Lambeth Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)
The Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) is part of Lambeth's coordinated community response to domestic violence. The Lambeth MARAC is chaired by the Detective Inspector of the Lambeth Police community safety unit and is coordinated by the Lambeth Council Domestic Violence Project Officer.
The MARAC is a monthly meeting where professionals meet to share information on high and very high risk cases of domestic violence. Information about the risks faced by those victims, the actions needed to ensure safety, and the resources available locally are discussed and used to create a risk management plan involving all agencies. By sharing risk related information, within a multi agency framework, agencies get a clearer picture of the victim's situation and current risk levels. This facilitates the development of responses that are tailored to the needs of individual victims and their children. Safe information sharing also allows agencies to manage the perpetrator in ways that aim to reduce the future risk of harm.
Lambeth MARAC panel membership includes representatives from the voluntary and the statutory sector. Agencies represented at the Lambeth MARAC include:
- Lambeth Police community safety unit
- London Probation Service
- Lambeth Primary Care Trust
- South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust
- Gaia domestic violence centre
- Lambeth Women's Aid
- Reach Independent Domestic Violence advocacy project
- Mozaic Independent Domestic Violence advocacy projec
- Refuge Independent domestic violence advocacy project
- Lambeth Victim Support
- Lambeth council-Children's and Young Peoples service
- Lambeth council - Education welfare Officers
- Lambeth council - Substance misuse team
- Lambeth council - Safeguarding adults
- Lambeth council - Housing services
- Lambeth council - Learning disability team.
Lambeth MARAC referral criteria
To be included in the MARAC the victim must reside in the borough of Lambeth, be over the age of eighteen and be assessed as being at a high or very high risk of harm of domestic violence by the referring agency.
Lambeth MARAC referral process
Cases referred to the Lambeth MARAC can come to the meeting by two routes:
- A referral by the Lambeth Police Community Safety Unit when a case has been identified as being at high risk and/or there have been four police incidents in the last 12 months
- A referral by a MARAC panel member when a case has been assessed as being at a high risk of harm.
Professionals who would like further information about the Lambeth MARAC, should contact Jade Holvey, Domestic Violence Project Officer, Lambeth Council on 0207 733 8724/ 0207 926 4877 or email on Jholvey@lambeth.gov.uk.
For further information about the MARAC and for MARAC agency information toolkits go to the Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA) website: www.caada.org.uk.