management of the perpetrator. MATAC is attended by probation as well as police officers and staff and therefore there is a high level of knowledge regarding MAPPA. We have identified a gap in the knowledge within the MARAC teams in relation to the ability to refer into MAPPA. Training is being developed and delivered to both MARAC Co-ordinators and Domestic Abuse Team Detective Inspectors in September 2022.
4. Recommendation 15
- The Probation Service, police forces, and prisons should ensure that: There is a comprehensive training strategy for all staff involved in the MAPPA process that fully utilises existing training packages and makes sure they can enable staff in all roles to prepare for and present or contribute to a case in a multi-agency forum and understand how MAPPA fits with other multi-agency forums, such as Integrated Offender Management and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs).
- In Surrey, IOM and MAPPA offenders are managed within the same team so there is a high level of knowledge about how multi-agency relationships can be used to manage offenders. Additionally, due to this change, Surrey have implemented a MATAC process to manage DA perpetrators, which enhances the MARAC outcomes supporting victims as allows serial DA perpetrators to be managed, especially if they move on to new relationships. The MATAC coordinators are based within the HHPU teams which responsible for offender management.
- All Offender Managers undertake the College of Policing (CoP) approved MOSOVO course when employed in HHPU. During COVID, we managed to secure an online training provider meaning new joiners to the team were still able to be appropriately trained to support the management of offenders. We currently have 4 individuals awaiting course, and those officers are supported by “buddies” within their day-to-day role who are identified as experienced offender managers. Even when the MOSOVO course is completed, experienced officers and supervisors will ensure that they are applying the classroom learning on to a practical element and updating ViSOR accordingly.
- Internally, we have Active Risk Management (ARMS) trainers and they provide training to new team members on the assessment and management of risk in accordance with National Standards. We also have a ViSOR trainer who spends time with any new joiners to ensure that they understand how to appropriately update and manage offenders’ records on ViSOR.
- Mandated DA Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is also undertaken, with emphasis on those offender managers (one per division) undertaking the DA specific role in support of MATAC.
- CPD days have also been run but due to the pandemic have lost momentum. Currently the dates are being finalised for some CPD focusing on the digital environment within which offenders operate.
- The training is being designed and delivered by DISU (Digital Investigation Support Unit) who are digital experts. This is to improve the OM’s confidence and use in examining devices.
- As aforementioned, a training plan is being developed for those involved in MARAC to ensure they are fully cognisant of instances whereby a referral into MAPPA is appropriate. This is being delivered by HHPU experienced staff in September 2022.
- Surrey and Sussex MAPPA coordinators have now implemented regular CPD sessions for MAPPA Chairs. It is recognised that there is no specific CPD for standing panel members, which is currently being addressed. Additionally, it has been recognised that peer reviews would be useful and as a result, the MAPPA coordinators are pairing up Detective Inspectors and Senior Probation Officers to assist in observing and providing feedback from MAPPA meetings.
5. Recommendation 18
- Police forces should ensure that: All MAPPA nominals managed at Levels 2 and 3 are allocated to a suitably trained police offender manager.
- Surrey Police train offender managers on the CoP approved Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) course. Currently we have four officers awaiting a course who are new to role. We also have two new officers due to join before Christmas 2022 who will also require training. All officers are on a wait list for available spaces. There are potential courses being run by Kent and Themes Valley Police (TVP) respectively in September and October 2022. We await confirmation of places.
- Surrey and Sussex Liaison and Diversion (L & D) are currently designing and building their own MOSOVO course. The lead trainer is waiting on availability of a CoP ‘train the trainer’ course to progress this.
- Additionally, the Surrey and Sussex MAPPA coordinators are delivering regular CPD for MAPPA chairs and are developing CPD for all standing attendees to MAPPA meetings.
6. Recommendation 19
- Police forces should ensure that: Workloads for staff managing sexual offenders are reviewed against national expectations and, where found to be excessive, take steps for mitigation and communicate this to affected staff.
- Surrey Police currently do not have excessive workloads. Each OM has less than 50 cases to manage per officer (current average is 45), with approximately 65% of these offenders in the community.
- We also seek to ensure our OMs have less than 20% of their caseload as High Risk due to the increased demand this creates. Out of all our offender managers, only 4 officers currently carry a workload of over 20% High risk. We aim not to reallocate offenders unnecessarily due to the importance of knowing the offender being managed and the time it takes to build relationships. Two of the four officers are engaged in managing offenders in our local Approved Premise and therefore this often skews their workloads due to the high throughput of offenders.
- Workloads are managed well and subject to supervisory scrutiny. Where officers, as aforementioned, have a disproportionate workload, either in volume or disproportionate risk levels, this is mitigated down by not allocating new offenders to them in the ongoing cycle of distribution. The levels of risk are scrutinised via monthly performance data, to ensure supervisors balance workloads for all.
Signed: Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey
Glossary
• ARMS: Active Risk Management System
• CoP: College of Policing
• CPD: Continuous Professional Development
• DA: Domestic Abuse
• DISU: Digital Investigation Support Unit
• HHPU: High Harm Perpetrator Unit
• IOM: Integrated Offender Management
• L&D: Liaison and Diversion
• MAPPA: Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement
Arrangements designed to promote effective information sharing and collaboration between agencies to manage dangerous individuals. MAPPA formalises the duties of criminal justice and other agencies to work together. While not a statutory body, MAPPA is a mechanism through which agencies can better discharge their statutory responsibilities and protect the public in a co-ordinated manner.
• MARAC: Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences
A MARAC is a meeting where agencies talk about the risk of future harm to adults experiencing domestic abuse and draw up an action plan to help manage that risk. There are four aims:
a) To safeguard the adult victims at risk of future domestic violence
b) To make links with other public protection arrangements
c) To safeguard agency staff
d) To work towards addressing and managing the behaviour of the perpetrator
• MATAC: Multi-Agency Tasking and Co-ordination
The overarching objective of a MATAC is to safeguard adults and children at risk of domestic abuse and to reduce offending of serial domestic abuse perpetrators. The process includes:
• Determining the most harmful domestic abuse perpetrators
• Incorporating partner referrals
• Determining subjects for targeting and produce perpetrator profiles
• Holding 4 weekly MATAC meeting and determine method of targeting each perpetrator
• Managing and tracking partnership actions
• MOSOVO: Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders
• OM: Offender Managers