Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in Scotland: national overview report 2022-2023

4. Risk Management Authority

The Risk Management Authority (RMA) continues to work to protect the public by reducing the risk of serious harm posed by violent and sexual offending. It does this through ensuring that effective, evidence-based risk assessment and risk management practices are in place in Scotland. Collaboration is essential to this work and in 2022-23 the RMA has maintained its close engagement with partner agencies to deliver and progress key business objectives.

The RMA Business Plan for 2023-24 can be found here.

Education and Training

In 2022-23 the RMA worked with community partners to identify areas of training need to help improve understanding of the Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) sentence. Over the same period, the RMA delivered five risk practice courses to justice social workers and to 85 Police Scotland colleagues at a single large-scale event. The RMA also facilitated bespoke training and awareness sessions relating to risk assessment and risk management with Parole Board for Scotland Members and representatives from Parole Scotland.

Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) Review of Closed Cases

LS/CMI is a comprehensive general offending assessment and case management planning method. It is used by all community and prison based justice social work services in Scotland to aid decisions on the level and focus of intervention with individuals (aged 16+) who have been involved in offending.

In March 2022 the RMA were tasked to lead a review of closed^[6] LS/CMI cases affected by system errors within the supporting IT infrastructure. The purpose of this review was to determine whether errors had any material impact on public safety or on any of the individuals who had been subject to those assessments. The multi-agency review considered 1032 cases and found no evidence that the inaccuracies led to any material impact. The report made 12 recommendations relating to Policy, Practice, Quality Assurance, Training, and the LS/CMI System. In 2022-23, the RMA will look to progress and to support others to progress those recommendations. In particular, a review of the implementation of the Framework for Risk Assessment, Management and Evaluation (FRAME) will commence this year. The Review report can be found here.

Internet Offending Assessment Framework

A two-year pilot of the framework for assessing recidivism risk in those convicted of possessing indecent images of children was commenced in June 2022 and this work is ongoing. The eight local authority pilot areas – South Ayrshire, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, Edinburgh, East Lothian and the Tayside Partnership areas of Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross – have received training in the use of the C-PORT & CASIC assessment tool and have begun assessing individuals.

First Grant of Temporary Release (FGTR)

The RMA and the Scottish Prison Service have commenced a four-year pilot in which RMA staff evaluate risk assessments and risk management plans for certain life sentence prisoner FGTR applications. This external secondary assurance process applies only to complex cases and is intended to support the development of risk practice, to identify and build upon areas of good practice, and ensure FGTR decisions are based on high-quality information about risk.

Counter-Terrorism

Counter-terrorism remains an area of significant focus for the RMA. In 2022-23 the RMA formalised its working arrangements with the Counter-Terrorism Assessment Rehabilitation Centre (CT-ARC), and also welcomed the Australian Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM). Work with the Prisons Oversight Group and other justice partners to develop pathways for the assessment and management of this group of individuals also continues.