Latest MAPPA report reveals nearly 500 sex offenders are being monitored in north Wales

The latest annual Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) report for north Wales has revealed there are 496 sex offenders living in the region.

Now in its 13th year, north Wales MAPPA provides a set of arrangements for protecting the public against the most serious sexual and violent offenders who pose the highest risk of harm to the public.

The multi agency framework pulls together North Wales Police who work in partnership with the Prison and Probation service plus a number of other agencies including social services, youth offending teams and health trusts.

Under MAPPA, there are three levels at which offenders are managed, these reflect the level of multi-agency co-operation required to manage the risk individual offenders pose, Level one being the least serious with level three requiring the greatest level of supervision.

A snapshot from March 2014 showed there were 456 level one convicted sex offenders in north Wales, from a year to date perspective there are fifty six level two and three level three convicted sex offenders in the region.

In north Wales there are eighty one registered sex offenders per 100,000 people, in Cheshire the number is slightly higher with eighty seven per 100,000 while Merseyside and Greater Manchester were 103 and 107 per 100,000 respectively.

A total of fourteen registered sex offenders were cautioned or convicted for breach of notification requirements – those who have been convicted overseas and are ordered to register with UK authorities.

Fifty six offenders were subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) – This is where Police may make a special application to the courts based on certain sexual offenders potential or historical behaviour in the community, such as preventing the offender loitering near schools or playgrounds.

A SOPO lasts for a minimum of five years, and can be indefinite, any breach can lead to the offender being taken back to court and may be liable to up to five years’ imprisonment.

In the year to March 2014 one offender breached a SOPO and was returned to custody while seven offenders who were on probation breached their licence conditions and were returned to custody.

MAPPA is supported by ViSOR – a national IT system for the management of people who pose a serious risk of harm to the public.

Uk Police forces have been using ViSOR since 2005 but, since June 2008, ViSOR has been fully operational allowing, for the first time, key staff from the Police, Probation and Prison Services to work on the same IT system.