The following section has been supplied in whole by the Scottish Government and is required to be included in all MAPPA annual reports.
1. Introduction
The Management of Offenders etc (Scotland) 2005 introduced a statutory function for Responsible Authorities - Local Authorities, Scottish Prison Service, Police and Health Service to establish joint arrangements for the assessment and management of the risks posed by certain offenders who pose a risk of harm to the public. These Responsible Authorities are required to keep arrangements under review and publish an annual report - this is the 1st annual report.
The introduction of Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements ( MAPPA) across Scotland in April 2007 introduced a consistent approach to the management of offenders across all local authority and police force areas providing a framework for assessing and managing certain offenders. The fundamental purpose of MAPPA is public safety and reduction of serious harm.
In Scotland the implementation of MAPPA has been phased and currently extends to registered sex offenders. Work is, however, on-going to agree the operational detail of extending the arrangements to violent offenders but for the purpose of this report the focus will be on registered sex offenders.
There have always been sexual offenders and they are present in every community. There is no typical sexual offence and no typical sex offender - not all sexual offences and offenders are inherently problematic or dangerous to the public. The vast majority of sexual offending is committed by people known to their victim either a family member, friend or acquaintance.
Sexual offences cause considerable anxiety and although reconviction rates are very low the public is understandably concerned about sex offenders and the risk they may present. Managing the risks posed by sexual offenders within the community is a complex task cutting across the organisational boundaries of local authorities, police, prisons, housing and health services. It is recognised that one of the most important partners in public protection are members of the public and it is vital that they are aware of their responsibility to protect vulnerable members of the community and have confidence to report any concerns they may have. Although risk can never be eradicated the authorities are continually strengthening arrangements and are committed to improving public information and it is hoped that this first annual report will improve awareness of how known sex offenders are managed across Scotland and of recent improvements in public protection.