Commentary on Sections Section: 306: Limit on period of detention without charge of suspected terrorists Section 325: Arrangements for assessing etc. risks posed by certain offenders
705.This Section re-enacts with amendments section 67 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Services 2000. It places a duty on the “responsibility authority” (the chief officer of police, the local probation board for each area and the Prison Service) to establish and keep under review arrangements for assessing and managing the risks posed by “relevant sexual and violent offenders” or other offenders who may cause serious harm to the public (see subsection (2)). The arrangements which have been established at area level to undertake this duty take the form of “multi-agency public protection arrangements”.
706.Under subsection (3), the responsible authority and those bodies listed in subsection (6) must co-operate with each other, in order to enable the responsible authority to perform its duty. Subsection (5) states that a memorandum outlining this process must be produced. The Secretary of State is given the power in subsection (7) to amend the list of specified bodies which must co-operate with the responsible authority, so as to add or remove an entry.