Legal background Multi-agency public protection arrangements ("MAPPA") and controlling or coercive behaviour
MAPPA was established in 2001 and is now provided for under sections 325 to 327 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, to manage the risks of specified serious offenders released in the responsible authorities’ areas. It provides for a duty on relevant agencies with roles relating to the management of these offenders to co-operate and share information, having regard to statutory guidance. In 2015, a number of serious offences against children were added to section 327 automatic MAPPA management, via the Deregulation Act 2015. In 2022, terrorist offenders were added as a discrete category of automatic MAPPA management by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
	The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship was introduced by section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment.