Public Protection is one of the primary objectives of Northamptonshire Probation Trust and to ensure this is achieved, there is a need to assess the level of risk posed by all offenders of whom the organisation comes into contact with.

Risk Assessments: Risk Assessments ascertain how likely the offender is to reoffend and the risk of harm the offender poses to the public. Northamptonshire Probation Trust use a risk assessment system  tool called OASys.

As part of the process, the offender will normally have an interview with their Offender Manager, complete a questionnaire and discuss their offending behaviour. This forms part of the sentence plan which is regularly reviewed.

MAPPA: The Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are a set of arrangements in which probation, police and other agencies work together to manage violent and sexual offenders in the community.

A number of other agencies are under a duty to co-operate with the ‘MAPPA Responsible Authority’. These include: Children’s Services, Adult Social Services, Health Trusts and Authorities, Youth Offending Services, Local Housing Authorities and certain registered social landlords, Jobcentre Plus, and Electronic Monitoring Providers.

The purposes of MAPPA is to ensure more comprehensive risk assessments are completed, taking advantage of   co-ordinated information sharing across the agencies; To direct the available resources to best protect the public from serious harm.

Meetings are held regularly to assess and discuss the management of cases and it is this level of co-operation which enables the agencies involved to develop specific strategies and tailored supervision plans to manage individual offenders in a constructive and practical way. The supervision plan takes into account concerns of the victims and also offers the best level of protection for the general public.

Approved Premises: Northamptonshire Probation Trust has one Approved Premises which provides supervised, temporary accommodation for up to 20 male offenders assessed as presenting a high or very high risk of harm to the public.

The purpose of the unit is to protect the public by the provision of a structured regime, providing a level of security appropriate to the offenders' risk and their risk management plan. The unit supports offenders in resettling into the community following a prison sentence and in locating stable move on accommodation.

Offenders are encouraged to make positive changes to their lifestyle through the participation in a range of activities which include gardening, fitness, cooking and art. There is also a strong emphasis on supporting offenders into employment and on improving their education and skill sets.