Reports from Sub-Committees

Report: 8
Date: 17 May 2010
By: Chief Executive

At each meeting of the committee members receive a report from the sub-committees and related forums that have meet in recent weeks.

The report provides members with details of the key items considered at those meetings.

This report covers the following meetings:

• Hate Crime Forum (22 March 2010)
• MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board (13 April 2010)
• Equality and Diversity Sub-Committee (22 April 2010)
• Community Engagement and Citizen Focus Sub- Committee (29 April 2010)

Hate Crime Forum (HCF)

The focus remained on disability hate crime and associated issues.

The HCF discussed the possible issues that could be learnt from the Leicestershire - Pilkington family case and what, if any changes the MPS could/would make to its Standard Operating Procedures.

The Forum also reviewed data on disability hate crime and complaints from those with disabilities. Of approximately 8,000 complaints against the police, 234 complainants were declared as having a disability. It was acknowledged that disability is not always recorded and therefore further work is being conducted to assess whether there is a disparity in the number of complaints received from those with disabilities and whether there might be any particular barriers to them doing so.

The next meeting of the HCF will take place on 22 June 2010 and will focus on race and faith hate crime.

MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board (DSVB)

The DSVB met in April and received a report from the MPS on how they intend to respond to the eight recommendations within the DSVB Annual Report (presented to CEP in January 2010). They outlined plans to maintain the reduction in no-criming for rapes, support the inclusion of sexual violence service provision in local area agreements and CDRP priorities, and introduce a process of accessing feedback on service provision for victims of domestic violence.

Lewisham borough also presented to the April meeting and had a number of very positive achievements including exceeding targets for domestic violence sanction detections and arrests, several projects underway through partnership with the local authority which tackle sexual violence and creative ways of engaging and raising awareness, as well as accessing young people in consulting on issues. Areas they were invited to follow up included referrals of potentially trafficked women and improvements on the SCD2 sanction detection rate.

The next meeting of the DSVB will be on 1st June and will receive reports from Waltham Forest and Redbridge boroughs.

Equality and Diversity Sub Committee

The Equality & Diversity Sub-Committee (EDSC) convened on 22 April 2010 to receive reports on the Directorate of Public Affairs (DPA) communicating with London’s diverse communities, the MPS Languages Programme and an update on the implementation of the Equality Standard for Police Service (ESPS).

The meeting was well attended with over 30 community guests in attendance. Standing orders were suspended by the Chair, Kirsten Hearn, to allow these guests to contribute directly to the discussion.

Community Engagement and Citizen Focus Sub- Committee

The sub-committee received a report on the Independent Custody Visiting Scheme, detailing developments over recent months. The report also considered issues related to the average length of service for volunteers and the impact of turnover on service delivery, as well as the Home Office decision to significantly increase the vetting requirements for those visiting detainees held under anti-terrorism legislation. Members considered this would have considerable impact both in terms of additional costs, but also potentially on the Authority’s ability to recruit to the ICV scheme.

The committee also received a report on, and agreed, the 2010/11 funding allocations for borough Community and Police Engagement Groups and also for a number of other community engagement activities.

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