Want to get involved in protecting your community from harm?

Warwickshire Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) is currently looking to recruit a Lay Advisor. 

Lay Advisors are voluntary community representatives who provide a ‘critical friend’ to the professional agencies on the Strategic Management Board (SMB) and offer a public view on the management of dangerous and sexual offenders within the community.

ACC Bill Holland, Director of Protective Services said:

“Lay Advisors are the voice of the public in the MAPPA process, therefore it is vital we recruit the right person for the job”

Applicants must fulfil the following criteria:

• Live in Warwickshire
• Be able to attend quarterly Board meetings
• Attend offender management conferences as an observer
• Hold this position for a minimum term of 3 years with the option to renew for a further 3 years.

This post is voluntary.  Expenses will be paid and relevant training will be provided.

The retiring Warwickshire Lay Advisor said:

“I have served as a Lay Advisor for Warwickshire for the past 3 years and remain convinced that the appointment of Lay Advisors to the MAPPA SMB is an important step in public protection work.

I would recommend it to others who, rather than just observe through the media, want to make a positive contribution to the public protection process”

What is MAPPA?

MAPPA is the process through which the Police, Probation and Prison Services work together with other agencies across the county such as Health Trusts & Authorities, Local Authority Housing, Registered Social Landlords, Adult and Children’s Services, Youth Offending Service, Fire & Rescue and Electronic Monitoring Providers.  These agencies work together to manage the risks posed by violent and sexual offenders living in the community in order to protect the public.

Every Police / Probation area in England and Wales has a Strategic Management Board (SMB) which is legally responsible for the management of MAPPA in their area.

Last week saw the launch of the child sex offender disclosure pilot in Warwickshire – A service which provides parents, carers or guardians the opportunity to raise concerns, and potentially obtain disclosure, about an individual who has convictions for sexual offences against children, if that individual has significant, unsupervised access to their child.

This pilot raises public awareness of a process that already exists within Warwickshire under the Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000 for protecting vulnerable people and is managed by MAPPA.

The position of Lay Advisor gives you an opportunity to become part of the public protection process - helping us to protect the communities of Warwickshire from harm.

To apply or simply find out more about the role of a MAPPA Lay Advisor, please contact Derek Ridgway, MAPPA Co-ordinator, Warwickshire Police on 01926 415226.  The closing date for applications is Friday 24th October 2008.

Notes

1. The Criminal Justice and Court Services Act (2000) established the MAPPA and placed them on a statutory basis. The Criminal Justice Act (2003) re-enacted and strengthened those provisions. The legislation requires the Police, Prison and Probation Services (acting jointly as the ‘Responsible Authority’) in each of the 42 areas of England and Wales:

• To establish arrangements for assessing and managing the risks posed by sexual and violent offenders;
• To review and monitor the arrangements;
• As part of the reviewing and monitoring arrangements, to prepare and publish an annual report on their operation.

2. 4 years ago, the Government launched an initiative across England & Wales to involve members of the public in the MAPPA process in the form of Lay Advisors.  There is a requirement to appointment two lay advisors to each of the Strategic Management Boards that review the MAPPA.

3. MAPPA is the term to describe the arrangements set up locally to assess and manage offenders who pose a risk of serious harm.

4. There are three categories of offenders managed through MAPPA.

Category 1: Registered Sex Offenders – offenders required to comply with the notification requirements (often referred to as registration) set out in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Category 2: Violent or other sex offenders – violent offenders sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months or more, sex offenders not required to register, and offenders detained under hospital orders.

Category 3: Other Offenders - offenders who do not fall into categories 1 or 2, but because of the offences committed by them (wherever they have been committed) are considered to pose a risk of serious harm to the public