MPA management information report

Report: 06
Date: 5 June 2008
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The MPA management information report gives further detail on the EODB focus item and other equality and diversity information for hate crime, strength, recruitment and MPA staff figures.

This meeting of the Board is focusing on equality and diversity as a function of citizen focus.

A. Recommendations

That members note the report.

B. Supporting information

Summary

1. The report aims to supply committee members with information relevant to equal opportunities and diversity, and highlight any emerging trends.

2. This report utilises Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Public Attitude and Crime Victim survey data for the full financial years 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 and for quarter 1 of 2007/8, broken down by diversity strand. This is taken from analysis presented by the MPS Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate to its Diversity Board meeting. With the exception of some Crime Victim Survey data, figures broken down by diversity strand for the most recent full financial year (2007/08) were not available in time for this committee. The report also refers to some relevant research around equality and diversity as a function of citizen focus. Police officer and staff strength figures are to March 2008. Stop and Search figures are for 12 months to March 2008. Crime, detection, victim and accused data is for April 2007 to March 2008.

3. The main trends to be noted are:

Public Attitude Survey

4. The Public Attitude Survey (PAS) measures Londoners' perceptions of policing, identifies their priorities and explores their experiences of crime and policing. It covers issues such as public reassurance, fear of crime and police visibility.

5. The survey uses probability sampling to select respondents to ensure it is representative of the population of London at borough level. The survey is annual and includes 20,480 people, equating to 640 interviews per borough, per year. PAS interviews take place face-to-face in respondents’ homes.

6. The analysis below presents comparative levels of confidence in local policing based on the PAS question: “Taking everything into account, how good a job do you think the police in this area are doing?” Results include those who answered ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.

7. PAS results for each of the three years analysed (2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07) show BME respondents to have slightly higher levels of confidence in local policing than non-BME respondents (51.3% vs. 46.8% in 2004/05, 54.3% vs. 52.1% in 2005/06 and 50.8% vs. 49.2% in 2006/07), however the differences were not statistically significant. [1] The gap between BME and non-BME respondents reduced over the three years with non-BME confidence levels increasing (+2.4 percentage points) and BME confidence levels reducing slightly (-0.5 percentage points).

8. Data for disabled respondents was available for 2005/06 and 2006/07. Disabled respondents had slightly higher levels of confidence in local policing than non-disabled respondents in 2005/06 (53.3% vs. 52.5%). Confidence levels for both disabled and non-disabled respondents fell the following year, however the fall was more pronounced for disabled respondents (from 53.3% to 47.1% compared to a fall from 52.5% to 50% for non-disabled respondents).

9. Data by gender was available for 2005/06 and 2006/07. Confidence levels of male respondents were higher than females in 2005/06 (53.5% vs. 51.9%), however this fell by 4.9 percentage points to 48.6% in 2006/07. Female confidence levels fell by 1.4 percentage points to 50.5%.

10. Analysis by faith was available for 2006/07. Hindu respondents reported the highest levels of confidence (65.1%) compared to other religions (ranging from 43.2% for Jewish respondents to 48.2% for Sikh respondents).

11. Analysis by sexual orientation was available for 2006/07. Confidence levels of gay/lesbian respondents were higher than heterosexual respondents (62.1% compared to 48.6%), however the difference was not statistically significant*. A large proportion of respondents stated ‘none of these [sexual orientations]’ or chose not to provide their sexual orientation. The sample sizes for bisexual and transgender respondents were too small to conduct robust analysis.

12. Age analysis was available for quarter 1 of 2007/08 (April to June 2007). There were significantly higher proportions of respondents aged 75 years and over who believed that the police in their local area were doing a good job (65.5% compared to 53.5% overall). Respondents aged 55-64 years had lower levels of confidence compared to overall, with only 48.3% stating ‘good’ or ‘excellent when asked how good a job the police in their local area do. Other age groups had similar confidence levels to overall.

Crime Victim Survey

13. The Crime Victim Survey (CVS) measures victims’ satisfaction with the service they received from the police. Interviews are conducted with 18,000 victims of burglary, violent crime, vehicle crime, road traffic accidents and racially motivated crime per year.

14. The analysis below presents crime victims’ satisfaction based on the percentage of victims who stated they were at least fairly satisfied with the overall service provided to them.

15. BME victims were less satisfied with the service provided in each of the three years analysed (2004/05 to 2006/07) compared to their non-BME counterparts. Satisfaction levels of both BME and non-BME victims increased over the three-year period (from 62.8% to 73.5% for BME victims and from 69.9% to 79.8% for non-BME victims). The satisfaction gap between BME and non-BME victims reduced over the period, from –7.1% in 2004/05 to –6.3% in 2006/07. Satisfaction levels of both BME and non-BME victims fell in 2007/08 (to 71.8% and 78.8% respectively). This increased the satisfaction gap slightly to –7 percentage points.

16. Satisfaction levels of victims of racially motivated crimes were significantly lower than all victims over the three-year period. The gap in satisfaction between victims of racially motivated crime and all victims increased from –9 percentage points in 2004/05 to –14 percentage points in 2006/07. However, data for the most recent financial year (2007/08) showed an increase in satisfaction of victims of racially motivated crime to 68.8% (from 64% in 2006/07). This reduced the satisfaction gap with overall victims to –8.2 percentage points.

17. Data for disabled respondents was only available for a half-year period (October 2006-March 2007). This showed little difference between levels of satisfaction of disabled and non-disabled victims.

18. Female victims tended to be more satisfied with the service they received than males. However, levels of satisfaction for female victims of crime reduced over the three-year period (80% in 2004/05 to 78.8% in 2006/07) while male victims’ satisfaction increased slightly (from 76.8% to 77.6%).

19. Analysis of CVS data by faith was available for the half-year period October 2006 to March 2007. Christian respondents had the highest levels of satisfaction (78.3%) while Sikh respondents had the lowest (67.7%). Respondents who refused to provide their faith groups displayed slightly lower levels of satisfaction (67.2%).

20. The CVS does not fully collect data around respondents’ sexual orientation. It does, however, ask respondents whether they thought the crime was motivated by their sexual orientation. Those who felt that it was, had significantly lower levels of satisfaction than overall (58.3% compared to 76.6%).

21. Age analysis was available for quarter 1 2007/08 (April to June 2007). Victims aged 65-74 years and 75 years and over displayed notably higher levels of satisfaction than overall (90.4% and 92.9% vs. 75.5% for respondents at least fairly satisfied and 69.9% and 75.3% vs. 51% for very or completely satisfied).

Other data sources

22. A variety of other data sources were explored when researching this paper. As they are not routinely collected at corporate level or analysed by diversity strand it was not thought appropriate to include a full analysis of them within the paper, however brief details of two other data sources are set out below:

• Quality call back: This process consists of supervisors contacting members of the public and other external and internal customers who have had a recent contact with police officers and police staff and asking them a set of scripted questions about their experience. Information from this is used to acknowledge good work and identify areas for improvement. Monitoring of quality call back information is conducted at local level and has a qualitative focus.
• Victims Code of Practice (VCOP): The VCOP was published in October 2005. The code ensures that victims receive a minimum standard of service from criminal justice agencies. The code includes 47 obligations for the police service that must be met within one to five days depending on the vulnerability of the victim. Obligations include referring the victims to a victim support scheme and keeping victims updated of the suspects arrest, release, charge and court disposal within set time limits. The MPS monitors the percentage of cases where the victim is updated within the set time period on a monthly basis.

Research into equality and diversity as a function of citizen focus

23. According to the Home Office (2006) Citizen Focus good practice guide citizen focus policing “…means reflecting the needs and expectations of individuals and local communities in decision making, service delivery and practice”. The guide recognises that this objective applies to all communities but that different communities often have contrasting experiences of the police service.

Ethnicity

24. In an Office for Criminal Justice Reform study, Yarrow (2005) found that young black male victims of crime generally lacked confidence in the police’s ability to deal effectively with the crime. Some linked this to perceived police racism. Young men in the study who reported the crime had fairly positive views of the police’s initial response but were dissatisfied with follow up actions. Lack of confidence in the police and criminal justice system was an important reason for not reporting crime to the police.

25. The most recent British Crime Survey (BCS) (2006/07) found that people from white and mixed ethnic backgrounds were least likely to have high levels of confidence in the police, although, when the influence of other factors were taken into account, ethnicity was not strongly associated with confidence in the police.

26. BCS analysis also found that ethnicity was independently associated with higher levels of confidence in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (CJS) to bring offenders to justice. People from Asian, black, Chinese or other ethnic backgrounds were most likely to have high levels of confidence in the effectiveness of the CJS to do this. However, black people were less likely than other ethnic groups to feel that the CJS respects the rights of people accused of committing crime or treats witnesses well.

Age

27. The MPA youth scrutiny explored young people’s relationships with the police in London. An online survey of 356 young people aged between 10 and 21 years found that similar proportions stated they were either confident (44%) or not confident (40%) that the police in London would respond appropriately to their needs. Respondents who had been in contact with police in the last 12 months were slightly more likely to state that they were not confident that police in London would respond appropriately to their needs. The most common reason given by respondents for being ‘not confident’ or ‘not at all confident’ in the police was slow police response times or the police not turning up at all when called. The most common reasons given by respondents who felt confident in the police was that they felt the police had high standards, were doing a good job or that they generally had faith in them.

28. A slightly dated (2002) survey by Age Concern found that older people were unlikely to have been consulted about crime prevention in their area. They recommended that older people be consulted with and kept informed more about policing and crime prevention in their area. It was felt this would be a valuable resource to the police and crime prevention agencies and increase confidence of older people.

Disability

29. A study by the mental health charity Mind (2007) found high levels of dissatisfaction of victims of crime with mental health support needs. Almost two-thirds (64%) of victims of crime or harassment in the survey were completely or somewhat dissatisfied with the overall response of the authorities to reporting the incident. The study found that tensions between the police and those with mental distress deterred people from reporting crimes.

Faith

30. The BCS 2006/07 found that Muslim and Hindu respondents had higher levels of confidence in the police in their local area and in general compared to other religious groups however, religion was not independently associated with confidence when other factors were taken into account.

Gender

31. An earlier BCS (2004/05) found that being female was a factor associated with being confident in the police.

32. A study by Jackson and Sunshine (2007) found that around one-quarter of respondents were dissatisfied with how the police got to know the community or made themselves available to the public. However, only one in ten respondents were dissatisfied with how the police met with schools and community groups. Males were slightly more likely than females to be dissatisfied with these issues, as were younger respondents.

Please note this study was carried out in a rural area of North East England. Results may not be comparable to London or other Metropolitan areas.

Sexual orientation

Respondents to the ‘Count Me in Too’ survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people living in Brighton and Hove (February 2008) praised the police service, however indicated some frustrations with slow reactions and the requirements placed on victims. The majority of those who experienced hate crime felt that their gender and sexual orientation should be taken into account in the provision of police services. Almost two-thirds of respondents (65%) stated that they would like to see more LGBT awareness training for police officers.

References

• Age Concern (2003) Survey of fear of street crime amongst older people London: Age Concern
• Allen, J., Edmonds, S., Patterson, A., Smith, Dominic & Allen, J. (Ed.) (2006) Policing and the criminal justice system – public confidence and perceptions: findings from the 2004/05 British Crime Survey Online Report 07/06 London: Home Office
• Browne, K (2008) Count me in too: LGBT lives in Brighton and Hove Brighton: Spectrum
• Home Office (2006) Citizen focus good practice guide London: Home Office
• Jackson, J. & Sunshine, J. (2007) Public confidence in policing: a neo-Durkheimian perspective British Journal of Criminology Volume 47: 2
• Jansson, K., Budd, S., Lovbakke, J., Moley, S. & Thorpe, K. (2007) Attitudes, perceptions and risks of crime: Supplementary volume one to Crime in England and Wales 2006/07 2nd Edition Statistical Bulletin 19/07 London: Home Office
• Mind (2007) Another assault: Mind’s campaign for equal access to justice for people with mental health problems London: Mind
• Yarrow, S. (2005) The experiences of young black men as victims of crime London: Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Recorded Crime, Victims and Accused

34. Domestic Violence: The volume of domestic violence recorded by the MPS during FYtD 2007-08 has decreased by 3,760 offences or by 6.9%. In addition to the decrease in crime recorded, the sanction detection rate has increased by 5.0 percentage points to 44.3%.

35. The proportion of female victims of domestic violence has increased by 2.9 percentage points to 80.9% when comparing April to March 2007-08 with 2006-07.

36. The proportion of BME victims has remained at a similar rate of 44.5%.

37. Homicide: There were 160 homicide crimes recorded for the financial year period between April 2007 and March 2008, eight fewer than the same 12 months in 2006-07.

38. 145 homicides have been detected between April and March 2007-08, four more than for the same period in 2006-07. The financial year detection rate stands at 90.6%. This is up by 6.7 percentage points from the previous year (83.9%).

39. Rape: The financial year sanction detection rate recorded for rape offences is 33.1%, a 0.2 percentage point decrease on the rate recorded for the same period last year.

40. The percentage of recorded BME victims of rape has remained at a similar rate year on year at 41.7%

41. The proportion of female rape victims has risen by 1.7 percentage points to 92.7% compared to 91.0% in the previous year.

42. Racist Crime: The volume of racist offences recorded by the MPS in the latest financial year period has fallen by 13.3% or 1,327 crimes.

43. The proportion of female victims of racist crime has increased by 1 percentage point to 36.9%. The proportion of BME victims of racist crime has risen to 72.7% from 69.2%.

44. The current sanction detection rate for racist crime is 39.6%, a 2.4 percentage point increase from the rate recorded for the same period last year.

45. Homophobic Crime: There has been a 17.1% decrease in homophobic crimes recorded between April 2007 and March 2008 when comparing with the same 12 months in 2006-07. This equates to 203 fewer homophobic crimes recorded by the MPS. Data for 2007-08 shows the proportion of victims of homophobic crime who are female rising by 2.6 percentage points to 23.7%.

46. The proportion of homophobic victims who are BME has increased by one percentage point to 23.7%.

47. Faith Hate Crime: has decreased by 10.9% or 45 offences between April 2007 to March 2008 and April 2006 to March 2007.

48. There has been an increase of 1.7 percentage points in the proportion of female victims of faith hate crime with the 2007-08 rate at 35.6% compared to 34.0% for previous year.

49. The proportion of BME victims of faith hate crime has increased by 8 percentage points to 43.4% for 2007-08.

Police officer strength

50. Police officer strength has increased by 1.0% when comparing strength at March 2008 which March 2007. Current police officer strength is 31,3987. The percentage of police officers that are female is 21.4% and 8.2% are from BME communities. Targets set for the 2007-8 financial years for female and BME strength were 21% and 8% respectively. Both targets were met at financial year-end.

51. The number of police officers at sergeant and above ranks has increased at a greater rate as overall police officer strength (+1.5% or 117 more officers). Despite the increase, the percentage of male to female officers in this group remains disproportional. There are 15.9% female officers at sergeant and above ranks as a proportion of all female officers compared to 28.7% of male officers as a proportion of all male officers.

52. BME officers at sergeant and above ranks as a percentage of all BME officers are 13.4%. This percentage is significantly disproportional to the percentage of non-BME officers at the same rank, which is 27.1% in March 2008.

Police staff strength

53. Police staff strength has remained at a similar level when comparing March 2008 with March 2007. There was 14,070 staff at the end of March 2008. The proportion of female staff is higher than male staff at 58.5% and 41.5% respectively; where as 23.2% of police staff is from BME communities.

54. PCSO strength has risen by 14.8% year on year with the current strength at 4,226. The percentage of female PCSO strength is 34.5%, where as BME PCSO staff makes up 30.7% of total PCSO strength.

Recruitment

55. The number of police officers joining the MPS has increased by 73% year on year, with 3,293 officers joining in the 12 months to March 2008. This was largely due to a high volume of officers recruited between December and February (418, 667 and 830 officers joining respectively). Of those officers joining, 27.2% were female and 13.5% from Black & Minority Ethnic community. Both proportions were higher than the current police officer strength figures.

56. The number of police staff joining the MPS in the 10 months to January 2008 is 1,128. Of those staff joining, 55.1% were female and 22.7% from Black & Minority Ethnic community.

57. There has been a higher intake of PCSOs over the last 12 months compared to the previous year, with 1,977 PCSOs joining compared to 1,728 in the comparative period. Of those staff joining, 39.3% were female and 26.4% BME.

Retention

58. Retention rates have remained high, with the overall police officer rate of 95.6%. Female officer retention rate is higher than male officers, with rates of 97.1% and 95.2% respectively. The retention rates for BME officers and non-BME officers are 96.0% and 95.6% respectively.

59. Police staff retention rates are slightly lower, but still remain at a high level. The overall police staff retention rate is 93.6% with female and male retention rates of 93.9% and 93.1% respectively. The retention rate for BME staff is 94.4% and non-BME staff 93.4%.

Stop and Search (PACE only)

60. The number of stop & searches recorded in the 12 months to March 2008 has increased by 19.7% year on year. There is currently 53.1 recorded stop & searches per 1,000 residents in London. The number of stop & searches varies by ethnicity groups. 35.8 stop & searches recorded per 1,000 White population, 148.0 per 1,000 Black population and 54.9 per 1,000 Asian population. Stop & searches recorded for all groups show a year on year increase, with the largest for White persons, increasing by 23.5% (previously the Asian group showed the largest increase).

61. The proportion of stop & searches of male persons is 94.8% or 360,553 stops rolling year, with just 19,642 women being stopped & searched over the 12-month period.

62. The total stop and search arrest rate has reduced slightly year on year. The arrest rate for White persons is 10.3% with a slightly higher arrest rate for Black persons at 11.6%. The overall 12-month rolling year arrest rate currently stands at 10.7% to March 2008. Data for Stop and Search under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act is now published by the MPS on a monthly basis. This data is currently only available for a single month and it was not thought that analysis by diversity groups would be beneficial and statistically robust. Once more Section 44 data becomes available, analysis will be presented in future EODB management information papers. The intention is to present data on Section 44 Stop and Searches to either the September or November EODB.

MPA equality and diversity data

63. Data to April 2008 for the MPA shows that there is a total of 103 staff, of which 48% are female and 45% are BME.

64. The proportion of women in the top 20% of earners (top 4 MPA grades – SMT, 1, 2 and 3) is 37.5% or 6 people. The proportion of BME staff in the top 20% of earners is 12.5% or two people. Both proportions are significantly lower than the proportion of women and BME staff overall in the MPA.

65. The age range of staff at the MPA is between 24 and 64. The smallest proportion of staff are aged between 60 and 64 at just 5%, where as the highest proportion of staff is aged between 50 and 59, at 30% of all MPA staff.

C. Race and equality impact

All equality and diversity information has been incorporated within this report.

D. Financial implications

None.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Melissa Wagstaff & Gemma Deadman, MPA Planning and Performance Unit

For more information contact:

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

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