Minutes - draft

These minutes are agreed.

Minutes of the meeting of the Communities, Equalities and People Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 2 February 2011 at 10 Dean Farrar Street,, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Cindy Butts (chair)
• Reshard Auladin
• Victoria Borwick
• Kirsten Hearn
• Clive Lawton

MPA officers

• Fay Scott (Head of Equalities and Engagement)
• Natasha Plummer (Engagement and Partnerships Manager)
• Lynne Abrams (Public Protection Policy Officer)
• Michael Taylor (Committee Officer)

MPS officers

• Steve Rodhouse (Commander, Crime and Customer Strategy)
• David Skelton (Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate)
• Gabrielle Nelson (A/Director of Recruitment)
• Simon Hockley (Employee Relations Manager)
• Darren Bird (A/Director, Employee Relations)
• Ellie Ryan (Strategic Director, Employee Relations, Health and Well Being)
• Alan Catlin (Investigation and Criminal Justice)

40. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

40.1 Apologies were received from Faith Boardman (MPA Member), Valerie Brasse (MPA Member), and Majella Myers (MPS)

41. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

41.1 There were no declarations of interest.

42. Minutes and action sheet:  Communities, Equalities and People Committee – 6 January 2011

(Agenda item 3)

42.1 The minutes were agreed as a correct record. It was agreed that the report on the development of Special Constables shall be received at CEP in July.

43. Oral update from the Head of Equalities and Engagement

(Agenda item 4)

43.1 Members were advised that the Race and Faith Inquiry Symposium on Multi-Point Entry, which had taken place on 12 January 2011, had received much positive feedback from delegates. A conference report is being produced, which shall recommend the exploration of a pilot scheme. This report shall be presented to the Home Office, with MPA members being kept informed.

43.2 The MPA has developed a service improvement plan in order to monitor the recommendations of the Race and Faith Inquiry, which shall ensure that the recommendations are examined by reports commissioned for MPA committees. The establishment of a joint MPA/MPS monitoring group to oversee this progression is also being considered.

43.3 An MPA position statement on Independent Advisory Groups has been produced; which identifies the key issues which were raised by members, and will be presented to the MPS in order to ensure that all concerns are addressed. This paper shall also be circulated to members. An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) governance protocol is also being implemented, with the MPA liaising with relevant MPS units to ensure that there is a consistent framework.

44. Update on the MPS Community Engagement activity

(Agenda item 5)

44.1 David Skelton introduced the report; which is an interim update pending the development and confirmation of the full action plan, which shall be presented to the Committee in May. In order to monitor the activity, the MPS has established a ‘Confidence and Satisfaction’ Board and ‘Children and Young People’ Board. A Disability Independent Advisory Group has also been established, with its members being inducted in late February. New technologies for virtual consultation are also being used as a supplement for community consultation, although this will not replace personal engagement with the public by Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

44.2 Members noted that with growing public uncertainty over the impact of a reduced policing budget, the MPA has a role in reassuring the public, and shall require full details of the MPS community engagement action plan. Members also noted that with the upcoming changes in MPS policies; full community engagement and equality impact assessments (EIAs) shall need to be conducted in order to keep the public informed.

44.3 The MPS acknowledged the current lack of details, pending the confirmation of the budget, but confirmed that the MPS does have plans for community engagement work in 2011/12. The MPS is conducting a cost/benefit review of the mechanisms used to engage with young people, with the aim of identifying and promoting good practice. The expanded use of neighbourhood newsletters to enhance public confidence is being further developed, and the neighbourhood link scheme is also being implemented met-wide.

44.4 As a new way of engaging with the community, the MPS is identifying natural neighbourhoods (which are identified by the public themselves, rather than by traditional ward boundaries), which is a method of engagement approved by the National Police Improvement Agency. An example of a natural neighbourhood may include areas which comprise neighbourhood watch groups. Members noted that there is a difference between neighbourhoods and communities; as some communities may consider their natural neighbourhood to cover a wider area, and that consideration must be given to both when consulting with the public.

44.5 Members requested that the update report in May include comprehensive details of the MPS Community Engagement action plan.

45. Victims’ Code Of Practice (VCOP) performance update

(Agenda item 6)

45.1 Steve Rodhouse introduced the report, which shows generally high levels of compliance with the code of practice for updating victims on the investigation of their reported crime. The MPS recognises the link between police engagement with the public and public satisfaction; and have commissioned work to further raise levels of compliance and customer satisfaction. This has been made a priority for Borough Commanders, with the Ministry of Justice also conducting a review of VCOP.

45.2 Members noted that although the general level of compliance has risen by 66% in the last 3 years, the level of victim satisfaction has only risen by 10%; and enquired how the quality of contact with victims is monitored. Although the VCOP requires investigators to maintain contact with the victim as a minimum standard, it does not require physical visits to victims, with contact often taking the form of letters or phone messages. Members also noted that certain boroughs have comparatively low levels of compliance, especially in relation to Domestic Violence offences, rather than Serious Acquisitive Crime (SAC), and enquired as to the disparity. The MPS explained that because the Victim Focus Unit has control of SAC cases, victim updating is more consistent, whereas Domestic Violence cases are dealt with by individual Community Safety Units.

45.3 Although this report provides a detailed overview of one of the obligations of the VCOP, the VCOP details 48 obligations in total. Members requested that a future report be received detailing a wider selection of the 48 indicators; detailing those with high, medium and low compliance. Members also requested further details of work commissioned to improve compliance, along with an analysis of relevant equality and diversity issues.

Action: MPS to provide a future report on Victims’ Code of Practice, including an analysis of a wider range of the 48 VCOP indicators, details on measures taken to increase compliance, and methods of monitoring the quality of contact with victims.

46. Detective capacity and capability

(Agenda item 7)

46.1 Cressida Dick introduced the report, and outlined the expansion of the detective pool to almost double strength in the last ten years. There is now a greater distribution of detectives across all specialisations, rather than just Territorial Policing. A review of operations which require specialist detective skills is under way; for example there has been an increased deployment of detectives working in Counter Terrorism, which requires specialist investigation skills. It is also recognised that where detectives are transferred, sufficient coverage needs to be retained within all specialist units in order to maintain appropriate skill and capacity to investigate all crimes.

46.2 In the last five years there has been a rapid increase in the number of BME staff (80%) and female staff (60%) in detective ranks, and this is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Work has been done to make detective rotations more family friendly and to help staff negotiate with their Operational Command Units to achieve a balance between business and family needs. There have been many developments to increase levels of BME detectives and success cannot be attributed to any one initiative, and the MPS has also established a ‘promoting difference’ team. Members requested a briefing on how the MPS is progressing lateral development opportunities for BME and female staff.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing on lateral development opportunities for BME and female staff.

47. Operation of the Unsatisfactory Performance Procedures (UPP) in the Metropolitan Police Service

(Agenda item 8)

47.1 Ellie Ryan introduced the report, noting a rise in cases of UPP in 2010 (42 cases) from 2009, when there were 17 cases. UPP covers officer sup to and including Chief Superintendent, with most cases coming from Territorial Policing, and in 2010 40.5% of cases involved Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) individuals. There are initiatives to identify UPP hotspots, to promote professional standards, and conduct early interventions.

47.2 Compared to other constabularies, UPP is currently underused by the MPS; the MPS engages with Staff Associations through SAMAURI, and also provides support to managers and business groups in order to examine issues of disproportionality. However, due to the relatively small numbers of UPP cases, it is difficult to conduct full research into potential causes of disproportionality.

47.3 Prior to progression to a UPP case, managers must have raised issues with staff at an informal discussion; as these discussions are not monitored, it is difficult to quantify the scale and effectiveness of this process. The MPS does plan to capture information on these informal meetings, but without turning it into an overly formal process. It was agreed that a further report on disproportionality issues shall be received at a future meeting.

Action: MPS to provide a report on arising disproportionality issues in six months time.

48. MPA/MPS Annual violence against women report

(Agenda item 9)

48.1 Lynne Abrams introduced the report, which is the first joint MPA/MPS report exploring the MPS response to Domestic Violence under the Mayor’s Violence Against Women agenda. The report aims to promote examples of critical success factors and best practice in both partnership working and problem solving across London boroughs. This report is publically available and shall be widely publicised through the MPA website and borough Domestic Violence Coordinators, with Steve Rodhouse also presenting the report to MPS Borough and Area Commanders. The report has also been included in Violence Against Women newsletters, and has been circulated to hundreds of agencies nationally. MPA link members can also promote the work and share information with their specific boroughs. An executive summary of the report may also be adapted for public consumption.

Action: MPA to provide summaries to MPA link members to promote at meetings with their assigned boroughs.

48.2 Members commended the co-chairs of the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board (Valerie Brasse and Kirsten Hearn), Lynne Abrams and MPS officers for their work on compiling this report.

The meeting was closed at 4.25 pm

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