Criminal justice and courts services Act 2000 (sections 67 and 68) - Impact on the MPS

Report: 14
Date: 10 May 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report highlights the impact of the provisions of Sections 67 and 68 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Services Act 2000 on the Metropolitan Police Service.

A. Recommendations

1. The Authority Members note the contents of this report.
2. A costing review is considered by the Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee at its meeting on 19 June 2001.
3. A further report is submitted to the MPA in November 2001, following review.

B. Supporting information

Legislation - Sex Offenders Act 1997 (' the SOA')

1. The SOA came into effect on 1 September 1997. Part 1 of the SOA requires certain sex offenders to register their name and address with the police force for the area in which they live. In London this is dealt with on a Borough basis. In August 1997 the Crime Committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers issued 'Implementation Guidelines' to Forces regarding the SOA. What is implicit (but not explicit) in the SOA is that the so-called 'Sex Offender Register' is not intended to be a passive tool but to act as the basis for a risk assessment and management process.

MPS response

2. Since September 1997 the MPS has put in place inter-agency arrangements to assess and manage the risks posed by sex offenders. In many Boroughs these have incorporated violent and/or potentially dangerous offenders. The MPS and Probation Service have taken the lead role. The MPS lead on this subject since October 2000 is Commander Carole Howlett, who also holds the child protection portfolio. Borough Commanders are responsible locally and multi-agency Risk Management Panels are generally chaired by DCI Crime Managers.

3. Various combinations of Sergeants and Constables (uniformed and detective) supported by administration officers provide the daily response, working closely with other agencies in research, intelligence gathering and the administrative duty of maintaining files on these individuals. Occasionally there is a need to mount proactive operations or apply for Sex Offender Orders under the Crime & Disorder Act. These 'Sex Offender Units' are generally tailored to the profile of the particular Borough.

Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)

4. The national ACPO lead is Chief Constable Terry Granger, Dyfed-Powys, as of April 1 2001. Prior to this Chief Constable Tony Butler held the portfolio (within child protection). It is important to note here that the MPS recognises that this issue is not solely about child protection. The ACPO role has been to share good practice and act as focal point for Forces to link with the Home Office. Two national seminars have been held, the latest in October 2000.

Legislation - Criminal Justice & Courts Services Act 2000 ('the CJCSA')

5. This Act received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000. Sections 67 and 68 were implemented on 1 April 2001. The Home Office produced Initial Guidance on 14 March 2001 (Appendix 1) that incorporates the legislation and the minimum requirements. The MPS and London Probation Area (the merged Probation Service which was also established on 1 April 2001) held a joint seminar for practitioners on 19 March 2001, (Chaired by Commander Howlett), wherein the initial guidance was introduced. Mr John Powls, Director of the London Probation Area, signalled full commitment to the legislation and joint working. Each Borough has established a Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel (MAPPP) that will deal only with high-risk offenders. Other offenders are dealt with by way of information sharing in order to assess and manage the determined risk.

Passage of bill

6. The MPS has been aware of the passage of the CJCS Bill that resulted in a wide-ranging Act comprising 82 Sections and 8 lengthy Schedules. Sections 66-69 deal with sexual or violent offenders and it is understood these were added to the Bill somewhat hurriedly, partly in response to the tragic murder of Sara Payne and the subsequent News of The World campaign. Schedule 5 (Appendix 2) enacts amendments to the SOA that it is anticipated will be implemented in June. These amendments provide police with additional powers and do not involve any extra financial burden. It is noteworthy with regard to the comments above that the review of the SOA (commenced in June 2000) is ongoing.

Strategic management arrangements

7. The legislation and minimum requirements of the initial guidance require Police and Probation (" the responsible authority") to establish Strategic Management Arrangements (SMAs) to monitor and review the arrangements made locally. This process has been initiated between Commander Howlett and Mr Powls: it is envisaged that the MPS will seek to negotiate the involvement of Social Services, Health and Local Authority Housing in the SMA as indicated in the minimum requirements. It is quite clear from the minimum requirements (paras 5 and 9) and from discussions with Home Office Dangerous Offenders Unit that this is very much considered a developmental year, building upon existing practices. Three noteworthy points:

• The National Probation Directorate will be working up a comprehensive strategy on the management of the risks posed by dangerous offenders, in conjunction with the police and other agencies;
• The Youth Justice Board will draw up guidance specifically for young offenders
• a wide-ranging consultation exercise with all statutory and voluntary agencies nationally will be carried out in order to produce more comprehensive guidance.

These will take place during this first year.

The MAPPP project

8. Commander Howlett is leading an MPS project, the objective of which is to develop a plan, by 31 March 2002, to ensure that the MPS is able to discharge its statutory duty to assess and manage the risks posed by:

• Sex Offenders
• Violent Offenders
• Potentially Dangerous Offenders (PDO's)

9. The project will review and improve the MPS procedures for the risk management of such offenders. It will ensure that the MPS is well placed to consistently manage the risk posed, with a view to reducing the risk of such offences being committed. The project should be in a position by November 2001 to recommend whether or not this area of business should be treated as a corporate priority in the Policing Plan 2002/3, considering there are new priorities in the 2001/2 plan of rape and child abuse. Chief Superintendent Peter Goulding, Ealing Borough Commander, is the Project Manager. The inaugural meeting of the Project Board will be held on 15 May 2001.

C. Financial implications

The CJCSA guidelines require the production of an annual report to include the cost of the local arrangements, initial set up costs and staff hours. Boroughs will be required to maintain and produce the data for this financial year for inclusion in a pan-London annual report. The MPS is preparing current details for submission to the Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee on 19 June 2001. Boroughs are currently reviewing their staffing levels in light of the new legislation. Details of current costs can be passed to the MPA following the outcome of the above meeting.

D. Background papers

None.

E. Contact details

The author of this report is DS Keith Giles, Crime Policy Unit.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendices

Appendix 1 and 2 are available from the MPA.

• Appendix 1: Initial guidance to the Police and Probation Services on Sections 67 and 68 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000
• Appendix 2: Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2000 (Chapter 43)

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