Risky business: the problem with MAPPPs

Partnerships between mental health and criminal justice agencies have flourished in recent years. The purpose behind such multi-agency collaboration has been to encourage an open exchange of information, skills, and ideas amongst professionals with different disciplinary backgrounds. An approach to shared decision-making is especially important during the course of diverting mentally disordered offenders away from the criminal justice system and into the care of health and social services. Moreover, at the heart of contemporary models of crime control is the notion of risk, with risk assessment and management now at the core of practice (Timmermans and Gabe, 2003).