Minutes

Minutes of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 1 July 2010 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Reshard Auladin (Chairman)
• Tony Arbour
• Chris Boothman
• Jennette Arnold
• Joanne McCartney
• Jenny Jones
• Caroline Pidgeon
• Valerie Brasse
• Cindy Butts
• Clive Lawton

MPA officers

• Jane Harwood (Deputy Chief Executive)
• Bob Atkins (Treasurer)
• Siobhan Coldwell (Head of Policing Policy Scrutiny and Oversight)
• Jane Owen (Planning and Performance Improvement Officer)
• Hamera Asfa Davey (Oversight and Review Officer)

MPS officers

• Anne McMeel (Director of Resources)
• Adrian Hanstock (Territorial Policing, OCU Cmdr)
• Mark Simmons (Directorate of Professional Standards)
• Lynne Owens (Territorial Policing Operations)
• Nick Rogers (Directorate of Resources)
• Richard Clarke (Director of Strategy and Resources)

1. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

1.1 Apologies were received from Toby Harris.

2. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

2.1 There were no declarations of interest.

3. Minutes of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee 10 June 2010

(Agenda item 3)

3.1 Members agreed the minutes for the above meeting.

Resolved - That the minutes of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee held on 10 June 2010 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

4. Urgent actions and urgent operational issues

(Agenda item 4)

4.1 The Chair asked the MPS to update the committee on their response to the ECHR decision which declared S.44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to be unlawful. The committee heard that a Gold Group had been formed and was awaiting guidance from the Home Secretary regarding how to proceed.

5. Appointments to sub committees

(Agenda item 5)

5.1 Members agreed the appointments notified to them in agenda item 5, the addendum paper to that item, or the appointment of Victoria Borwick to the Olympics Sub Committee as verbally notified to the Chair.

Resolved – That all appointments to Sub Committees of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee be confirmed.

6. Summary of reports from sub committees of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee

(Agenda item 6)

6.1 Members received the report.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

7. Headline performance report

(Agenda item 7)

7.1 The MPS introduced the report, which was intended to measure performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) during the first two months of the financial year. Most Serious Violence (MSV) remains low (23% down), and the past two months have seen a seven percent reduction in crime where a knife has been used to injure. Burglary is at its lowest level in 12 years, dropping consistently with MSV figures. The MPS highlighted robbery as a potential challenge, as well as the retention rate of BME officers – targets in relation to this may be missed, and will be reported on in future.

7.2 The MPS indicated that the Olympics performance board has reported that they are on track with targets. Paragraph 18 refers to the challenges project management teams have faced in achieving Olympics targets, attributing delays to delivery partners. The MPS clarified that this remark is levelled not at the MPA but in relation to governance in general, and is intended to enable Members to distinguish between structural problems within the MPS and project delivery challenges.

7.3 Members sought to clarify what tactics are available to the MPS in tackling knife offences. The MPS responded that Operation Vinco attempts to coordinate activities: deploying Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) as a physical deterrent; weapons sweeps (including 200 in the past week, and leading to 2000 confiscations to date); stop and search; and joining up intelligence (utilising the victim-offender-location framework). Members requested a briefing note in relation to Operation Vinco.

7.4 The MPS confirmed to Members that with regard to gun and gun-enabled crimes, the ‘proactive use of the firearms OCU (CO19)’ (paragraph 12) refers not to street patrolling but to youth engagement activities.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

8. Thematic performance report

(Agenda item 8)

8.1 The MPS introduced this report into ASB and road casualty, describing the brief as complex and crediting Adrian Hanstock for producing as lucid and coherent an account as possible. New activity in London includes the incorporation of greater numbers of Metropolitan Special Constables (MSC officers); and work on ASB which incorporate learning from the Pilkington case. Each borough has been provided with a new tool kit regarding the handing of ASB and an HMIC progress report is forthcoming.

8.3 The Chair commended the report for providing excellent summaries of various areas of work, and notes good practice in a number of these areas. Given the projected budgetary tightening, it is important that MPS concerns itself with providing efficiency and best practise. The MPS responded that with regard SNTs the ‘80% on visible duties’ target is challenging as EPIC – which measures the time teams are operationally on wards – is predominantly premised upon self-input data. The case of Bromley was cited as an example of the dangers of such practice.

8.4 In light of the recent abolition of the Policing Pledge, Members requested to know whether the MPS was intending to keep similar internal targets. The MPS has been considering the issue and will update the SOP Committee at the September meeting.

8.5 Members welcomed the work of Safer Transport Hub teams on after school patrols, detailed at paragraph 36. The MPS acknowledged that such teams may suffer due to potential conflicts of priorities between TfL and the MPS. They are currently managed via a Gold Group chaired by DAC Lynne Owens, which coordinates with TfL and reviews the tasking of teams by borough commanders.

8.6 Members questioned whether the level of traffic policing was sufficient given the number of uninsured vehicles on the roads – 10,000 seized within the last four months – and the impact this has on other road users, for example. The MPS conceded that tackling illegal road users is an excellent method for reducing criminality in general, but reminded the committee that every police officer has powers to stop vehicles, and officers can tackle these crimes in other forums – SNTs challenge potential risk-makings within the context of neighbourhood policing, for instance. It was noted that the four biggest killers on the UK’s roads are not listed in order at paragraph 87.

8.7 Members questioned whether the practice of abstracting ward teams to work in town centres is a sustainable one or whether it puts unnecessary additional staffing pressures on teams. It was the understanding of the committee that SNTs are not used for this work, despite that a number of quiet boroughs could offer secondment to such teams. The MPS confirmed that this would be a rational method by which staffing pressures could be reduced, and agreed to come back to the MPA on the subject.

8.8 Members sought clarification regarding the competence of CCC operatives and the robustness of repeat caller identification - paragraph 42. The MPS responded that the calls were being dip-sampled and that the MPA could receive a report on the outcomes of this process. Operatives are given training regarding vulnerability, discussions from the customer user forums (with senior MPS managers) being fed into this training. Defining ‘vulnerability’ had been discussed, but was rejected as any definition is likely to preclude or ignore certain groups and may be unable to account for the fact that often it is the situation that will render people vulnerable.

8.9 Members requested a briefing note regarding Operation Staysafe – informing them as to whether this programme was designed in order to provide child protection, and whether the practice of taken the young into police protection was on the increase.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

9. MPA Safer Neighbourhoods Scoping Study

(Agenda item 9)

9.1 MPA Officer, Hamera Asfa Davey introduced a scoping study, into a potential Safer Neighbourhoods scrutiny, which concentrated on Harrow, Croydon, Fulham, and Hackney. The study is premised upon local interviews in order that variation across wards can be observed and the bespoke qualities of each local service measured.

9.2 The Chair updated the committee on a briefing that had taken place the previous week in order to address possible next steps the formal scrutiny could take. It was agreed at that briefing session that the structure of teams was the prevalent concern that emerged from the scoping interviews. Assistant Commissioner MacPherson is currently preparing a briefing on Territorial Policing (TP) realignment and the Chair intended to meet with him on the following day in order to ensure that the MPS and MPA were not duplicating their efforts.

9.3 Members expressed concerns that the study should not begin from the assumption that SNTs are failing when, in fact, they have proved very successful. The committee agreed this point, noting that the study shall encourage the dissemination of best practice across the MPS.

9.4 Members welcomed the emphasis on team structure, and expressed particular eagerness for the scrutiny to focus its consideration on ‘flexibility models’ of delivery. Policing issues straddle borough boundaries, and often green spaces create ambiguity regarding where ward borders lay. The needs of borough commanders vary and perhaps the allocation of officers within SNTs should reflect this. The make-up of ward panels could also be considered.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted.

2. the scrutiny should concentrate on the structure of SNTs.

10. Delivery plan for the MPS Anti-Violence Board

(Agenda item 10)

10.1 The MPS outlined that the delivery plan for an Anti-Violence Board (AVB) had been developed following engagement with the Senior Management Board and the MPA Gangs Panel. From these discussions it emerged that the problem was not only one of groups of offenders but of ‘violence’. The AVB would be established in order to develop a broad anti-violence strategy.

10.2 A similar MPS board is currently jointly chaired by the Assistant Commissioners for Territorial Policing and for Specialist Crime. This board goes beyond considerations of victim-offender-location to consider cross-cutting issues such as family engagement and child protection. The board looks at strategic partnerships with local authorities and social services, for instance. The proposed AVB would be a pan-London board and would probably require a Government body to provide policy direction given the ambiguity regarding its remit.

10.3 Members requested to know how the proposed board would differ from the current one, and if repeat victimization and disability would be priorities of the AVB. The MPS responded that the current board simply manages the delivery of strategy developed elsewhere, whereas a more independent board could establish the direction of ‘violence’ policy. It was reported that repeat victimization is ‘at the heart’ of the strategy, and disability was acknowledged as a gap that would be addressed in future plans.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

11. IPCC presentation from Deborah Glass

(Agenda item 11)

11.1 Deborah Glass, Deputy Chair of the IPCC, provided a presentation to the committee regarding the work of the IPCC since last May. Between then and the present date, she has met informally with members and officers of the MPA in order to ensure frequent communications between the two organisations. One question that she hoped to emerge from the presentation was: in what ways could this relationship be better formalized?

11.2 The MPS received approximately 10000 complaints p/a, and only a small number of these is referred to the IPCC – in all cases of death and corruption, for instance. The trend is for increasing numbers of complaints to be referred year on year (771 this year). The IPCC has an increasing investigative capacity (33 this year), has been supervising MPS investigations more regularly (66 this year), but have managed fewer investigations as measured against the previous year (62 this year).

11.3 Most referrals are assessed and sent back to the MPS, who have a far greater capacity for investigation. The IPCC considers cases based on ‘themes’. Some themes oblige the MPS to refer, whereas some are agreed voluntarily e.g. cases involving the use of tasers, and the use of s. 44 powers. Of the 33 independent investigations this year many fall into the mandatory themes – 12 for failure of duty, 9 for use of force, and 5 for death).

11.4 Protests surrounding the G20 conference engendered a number of complaints which required a joined-up response. If individuals have been caught in a ‘kettle’, for instance, this is a concern for broader policing tactics as opposed to a complaint in the strictest terms. As such, the IPCC coordinated with HMIC – who were completing a review of policing tactics – in order to drive down duplication and ensure information sharing. Many referrals from the DPS were not mandatory.

11.5 The IPCC intends to shore up public confidence by responding to specific allegations, and learning recommendations tend to be limited in number. Deborah Glass has been in consultation with the committee Chair in order to define a process by which IPCC recommendations are incorporated into MPA core business.

11.6 Since 2010 the IPCC has been providing thematic supervision of complaints regarding TSG officers (including all of those cases involving injury). The IPCC would be happy to report back to the MPA on the conclusions of this work.

11.7 Challenges to the work of the IPCC include: bureaucracy – the statutory guidance regarding the assessment of all complaints, including those that appear vexatious; operational capacity in face of possible Government cuts; and the degree of scrutiny provided by police authorities regarding recommendations. It is the position of the IPCC that the MPS should be willing to apologize, and that complaints should be dealt with more efficiently at a local level.

11.8 Members asked whether the IPCC has a direct call-in facility, to which Deborah Glass responded that they do, but that it is rarely required for complaints to be heard by the organisation directly as police services have been proactive in referring cases. The IPCC confirmed that they were not seeking further resources in order to handle greater numbers of cases – as the body should address those cases that may have serious implications for public confidence only. However, it is crucial that their frontline service is protected.

11.9 Members commented that the IPCC is often thought to be excessively ‘pro-police’, and this may be due to the fact that the implementation of recommendations is not then monitored. Deborah Glass responded that it is the role of police authorities to ensure implementation, and that the IPCC does monitor. The committee was advised that any confusion with regard the responsibilities that fall to each organisation was likely caused by the demise of the MPA’s Professional Standards Committee. Recommendations from the IPCC will be worked into the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee programme, and the IPCC is happy to assist with training and support.

11.10 The MPA sought best-practice advice, given the IPCC’s country-wide remit. The IPCC responded that the remit of the MPA is so broad that it is difficult to draw comparison. The revised statutory guidance on police complaints issued by the IPCC is replete with examples of how best to handle complaints at a local level. A key issue is the local handling of complaints (although a change in primary legislation would be necessary to ensure that this is done). Deborah Glass reported that local resolution rates were in fact down within the jurisdiction of the MPS.

12. Professional standards indicators

(Agenda item 12)

21.1 The MPS informed Members that although public complaints were up during 2009/10, the increase was in fact greater in the year previous. Events relating to the G20 summit accounted for a significant proportion of the change. Although reports of ‘incivility’ are down, ‘oppressive behaviour’ and ‘failure in duty’ are up.

21.2 Decision-making related to professional standards comes from strategy meetings chaired by the Deputy Commissioner. Strategy is then rolled out to borough management teams. This year, training has focused on incivility, and the fact that this area has seen a reduction is encouraging – targeted interventions can make a difference.

21.3 A key process in ensuring professional standards indicators are met is the complaints intervention scheme, wherein officers are flagged if they attract three complaints in 12 months. The number of officers on this scheme has been reduced by one third over the course of the last twelve months. Territorial Support Group (TSG) officers account for the greatest reductions. With regard borough resolution, the MPS challenged the perception that local investigation is more likely to generate user satisfaction; it may in fact yield greater unsubstantiated complaints, and local forces lack the resources that the DPS employ in order to assess complaints procedures.

21.4 Members requested to see a more detailed breakdown of borough performance in order to understand whether the reductions and increases notified to the committee were distributed proportionately, and if not, which borough are improving. The MPS responded that the failure in duty rises have not been proportionate. The borough data will be provided. Each borough operates different procedures and high levels of complaints often reflect the need for early intervention. Packages of bespoke borough statistics– which include a breakdown of complaints by team - are now provided to commanders.

21.5 Members reflected on the benefits of early apology as a tool to minimise formal complaints. The MPS responded that, institutionally, the MPS does find apology difficult. One reason is that it can potentially engender legal challenge. Further to this, Members noted that years of monitoring the MPS have belied a predominantly reactive approach to training. The MPS responded that the DPS runs proactive operations based upon intelligence (particularly regarding corruption), and that a forward-looking strategy report is published each year – this work entailed the aforementioned incivility training.

21.6 Members asked how it was that the MPS could be confident in the assertion – contained within the EIA – that there is no impact on race and diversity, when no breakdown on ethnicity has been included within the report. The MPS replied that the breakdown is available and will be in the next report. There are some areas of disproportionality – in the profile of staff reported and in complaints relating to stop and search, for instance. The Chair noted that this should be included in forthcoming CBs.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

13. Update on the new IPCC statutory guidance

(Agenda item 13)

13.1 The MPA invited questions regarding this report. Members were satisfied with the content.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

14. DLS bi-annual report

(Agenda item 14)

14.1 The MPS requested that in future this report should be received yearly as opposed to every six months. The committee heard that this report followed the previous format (which had received positive feedback). The DLS has maintained high standards (including Lexcel accreditation), and have provided a number of initiatives including a training DVD regarding employment tribunals.

14.2 Members requested to hear some detail regarding the DLS advice on use of unclaimed stolen bicycles. The DLS have advised that bikes could be used internally for local initiatives, and transport interaction with the public (officers/PCSOs could use them if in good condition, but specialist teams or external organisations could not due to potential liability issues).

Resolved - That

1. the report be noted.
2. the recommendation that the report now be received annually is approved.

15. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 15)

15.1 Members agreed to exclude press and public.

Part 2: Summary of exempt items

16. Exempt minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2010

(Agenda item 16)

16.1 Members agreed the minutes of the above meeting.

Resolved - That the minutes of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee (Part 2) held on 10 June 2010 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

17. Request for funding in relation to a civil claim

(Agenda item 17)

17.1 Members considered a request for additional funding made by the MPS in order to settle a civil claim.

Resolved - That

1. the report be noted.
2. the payment ceiling outlined in the report was agreed.

The meeting ended at 4.30 pm.

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