Specialist Crime Directorate - Thematic Performance Report

Report: 6
Date: 5 November 2009
By: AC Specialist Crime on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report gives an overview of Specialist Crime Directorate’s performance against its headline measures and targets with commentary on any significantly under or over performing areas

A. Recommendation

That members note the report and make any comments:

B. Supporting information

1. This report provides an overview to the committee on Specialist Crime Directorate’s (SCD) performance against our previously agreed headline measures. The financial year-to-date period covered is 1 April to 27 September 2009 inclusive. It also contains projects or improvement work; some examples of operational successes against serious and organised crime; updates on implementing efficiency savings and highlighting progress against our diversity strategy.

2. All crime data supplied has been reconciled with Performance Information Bureau and where appropriate should match that contained in any complementary corporate submission.

Headline Measures

3. The table below shows our range of headline measures and our financial year-to-date performance against the targets. Where appropriate the targets feature our contribution to help achieving the corporate target.

4. The specific forensic measure originally submitted in July’s paper to the committee has been replaced with a more appropriate outcome based one.

5. There are two areas we have highlighted for this report. They are homicide offences and detection rates; also gun crime offences and detection rates with a focus on Trident fatal and non-fatal shootings.

Table notes:

1. Financial year-to-date period covers April 1 to 27 September 2009
2. Both targets set and monitored by Economic and Specialist Crime Command
3. This figure does not yet include the transfer of Sapphire or additional officers for Child Abuse Investigation Command
4. The only available data covers April to August 2009

Gun crime offences

6. There has been a significant increase of 257 or 18% rise in gun crime offences recorded in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). There were 1,714 offences compared with 1,457 for the same period last financial year. SCD had responsibility for the investigation of 528 or almost 31% of offences committed in this crime category (Territorial Policing have responsibility for investigating the other 69% of offences). This is a 47% increase in the more serious end of offences. Southwark is the borough with most gun crime offences in this reporting period. The five boroughs with the highest number of offences account for 32% of reported gun crime offences, almost a third. Lambeth and Southwark have consistently appeared in the top three boroughs with the highest number of offences over the last four years.

7. Currently the weekly average is around 66 offences. If this rate is maintained, the end of year forecast is likely to be around 3,432 offences. A projected increase of 407 offences or 13% on last year’s final figure of 3,025 offences. This will provide an end-of-year figure closer to that of 2007/08. Realistically we are not in a position to achieve the 3% reduction target as the remaining weekly average should not exceed 47 offences for this to happen. This was always a challenging target as the last few years had witnessed a sustained reduction in offences.

8. The overall MPS gun crime sanction detection rate is 24.9%. The corporate target is 25%. There have been 428 FYTD detections. The detection rate is slightly down by 0.2 percentage points when compared with the last financial year (25.1%) though 3.6 percentage points with two years ago. SCD has detected 143 or 27% of the offences they investigated.

9. Discharges of firearms investigated by Trident increased from 123 to 236 FYTD. Fatal shootings wholly involving members of black communities (investigated by Trident) decreased from 6 to 4 over the same period, but fatal shootings involving members of other communities (investigated by Homicide and Serious Crime Command) increased from 2 to 7).

10. The increase in firearms discharges has continued to be a matter of grave concern to the MPS and the subject of significant cross-business group operational activity. Gold groups have put in place joint action plans for a number of Boroughs and cross-Borough problems. Members of communities and Independent Advisors have been fully involved in the development of plans. The plans are supported by the daily review of violence-related intelligence and incidents of violence, and the daily tasking of a wide range of tactical resources under Operation Verano. Operation Argon is being put in place for several autumn weekends and over Christmas. Since Argon was first run in December 2007, shootings linked to pubs and nightclubs have fallen from about 15% of all shootings to about 4%.

11. Trident’s proactive operations (supported by additional operational activity within Serious and Organised Crime Command) continue to generate significant arrests and gun seizures. A worrying trend has been the increasing arrests of young women for storing and carrying guns on behalf of partners and friends, and it is possible that mandatory minimum sentences for possessing firearms are leading to gunmen storing their weapons with otherwise non-criminally involved people. This resulted in the focus on young women in the recently launched Trident media campaign.

12. The proportion of victims of black community shootings who are teenagers has reached 38%, and Trident concludes that teenagers’ relative impulsivity and a lack of understanding of consequences may be contributing to the increase in discharges. Also noteworthy has been an increase in the use of shotguns and converted handguns. It is believed that this is due to better availability of the ammunition for such weapons and the difficulty in procuring other viable weapons and ammunition. There remain a significant number of witnesses and victims who are wholly uncooperative with police investigations (currently approximately 40%) and Trident’s Independent Advisors are leading work to combat this. This factor presents serious challenges in dealing with this crime and perpetuates retaliation shootings. The number and proportion of non-fatal gunshot wounds to the leg has increased; it may be the case that gunmen are deliberately seeking to avoid a 30 year mandatory minimum prison sentence for homicide with a firearm by shooting victims in the leg.

Homicide

13. There have been 55 homicide offences FYTD. This is 33 or 37% fewer than the same reporting period last year and 37 or 40% fewer than in 2007/08. If the current trend continues the projected end of year figure should be around 110 offences. This would be the lowest total in many years.

14. There are three OCUs with murder investigation capability. Firstly, Homicide and Serious Crime Command investigate the majority of offences. FYTD they’ve been assigned under their terms of reference, 50 offences and have a detection rate of 100%. Though their in-year detection rate is 80% (excludes detections claimed for pre-FYTD - allowed by Home Office counting rules).

15. Trident FYTD are investigating 4 homicide offences and have a detection rate of 75%. This is two fewer offences when compared with last year. In the context of this year’s significant increase in Trident gun crime offences it is worth highlighting. Their in-year detection rate is 25%. It has previously been reported that the teams are often dealing with reluctant, frightened or un-cooperative witnesses. Reasons for this can include from fear, intimidation and suspicion.

16. Child Abuse Investigation Command has a single murder team. They are currently investigating one offence and have two detections. Both of these are claimed from last reporting year. These investigations can be both complex and protracted.

17. We continue to meet the target detection rate. As they are low volume offences this picture can quickly change. The success can be attributed to many parts of the organisation working well together coordinated by the Homicide Command. There are a number of initiatives the MPS have been doing to reduce homicide which include a formal debrief structure of every investigation assessing if the offence was preventable or predictable and if there is any organisational learning to be shared. There are a number of ongoing campaigns e.g. joint enterprise and 'hide his gun and you commit a crime'. It is too early to say if these measures have had a direct effect on the current reduction of offences. Officers are also currently involved in a number of non-homicide investigations.

Projects and Improvement

18. On Wednesday 23 September 2009 the people and resources investigating rape and serious sexual offences formally transferred to the directorate. Details about the project’s implementation, was the subject of a recent separate report to the Authority.

19. The evidential drug identification testing (Edit) pilot is being supervised and managed by the Drugs Directorate. It’s a new, quicker way to identify class A drugs and ensure offenders are processed quickly with reduced bureaucracy. Other benefits include fewer people are failing to answer bail and savings in cost and time for the MPS and criminal justice partners. The MPS is one of two early adopters. It has been running in all 32 boroughs and Heathrow/City airports. Between June and August 1,763 tests were conducted and 1,280 of those arrested were charged on the day. It is estimated that this process has saved around £1.7m in opportunity costs and £176k in forensic submissions.

20. Our Specialist Crime Prevention and Partnership Team are leading the Mediation project. It is developing a conflict management / mediation service for the Metropolitan Police Service. This service will be targeted at gangs and serious youth offending with the primary prevention aim of reducing death and serious injury. The service went live at the beginning of September. 2,750 hours of mediation are scheduled as part of the contract until the end of June 2011. A pan MPS steering group under the chair of Commander Organised Crime and Criminal Networks has been established to develop a set of minimum standards in commissioning mediation, in the future as well as monitoring the current contract. Three referrals from Lambeth and Southwark have been made to date. Hackney and Lewisham boroughs are in the process of making referrals. Croydon and Greenwich are the next BOCUs due to come on line. The project management and implementation has been evaluated by 'Tribal Consulting' as part of the overall MPS evaluation and has been cited as good practice

21. An advertising campaign aimed at young women, warns them about the grave consequences of storing and transporting guns for others. The campaign features radio, cinema and billboard advertisements aimed at 15 to 19 year old women from the black community. It targets the six priority boroughs and is a response to a recent rise in the number of women being arrested and convicted for possessing weapons. It’s planned to run for four weeks and designed in consultation with the Trident Independent Advisory Group.

Operational successes

22. Some recent successful investigations by our units include:

23. Two men made thousands of pounds from a sophisticated identity fraud business were sentenced to prison in July. They pleaded guilty to possessing apparatus for making false identity documents with intent to making or supplying articles for use in fraud and possession of false identity documents with intent to supply. An intelligence-led operation by officers from Operation Maxim - organised immigration crime team in conjunction with UK Borders Agency discovered them operating from a flat where thousands of fake documents using a host of high-tech equipment were produced. These included false European identity documents, UK Driving Licences, European driving licences, utility bills and banking documents as well numerous European passports. These would have been used to defraud financial institutions, the UK benefit system and businesses, and gain false identities in order to commit crime.

24. Officers from MPS’s Serious and Organised Crime Command, in partnership with colleagues from Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Serious Organised Crime Agency disrupted a criminal network. The members were convicted of conspiracy to supply £6.5 million worth of heroin at crown court. The majority were London based. An initial investigation found an individual to be in possession of £160k in the boot of his car. Following that arrest, officers from the MPS later arrested two men in possession of four kilos of heroin. This was of high purity, increasing its street value. All the men had previous convictions for serious drugs offences.

25. A man who had his love rival shot while the victim cut a seven-year-old boy's hair has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The victim was working when the accused and three other men walked into the shop. They produced guns and fired five shots - miraculously missing the boy and other customers, only hitting the victim. Without warning the four men shot at him five times, hitting him in the chest, arm and back. In the ensuing chaos and confusion, they ran away on foot. The victim was taken to hospital where he received emergency treatment for serious lung damage and a bullet remained lodged in his left shoulder. He is still recovering. During the investigation conducted by detectives from Trident, it became apparent that the accused had been incensed by the victim's relationship with his estranged wife. He had become aware of the relationship by chance and having initially warned off his rival he plotted the shooting.

26. A gang who kidnapped two innocent men and held them hostage for a week, before planning to murder them, were sentenced to 53 years imprisonment. Two men were working in a sports shop, when six men entered and threatened them - one of them armed with a firearm. After ransacking the shop and placing large amounts of sports clothing in laundry and black bags, the suspects forced the workers from the premises. One attempted to escape; he was grabbed, punched to the floor and dragged along the ground by his t-shirt. The two were then handcuffed before being forced into a car. The hostages were taken to an address where over a period of seven days they were kept handcuffed and blindfolded with duct tape. They were kicked and punched, continuously threatened with torture and serious violence, and told they would be killed. A covert police operation was launched by officers from the Kidnap Unit after receiving an anonymous call. Throughout the course of the operation ransom demands were made to the families of the hostages. Police officers witnessed men going back and forth to the vehicles carrying bags. A short time later the victims were escorted from the flats, still wearing handcuffs and black plastic bags with hoods on their heads. At this point armed officers intervened, arresting three suspects and rescuing the two hostages. Investigating officers later discovered that the hostages had been showered and dressed in black bin liners before being taken from the address - a likely indication that they were being led to their death when police stepped in.

27. A paedophile, who had 3,000 child abuse images on his computer, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment. He was arrested by the MPS’s Paedophile Unit following an investigation in the Forbidden Realms website. The website was being used as an online meeting point for paedophiles so that they could trade images to each other and as a result of the investigation has been closed down. Forensic analysis of the suspect’s computer revealed indecent images; also he had been distributing the images through Google Hello. He was subsequently charged and found guilty at crown court where he was sentenced for: five counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of possessing indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children. The judge made him subject to a sexual offenders’ protection order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

28. Two men were sentenced following a series of armed robberies on bookmakers in north-west London. The Flying Squad launched an investigation following a short series of armed robberies over a period of eight days. The suspect would enter the premises, sometimes two in one day, whilst an accomplice stayed at the entrance to the premises, acting as a 'look out'. He would hand over a demand note to the staff which is some cases would make reference to the staff being shot if they didn't comply with his requests. During the first offence of the series, the suspect and accomplice ran from the shop and were seen to drop an imitation handgun by a passer-by. This handgun was subsequently recovered by police. CCTV obtained from the robberies quickly enabled detectives to identify a suspect. As a result of a covert surveillance operation mounted by the Flying Squad and a dedicated surveillance team, they were arrested immediately after they had committed a robbery. They were subsequently charged and pleaded guilty at a crown court hearing. One suspect, a self-confessed crack addict, carried out the spree of robberies in order to feed his drug habit.

Efficiency savings

29. As part of the 2009-12 business planning process, we identified in excess of £15m of efficiency savings that would be delivered by the directorate as a result of foregone growth, better contract management and a general improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of our core deliverables.

30. By far the largest contribution towards the £15m was made by Forensic Services, who relinquished £5.6m of anticipated growth, together with a cut in real budget allocation of a further £5m. Due to improved management control and more efficient procurement of forensic contracts this saving is on schedule to be delivered during 09/10 financial year. The expectation is that further budget reductions will be possible in future years.

31. Further savings are on course to be achieved through the reduction in the size and consolidation of several teams. These include Intelligence Standards Unit (£1m), Covert Policing Standards Unit (£0.5m), Service Review Group (£0.5m) and Extradition Unit (£0.4m).

32. Additional general efficiency savings of £0.5m are also being delivered across the directorate as a result of better use and management of resources such as vehicles, overtime and general running costs.

33. The final proposed efficiency saving related to a reduction of 25 police staff posts. Those posts identified were vacant and had been so for a period of time and were in addition to those identified above. In a full year this reduction was expected to realise a further £1.3m.

34. Although these posts were removed from our overall establishment, the policed staff numbers and budget were reduced accordingly. Period five forecast currently shows a predicted overspend (of £3.8m), implying that the saving will not be achieved in this budget line.

35. However, our budget bottom line, we are expecting an out-turn under spend of £1.7m. Therefore the full £15m is on track to be delivered by the end of the financial year, although in slightly different categories than originally envisaged

Diversity

36. Since our formation in 2002, the Directorate has seen a steady increase in black and minority ethnic (BME) officers. In March 2004 (the first year for which data are available), there were 107 BME officers in SCD, comprising 3.8% of its workforce. In August 2009, 5.6% of police officers (176 officers) and 18.3% of police staff (498 staff) are from a BME background, compared with 9% and 24.8% respectively in the MPS as a whole.

37. The directorate has 22.6% female police officers and 58.7% female police staff, which matches the MPS as a whole. While overall we are in excess of the target of 20% female officers, there is an imbalance between the OCUs with over half of female officers in the Homicide & Serious Crime and Child Abuse Investigation Commands. Forensic Services has the largest number of police staff and just over half (51%) are female.

38. The Director, Business Support is the Command Team lead for diversity and is supported by a full-time diversity coordinator. Each OCU has nominated a colleague to lead on diversity related matters. We have a Diversity Forum with members from each OCU, as well as representatives from the staff associations and Diversity & Citizen Focus Directorate.

39. The Forum monitors SCD OCUs’ diversity action plans and their progress on improving representation across all strands of diversity. The Forum has a meeting plan, which has included presentations, with speakers from both inside and outside the MPS, on each of the six diversity strands as well as other topics such as mental health and staff support associations. Each meeting also gives two SCD OCUs an opportunity to update the Forum with progress on their diversity action plans and to share good practice. Examples of OCU good practice includes open days, health events and mentoring schemes.

40. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime (DACSC) and Director Business Support visit each OCU every six months to discuss performance. The briefing packs for these visits, prepared independently by SCD’s Performance Improvement Unit, include information on diversity in the OCU and discussions on diversity form part of the performance review.

41. We have reviewed our diversity reporting and focused on including key diversity information in the quarterly Delivery Report. The report includes information on the number of special constables permanently attached and those assisting us on a regular basis. It is planned to include information about police staff special constables in future reports.

42. We developed a short equality impact assessment template (EIAs on a page) for business group planners to use to assess any equality issues of SCD’s and the OCU’s policing objectives. This has been in use for the last two years as part of embedding them into day to day working practices.

C. Race and equality impact

The activities that form this report and the data content are arrived at with a regard to delivering Specialist Crime policing services tailored to the needs of individuals and communities. The contents of this performance report should fully comply with equal opportunities policies and associated MPA/MPS Diversity issues.

D. Financial implications

As per the London Policing Plan, the budget for 2009/10 is £390m with a workforce of 3,279 police officers (an increase from previous report due to receiving surveillance officers from counter terrorism command) and 2,774 police staff. All activities outlined above will be delivered within this funding envelope.

E. Legal implications

As this is a performance monitoring report there are no direct legal implications arising from this report.

F. Background papers

• None

G. Contact details

Report author: Raymond Marshall, Specialist Crime Directorate, Performance Improvement Unit

For information contact:

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

Abbreviations

BME

Black minority ethnic

BOCU

Borough Operational Command Unit

EIA

Equality impact assessment

MPA

Metropolitan Police Authority

MPS

Metropolitan Police Service

OCU

Operational Command Unit

SCD

Specialist Crime Directorate

UK

United Kingdom

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