Assessment of MPA Role on Crime Disorder Reduction Partnerships

Report: 7
Date: 29 October 2009
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report provides a snapshot of the MPA’s current role on CDRPs when compared with the APA’s guidance for police authorities, ‘Contributing to Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships’ The role of police authorities (June 2009). The outcomes of this performance scan are highlighted in a ‘Health Check Matrix’ Appendix 1. The table is coded using a traffic light system of green, amber and red.

A. Recommendations

That

1. Members note the current assessment of the MPA’s role on CDRPs;
2. officers produce an action plan to address any identified areas for development and report back to this committee in December 2009

B. Supporting information

1. The MPA is a responsible authority within each crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) and is required to play an active part in the development of strategic crime and disorder reduction work in each of the 32 London boroughs.

2. Additionally, the MPA and MPS have a collective duty to ensure that local people’s views on crime and disorder reduction priorities are included in the development of local crime and disorder strategic assessments.

3. It is MPA policy that each member (with the exception of the chair and vice chair) will elect to link with at least 1 London borough to engage with and represent the MPA in its CDRP duties. Each link member is supported by a link Engagement & Partnerships Officer (EPO) working within the Engagement and Partnerships Team. The link officer is assigned to support the link member in a number of boroughs and will also undertake specialist duties.

4. This report follows on from an initial briefing prepared for Victoria Borwick in November 2008, which proposed a review of the MPA’s role on CDRPs. A review of the MPA’s role on CDRPs is timely as;

1. it is important for police authorities to periodically review service provision to ensure its duties and responsibilities are being met appropriately and this will be especially important in the context of meeting the partnership requirements of the police authority inspection regime;
2. the Chair of the MPA has implemented a series of Joint Engagement Meetings (JEMs) to facilitate joint problem solving on crime and community safety issues with CDRP partners and other agencies, such as the British Transport Police, London Criminal Justice Board and Transport for London, and a consistent and robust presence at CDRPs will allow the authority to ensure that actions and good practice from the JEMs are considered and incorporated into borough CDRP partnership plans;
3. he restructuring of the MPA and the realignment of resources has resulted in a reduction in the number of link EPOs from eight to five and a review of the MPA’s role on CDRPs at this time, will inform the new ways of working that will be necessary to maintain appropriate officer support for link members.

5. This review has been conducted as an assessment of the Authority against the APA’s guidance on the role of police authorities on CDRPs. The outcome of this assessment is at Appendix 1, which uses a traffic light system of green, amber and red.

6. Members should note that the APA guidance is a national framework and that given the geographic and political complexity of London some of the assessment criteria are less relevant and/or impractical for the MPA to fully implement.

7. Members are invited to discuss the assessment matrix, and to offer any views, which will then inform further work by officers to develop an Authority-wide action plan.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a responsibility on all public authorities to have due regard to the need to tackle racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations. As one of five statutory partners the Authority has an equal responsibility to ensure the general duties are met within the context of CDRP activities.

2. In this regard the Authority works with CDRPs across London to promote the consideration of race and equality impacts in the development and implementation of local community safety strategies.

D. Financial implications

None

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Naomi Simpson, Engagement & Partnerships Officer, MPA

For information contact:

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

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