Post-sentence Detention and Supervision: The Role of Multi-agency Panels

Victoria's Complex Adult Victim Sex Offender Management Review Panel recommended that an independent body be established to manage high-risk offenders with input from multi-agency panels. The Panel's recommendations were influenced by the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements that exist across the United Kingdom. This column compares the operation of the sole Multi-Agency Panel that has been established in Victoria with that of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panels (MAPPPs) in Scotland and the Risk Assessment and Management Panels set up to combat family violence in Victoria. It then provides a comparison of how information-sharing has been implemented in Victoria and Scotland. It concludes that, although the legislation governing each is similar, the implementation and operation of the two has been very different. This difference in approach has implications for how clinicians and health services interact with the process, and how issues of information-sharing and confidentiality are addressed.