Maggie arrived at the Probation office in Markston just before 10am. Sarah Hardy reported that after discussing some cases with her manager, a few had stuck out in relation to recent risky behaviour that were causing staff concerns. One case had even been referred to MAPPA, the multi-agency public protection arrangements. MAPPA cases were the riskiest and involved various agencies, each taking a certain responsibility to manage the risk of the individual when they were released back into the community on licence.
‘Great to see you. My manager, Andrew Bourne, will be attending and the Probation Officers who manage the specific cases will also be available to speak to you if we need them. Come with me, it’s just through here.’ Sarah led the way to a meeting room with Maggie in tow.
Maggie greeted the Senior Probation Officer, Andrew Bourne. She remembered him from her time within the DAHU and how helpful he’d been in allowing the police to liaise directly with staff when they were hunting for the killer of the domestic abusers.
‘I think it’s fair to say that we all want this killer caught. The news seems to be all over it like a rash and the last thing Probation wants is to find that someone we’re supervising is involved in this in any way. After the government decided to split us into public and private sectors and now they’re trying to put us all back together like Humpty frigging Dumpty – well, we just don’t need that kind of negative press.’ Andrew rubbed his chin. Maggie could hear the unease in his voice.
The public never seemed interested in the police or criminal justice agencies until something went wrong. Then it was all the failings that were pointed at – and all the positive work went down the drain, so Maggie could sympathize with his views.
‘What are we looking at then?’ Maggie scanned the pile of paperwork in front of Sarah and was eager to leaf through the pages. She could see highlighted at the top were the words: HIGH RISK OF SERIOUS HARM TO FEMALES. She felt a cold shiver down her spine. Could the break the police needed be somewhere in these files?
‘Within the folders are four men who Probation have identified as being at high risk of serious harm to the public, but particularly to females.’ Sarah pushed the papers towards Maggie.
‘What’s significant about these ones in comparison to other cases with the same risk flags?’ Maggie needed to be sure that Probation had highlighted the most relevant cases.
‘When you called and asked me to find out if anyone was causing concern to their officers, these were the cases that were brought to my attention,’ Sarah confirmed.
‘Can you talk me through them one by one and we’ll look at whether or not they can be removed from the list or added as persons of interest.’
‘Makes sense.’ Sarah looked at her boss and he nodded his approval. ‘OK, Harry is on a Suspended Sentence Order for harassment. The reason his officer flagged him was because he’s stalked quite a few females of various ages, for a number of years. He recently fell into breach of his order after kicking off in a group programme and then going AWOL.’
‘When did he last attend and can you tell me a bit more about his stalking? Is it following women? Does he approach them?’ Maggie thought this guy sounded like a good one to follow up, especially since he’d recently stopped attending appointments.
‘According to his breach report, he last attended eight weeks ago. He’s not responded to any telephone calls or letters, so breach action was instigated and a warrant is outstanding. His pre-sentence report states that he made numerous telephone calls and followed women. In one case, he did approach the female and offered her flowers. He became very aggressive when she refused them and she called the police.’
Maggie highlighted the points as Sarah spoke. ‘And the address on this report is his current one?’
‘As far as we are aware, yes. When officers attended to enforce the warrant, there was no answer – maybe you’ll have better luck finding him.’
‘Great. Who’s next?’ Maggie would definitely be following up on that one.
‘Oscar Reed.’ Sarah pulled out the paperwork. ‘I’m not too sure he meets what you’re looking for. He seems to fall under the domestic abuse category as all his offending, including the harassment charges, relate to ex-partners. In fact, I think he probably needs to be on the DAHU’s radar.’
‘I’d say you’re right on both counts. Our killer appears to be targeting strangers – at least as far as we are aware – but tell me a bit more about why his officer flagged his case.’
‘He’s also in breach, this time for the restraining order, but he was flagged because his latest threat to his partner included her ending up “like the girl in the park”. His ex-partner also has long black hair and dresses like a Goth.’
‘Definitely one to check out further. Was he living with the ex, prior to his conviction?’ A tinge of excitement coursed through Maggie’s veins. This one sounded promising.
‘According the report, they separated soon after he was arrested, and yes, he had been living with her. Do you think that rules him out?’
‘Not necessarily. I’ll definitely look into him a bit more.’ Maggie couldn’t mention the notes on black paper as that detail had not been released to the public, but he could be targeting females in an effort to scare his ex … although how Kate fit into the picture was not yet clear. But if there was a link, she would find it. ‘I see the next guy has a history of serious sexual assaults and rapes against females.’
‘Yes. Richard is on licence and currently residing in one of our Approved Premise hostels. Looks like he’s taken an unnatural interest in the murders you’re investigating, which is why his officer flagged him.’
Andrew Bourne interrupted then. ‘The papers never mentioned whether the women were sexually assaulted. Is that because you’re holding back information to weed out any prank calls?’
‘Between us, it hasn’t been mentioned because there doesn’t seem to be a sexual element in the murders. The women were not sexually assaulted. However, I’d appreciate it if you kept that under wraps – not because we’re withholding it, but it could definitely be used to weed out any callers who are trying it on.’
‘I’m guessing that this one probably wouldn’t fit your profile. His offending is definitely sexually motivated. He’s on the register indefinitely.’ Sarah shrugged.
‘I’ll make note of his name and check him out on the ViSOR database, but I think you’re right, he probably isn’t one to focus on. OK, so who’s the last one then?’
ViSOR is a database used as a management tool by a wide range of agencies, to manage risky individuals as part of MAPPA. It allows each agency to share information with relevant partner agencies and contribute to the risk management of offenders at the click of a button. Maggie knew it could help weed out some of these cases so that they didn’t waste any time.
‘The final one, Ian McNally, is on licence and the officer managing the case has referred it to MAPPA because he suspects Ian has formed a relationship with a female but is refusing to disclose, despite licence conditions specifying that he must.’
‘Can I stop you there for a second? If licence conditions say he needs to disclose, and he hasn’t, why hasn’t his officer recalled him back to custody?’ This seemed like a no-brainer to Maggie, but she knew that there were other factors to take into consideration.
Andrew took the lead. ‘If only it were that simple. In order to recall, we need evidence and when a home visit was arranged, there was nothing to substantiate the concerns. It’s all based on hearsay, which is why we’re involving MAPPA now. It will allow us to keep a closer eye on him until we have enough information to return him back to custody. We just have to hope that nothing happens between now and then …’ Andrew’s voice trailed off.
‘How do you know he’s in a relationship then?’ Maggie didn’t always like protocol but she understood when agencies’ hands were tied.
‘We’ve highlighted a few areas in the case notes where he’s hinted at a love interest but then retracted the statements or denied saying them at all. His officer was so concerned at one point that he asked a colleague to sit in the interview room as a witness to the claims.’ Sarah pulled out the copy of the case notes and handed them to Maggie.
Maggie read the notes carefully. Ian McNally definitely alluded to having a relationship but the words were what raised the red flags with her. Everything he said seemed to be one-sided. He had informed his officer that ‘she doesn’t know it yet, but we were destined to be together’ but also that he, ‘often watched out for her when she left work’.
‘I’m guessing we don’t have a name of who he was talking about?’ Maggie searched the document to see if she had just missed the information.
‘No, we don’t. As you can see, he’s very evasive. But what did stick out with me after speaking to his officer was his current address.’ Sarah pointed to the bottom of the sheet. ‘Isn’t that a few miles away from each of the victims’ addresses? It is also within easy transport of Stafford and Markston. We know he drives as he found himself a job as a delivery man.’
‘A delivery man? With his record, how was that employment approved?’ Maggie was in shock. Surely Probation had a say in what type of employment one of their cases took on.
‘Our hands were tied with this one. Arrangements were made via an employment agency that works directly with prisoners prior to their release. They undertook an assessment and because he wouldn’t be alone at any given time, it was felt that it would be a suitable employment opportunity for him on release.’ Sarah sighed. ‘This is the problem – one agency assesses risk one way and sometimes ignores Probation’s concerns.’
‘I thought you raised these things in parole reports?’ Maggie was growing more agitated by the minute.
‘We do. But in this case, our concerns were noted as we initially refused to back parole, but he played ball at the oral hearing and the panel agreed to release him. We then had to manage the risk as best we could.’
‘Oral what?’ Maggie’s brow furrowed.
‘Sorry, I forget we don’t speak the same language at times. When Probation don’t support parole, the prisoner has the right to appeal and an oral hearing is held at the prison. The panel will consult a wide range of reports and hear evidence from professionals who are working with the prisoner. They’re looking for evidence of change in behaviour and attitude since their offence was committed and they ask what it was about their situation that led to offending behaviour, and whether they’ve addressed those issues,’ Sarah explained.
‘OK, but from what you’ve said, it sounds like his Probation Officer did address those concerns, yet the man was still released? What the actual fuck?’ Maggie shook her head.
‘This can often happen, which is now why, after the disclosures in supervision sessions, we’re referring the case to instigate MAPPA Level 2 provisions. We don’t have enough to recall him yet.’
An idea popped into Maggie’s head. ‘Would you happen to have any samples of his handwriting?’
‘Yes, we would have his signature on his licence and any worksheets he’s had to complete as part of his supervision. Why?’
‘We’ve some handwriting samples but nothing to compare them to in terms of identified persons of interest. If we had copies, we could easily eliminate or possibly identify our killer. Can I see them?’
‘Hang on, DC Jamieson. We have a protocol to follow, as I’m sure you’re well aware. I’d have to check that out with our Public Protection Team before I can give Sarah the go-ahead on that front,’ Andrew interrupted.
Maggie had known it was too good to be true but noticed a smirk on Sarah’s face. ‘What do you know that I don’t?’ Maggie was curious now.
‘We might have to wait for sign off to get the worksheets, but the police should have a copy of his licence already.’
‘And that helps us how?’
‘It would have their signatures on it …’