Acting Commissioner's report

Report: 5
Date: 24 February 2011
By: Acting Commissioner

Summary

This report summarises recent performance in the MPS, as well as operations and initiatives designed to tackle crime and make London safer.

It is intended to update MPA members and give a high-level, strategic view of the work of the MPS. It highlights the Commissioner’s operational priorities of improving public confidence, tackling serious violence and serious youth violence, delivering value for money policing, ensuring a safe and secure Olympics and countering terrorism.

The performance figures referred to throughout this report are those for April to December 2010, the latest available before the deadline for submitting this report.

A. Recommendation

The report be received.

B. Supporting information

1. The following paragraphs offer Members a summary of recent performance within the MPS. The performance data referred to below is for April - December 2010 compared to April - December 2009. This is the most recently available data at the time of writing. At the Full Authority meeting, the Commissioner will be able to update members on performance in January 2011.

2. The report also makes reference to the financial situation facing the MPS. Full Authority had previously received the revenue budget position at the meeting held on 25 November. A revised draft business plan and budget, along with a response to the Mayor’s draft consultation budget for 2011/12, was considered at the 27 January Full Authority where it was agreed that it would be further discussed at February’s Full Authority.

Confidence and Satisfaction

3. The MPS has been in regular discussion with the MPA about our response to the abolition of the Policing Pledge by the Home Secretary last year. A paper was presented to the Communities, Equalities and People Committee on 13 December, detailing the decision to replace the Policing Pledge with a set of public statements that set out the MPS intentions.

4. The most recent British Crime Survey results show that the percentage of people who agree that the police and local council are dealing with anti social behaviour and crime issues that matter in their area rose to 56.7% for the rolling year to September 2010, up from 56% for the rolling year to June 2010 and ahead of our year end target of 55.4%. The MPS also remains first in its Most Similar Forces comparison group.

5. User Satisfaction Survey results relate to the period April to December 2010. Overall satisfaction remained stable at 78.9% compared to 79.1% for the period April to June 2010. White user satisfaction remained stable at 80.9% (compared to 81% for the period April to June 2010) and BME user satisfaction fell slightly to 73.2% (compared to 74.2% for the period April to June 2010).

Performance

Total Notifiable Offences

6. Total Notifiable Offences (TNOs) in the period from April to December 2010 were down 0.8% on the same period last year. That equates to 4,832 fewer offences, the lowest number of TNOs in April - December since 1998.

Serious Acquisitive Crime

7. Serious Acquisitive Crime (robbery, motor vehicle crime and residential burglary) is up 1% for the period from April to December 2010. This equated to 1,385 additional offences (up to 145,583 offences from 144,198 offences).

8. This has been predominantly driven by a recent rise in motor vehicle crime which is up by 2.7% or 1,991 offences compared to the same period last year. The MPS continue to tackle this crime on a borough by borough basis targeting known hot spots.

9. Robbery also continues to present a challenge, up by 6.3% or 1,535 offences. The increase in personal robberies remains the driver behind this, up 7.5% or 1,640 offences. Within this, personal robberies where a gun was involved decreased by 21.7%. Knife enabled personal robberies have risen by 13.2%, however the main driver in this rise has been robberies where a knife was intimated. Robberies where a knife was used to injure have fallen by 2.7%.

10. In response to this rise the MPS has continued with Operation Blunt 2 and extended Operation Autumn Nights, which was originally launched to address the seasonal upsurge in robbery and violence in early November, to the end of the financial year. Whilst clearly a challenging area for the MPS it is important to bear in mind that robbery is still at its third lowest level for the last ten years.

11. Alongside increased operational activity, a targeted media campaign has been launched urging the public to keep valuable possessions safe, particularly around transport hubs.

12. There were 2,141 fewer residential burglary offences over the period April to December 2010 compared to the same period last year. This represents a reduction of 4.7% and currently exceeds the end of year target of 4.0%.

Most Serious Violence

13. Violence with Injury (VWI includes all Most Serious Violence and Assault With Injury offences) is showing a reduction of 5.7% for the period April 2010 to December 2010 compared to the same period last year.

14. Overall gun crime has continued to fall, with 429 fewer offences (a reduction of 16.6%) as have instances where a firearm has been discharged, down by 8.2%, or 47 fewer offences.

15. The MPS is making significant strides in reducing gun crime in conjunction with broader efforts to reduce violence. Bespoke Trident plans are in place for specific Boroughs; Operation Verano is targeting extra resources based on intelligence; SCD7 is focussing on tackling the supply of firearms; and the media is being used proactively to increase public understanding, provide reassurance and encourage information.

16. Whilst this reduction is clearly pleasing, the challenge remains to maintain this over the longer term, especially crimes where guns have been discharged and homicides where a gun has been used and this rightly remains a key focus for us.

17. Knife crime continues to remain a challenge, up by 4.9% (454 more offences) compared to the same period last year. As mentioned in Paragraph 9 above, robbery remains a driver behind the rise in knife crime, in particular robberies where knives are being intimated as a threat as opposed to being used to injure victims.

18. It is encouraging that instances where a knife is used to injure continue to fall, down by 4.6%. That is 150 fewer stabbings on London’s streets, with offences reducing from 3,242 to 3,092.

19. As well as Op Autumn Nights the MPS employs knife arches and hand held scanners at schools across the capital, weapon sweeps in parks known to be high risk areas and through an intelligence-led approach, focussing on geographic crime hotspot areas and high-risk offenders.

Homicide

20. There were 5 more homicides during April to December 2010 compared to the previous year, an increase from 93 to 98 deaths. This is the second fewest homicides for the period over the last 12 years since 1999/00.

21. Preventing homicides, especially of teenagers, is the cornerstone of the MPS’s anti-knife crime strategy which revolves around Operation Blunt 2 and The MPS continue to focus our partnership work on the prevention of these tragedies.

Serious Youth Violence

22. In April to December 2010 there were 45 fewer offences of serious youth violence compared with 2009, a decrease of 0.9%.

23. To keep young people safe, we continue to maintain our tactical focus through the umbrella of Operation Verano, which includes the Blunt 2 taskforce, Safer Schools officers, Safer Transport Teams and local BOCU officers working together to ensure a safe journey for young people between home and school.

24. The key to tackling serious youth violence is prevention. The vast majority of police work will always be about suppression, so the prevention work carried out by our partners in government, local government and our communities is vital.

Domestic Violence and Hate Crime

25. The period April to December 2010 saw further reductions in the number of reported Domestic Violence and Hate Crime offences. Domestic Violence offences were down by 4.9% (1,963 fewer offences), Racist and Religious Crime offences were down by 11.7% (913 fewer offences) and Homophobic Crime offences were down by 4.4% (49 fewer offences).

26. Despite this reduction it is important to recognise that these are under-reported crimes and that the MPS takes all domestic violence and hate crime offences seriously.

Rape

27. In April to December 2010 compared to the previous year, the number of recorded rape offences has increased by 409 offences over the same period last year (up by 20%).

28. The MPS continues to proactively work with our partners to tackle rape offences and a report was presented to SOP committee on 9 December discussing the first year of operation of the SCD2 Sapphire Command.

Policing London 2000-2010

29. As the Acting Commissioner reported to the January Full Authority meeting, the MPS has taken a look back at the picture of crime over the last ten years. Crime in London fell by almost a fifth in the decade 2000-2010.

30. In 2010 the burglary rate of people’s homes was at one of its lowest levels. In a city with 3.2 million homes, last year saw fewer than 59,000 burglaries. The 18% fall since 2000 partly reflects our targeting of burglars through Operation Bumblebee and other initiatives, including Secure by Design and partnership working with local authorities.

31. Motorists are suffering substantially less crime than a decade ago, thanks to nine consecutive years of decrease, with theft of vehicles down by 58% (fewer than 27,000 recorded cases across London’s 32 boroughs in 2010, down from 63,000 in 2000). Theft from vehicles came down 31% in the same period.

32. 2010’s homicide rate, the lowest for at least a decade, represents 16 fatalities for every million London residents, a quarter of the homicide rate of New York.

33. During the past decade robberies reached their highest level in 2001, and are now 32% lower, representing over 16,000 fewer victims a year.

34. These reductions were achieved alongside the unique challenges of policing the capital city, including routinely policing over 4,500 events every year - and most recently a series of high profile protests - and preparing for a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games.

35. Operational changes, such as the single patrol initiative increasing visibility and presence and the streets, and a raft of reforms in support functions are positioning the service to face the challenges of the next decade with a significantly reduced budget.

Better for Less

36. The Mayor’s Draft Budget was presented to the London Assembly on 10 February. The document identifies that the MPA/MPS now has a balanced budget for 2011/12 with further savings required of £92.9m in 2012/13 and £174.3m in 2013/14.

37. A great deal of excellent work has already taken place to make savings - in 2008/09 the MPS saved £72m; in 2009/10 it saved £194m. In 2010/11, the MPS is on course to save a further £315m.

38. The MPS remains committed to continuing to deliver a better policing service for less by streamlining business support and making best use of operational assets. A significant part of this includes making efficiency savings in business support services.

39. The Commissioner has made clear to all MPS staff that his focus is on protecting operational capability as far as possible. That means delivering a policing service that recognises the importance of both the visible uniformed presence on the street and the specialist policing services the MPS provide - often working largely unseen but affecting people’s lives significantly, such as tackling organised crime, firearms, drugs and child trafficking.

40. The 2011-14 Policing London Business Plan is being considered elsewhere on this agenda.

41. The additional income for 2011/12 from the Mayor is very welcome. However, the Service still faces a very challenging financial environment including the need to deliver savings of £163m next year.

Olympics

42. The MPS continues to work closely with its partners to ensure that the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games pass off safely and securely. The general view from all concerned is that The MPS are very satisfied with the position that the MPS are in (in terms of our planning) but that the MPS recognise that there is much to do and the Games are approaching fast.

43. There have been a range of significant meetings during the last period which have included the Olympic and Paralympic Gold Group and the National Olympic Security Coordination Board.

44. The first National Olympic Communications Coordination Group took place in January with representatives from police forces across the country. The purpose of the group is to bring a consistent approach to communicating key messages in the preparations and build up to the games in 2012.

45. On 1 February AC Allison, Robert Raine from the Home Office and Sir Ian Johnston from LOGOG presented the overarching safety and security plans to senior members of the IOC Co-ordination Commission. The presentations were well received and no major issues were raised by the IOC.

46. On 15 March LOGOG will launch the opening of their ticket sales process. The Operation Podium team are heavily involved in this launch, with a view to ensuring that opportunities for ticket fraud are limited. All forces will be provided with a centrally agreed set of crime prevention advice regarding economic crime and ticket fraud and this advice will be built into internal, external and stakeholder communications ahead of the ticket sales process.

47. The first London 2012 International Safety and Security Conference hosted by the Police Service and the Home Office will take place at the QE2 Centre on the 16 and 17 March 2011. The conference will brief international partners on the safety and security arrangements for the Games.

C. Other organisational & community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. This report is concerned with overall MPS performance, but a number of equalities issues are highlighted, notably measures to encourage the reporting of domestic violence.

2. Throughout all the operational activity detailed in this report, the MPS strives to improve the quality of service provided to victims of hate crime, ensuring that a consistent and effective service is provided to London’s diverse communities; to improve performance against domestic violence, ensuring a consistent level of service across all communities and minimising disproportionality issues; to increase community trust and confidence in the police; to develop a workforce that reflects the diversity of London.

Consideration of Met Forward

3. This report fully reflects how the MPS is delivering the three key outcomes of Met Forward: fighting crime and reducing criminality, increasing confidence in policing, and providing better value for money.

Financial Implications

4. The financial challenges facing the Service are highlighted under Section B of this report.

5. Reports on the progress against the current business plan and budget are submitted on a regular basis to the MPA. As at Period 9 (December 2010) the revenue budget is forecast to overspend by £0.9m The Service is taking action to deliver an underspend of £11m as per the 2011-14 Budget and Business Plan.

6. The Capital Programme as at the end of Period 9 (December) shows year to date total expenditure of £124.1m. This total represents 44.9% of the revised annual budget of £276.3m. The forecast for the year of £224.7m represents an under-spend of £51.6m (18.7% of the revised annual budget).

Legal Implications

7. As this report is a summary of operational performance data, no legal implications arise.

Environmental Implications

8. This report contains no direct environmental implications.

Risk Implications

9. The risks and opportunities are reflected in the content of this report and controls are in place where appropriate.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Michael Debens, Director of Business Strategy, MPS

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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