Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in Scotland: National Overview Report 2024-2025
The Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), are a set of statutory partnership working arrangements introduced in 2007. This report provides an overview of the main national developments in relation to MAPPA during the reporting period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
7. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS)
The SPS is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. The SPS principal objective is to contribute to making Scotland Safer and Stronger. The SPS has a duty to protect the public from harm by keeping those who have been sentenced in safe and secure custody. Its commitment to public safety is delivered through constructive engagement with those in their care, focussing on recovery and reintegration.
The risk assessment and management of individuals in custody who are subject to release on licence is carried out in partnership with Local Authority Justice Social Workers, through an enhanced version of the Integrated Case Management (ICM) process. A key objective of ICM is to ensure that, along with the relevant justice partners, SPS meets statutory requirements to establish joint arrangements for assessing and managing the risk posed by individuals subject to MAPPA, including the sharing of information with community partners.
Such individuals are risk assessed, using a structured professional judgement approach informed by a variety of risk assessment tools in determining the management of the individual whilst in custody, and in preparation for pre-release planning and release. For certain individuals, a Psychological Risk Assessment may be carried out by SPS Forensic Psychologists and used to inform ICM case conferences and at key points in a person's time in custody, to share information and inform action plans.
SPS establishments work in partnership with MAPPA Coordinators, Prison and Community-Based Justice Social Work Teams and Police Scotland Offender Management Units.
SPS is represented on the Scottish Government MAPPA NSG and other short-life working groups, established to progress the future delivery of MAPPA. Prison Governors also contribute to and attend local Strategic Oversight Groups.
Programme Delivery
The table below provides an overview of programme completions between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025: The programme figures apply to all relevant cases, not just those subject to MAPPA.
| Programme | Target Risk | Number of Completions |
|---|---|---|
| Moving Forward 2 Change | Sexual Offending | 23 |
| Self-Change [4]Programme (SCP) | High intensity Violence | 34 |
| Discovery | Moderate Intensity Violence | 41 |
| Constructs[5] | Problem Solving and Consequential Thinking | 0 |
| Pathways[6] | Substance Use connected to offending behaviour | 12 |
| Youth Justice | Modular for young people in custody | 3 |
| Ultimate Self | Adult women in custody | 7 |
| Short-term intervention Programme (STIP) | Focus on desistence for men serving a short-term prison sentence | 197 |
Programme Developments/Design
The 2024-25 delivery period held positive outcomes in terms of the MFMC re-design (MF2C). The programme is now running in SPS as well as various local authorities. There has been useful learning from the evaluation which is being implemented.
The Short Term Intervention Programme (STIP) has been developed for female prisoners who have short-term sentences (F-STIP). It aims to increase motivation, hope and self-belief in participants. As well as supporting participants to understand areas of their life that may have been problematic, the Programme also helps them to develop knowledge and skills to address similar challenges in the future - hopefully avoiding further offending and returning to custody. Training took place for staff in June 2024 but has yet to be rolled out.
Resource and Delivery Focus
SPS is now in a position where the current National Waiting Lists (NWL) for Offending Behaviour Programmes (OBPs) are at critical levels. This is reflective of the ongoing population pressures and increasing number of those serving long-term sentences, which has impacted upon the ability to deliver against this increasing demand. This has been further compounded by low completion rates over the last few years due to a number of challenges experienced, including the pandemic, pandemic recovery, lack of prisoner spaces within delivery sites, and establishment transfer difficulties. This has therefore resulted in a critical position, where the SPS will now adopt an interim approach to increase OBP completions and reduce NWL backlog. Within this approach, focus will be placed upon addressing the areas of highest risk, through the delivery of moderate and high-intensity OBPs that target violence, sexual violence and intimate partner violence risks and needs, namely the Self-Change Programme (SCP), Moving Forward 2 Change (MF2C) and the Discovery Programme.
It should be noted that completion figures for STIP are significantly higher than other interventions due to the relatively low level of resource requirements and time taken for an individual to complete a module. As such, completion figures for STIP are not comparable to other higher intensity offending behaviour programmes which require significantly higher levels of resource and time for an individual to complete.
SPS also offers a range of other opportunities and support to people in custody to help them build their strengths and address their needs in preparation for release. Such support is assessed on an individual basis and can include substance misuse treatment, assistance with mental health, vocational and academic education to increase job readiness, and support with family matters such as parenting and relationships.
Contact
Email: angela.morgan@gov.scot