Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Equalities & Diversity Sub-committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 11 February 2010 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Cindy Butts
• Jennette Arnold
• Kirsten Hearn
• Clive Lawton

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive)
• Bennett Obong
• Michael Wadham
• Shirani Gunawardena
• George Fry
• Naomi Simpson

MPS Officers

• David Skelton
• Darren Williams
• Mark Clark
• Susan Patterson
• Jim Foley
• Gurpal Virdi

Others in attendance

• Deborah Gold
• Sue Saunders
• Doug Lewins
• Marie Stewart
• David Coles
• Mark Healey
• Warren Scott
• Bob Hodgson
• Melissa Raudnask
• Tayo Disu
• Peter Collier

17. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies were received from Chris Gidson, Phiroza Gan-Kotwal, Daniel Winterfeldt and Denise Anderson.

18. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

No interests declared.

19. Minutes: Equality and Diversity Sub-committee 22 October 2009

(Agenda item 3)

Notes amended to reflect attendance of Doug Lewins and Marie Stewart

Resolved to approve the notes of the meeting held on 22 October 2009 as a correct record.

20. MPS Service delivery and LGBT Communities

(Agenda item 4)

20.1 David Skelton introduced the report on MPS service delivery to LGBT communities. In particular he outlined the role of the new MPS diversity strategy, with its four themes of a Fair and responsive policing service, community engagement, workforce & working culture and governance & performance management, as underpinning the MPS service delivery.

20.2 There had been a rise in homophobic offences but this is regarded as due to improved processes in recording. The sanction detection rate has also improved considerably over the last few years from 14% to 40%

20.3 User satisfaction surveys have not recorded any difference in satisfaction between the LGBT community and other wider communities.

20.4 There are approximately 210 LGBT Liaison Officers (LO). The contribution of LGBT groups was recognised in supporting work into critical incidents.

20.5 There has been an improvement in service delivery but more remains to be done.

20.6 The MPS has risen in the Stonewall top 100 employers for LGBT staff from 35th to 21st overall and from 9th to 4th in terms of police forces.

20.7 Questions received by the MPA from the public prior to the meeting were put to the MPS around the need to recognise the LGBT sex trade and work with involving/consulting groups at a local level and the need to take action around specific LGBT venues and individuals near them being the target of homophobic attacks. Should there be targeted patrols around these venues?

20.8 The MPS responded that a community engagement strategy is being developed to try to reach all sections of the community with the right methods of engagement. The MPS has an early warning system to identify repeat victims and areas. In addition there is extensive monthly data breaking down information by borough. Link commanders receive this information directly from Darren Williams.

20.9 While there have been 235 more reported offences than last year this is partly due to increased public confidence. Much of the increase is of a 'low level' (antisocial behaviour /name calling). Serious violence has not increased

20.10 The MPS has become better at identifying homophobic crime. Previous ‘flagging’ systems did not allow a break down as to the specifics of the hate crime which made identification difficult

20.11 Kirsten Hearn said that for those who have experienced violent homophobic crime often report that it starts with verbal abuse, so a rise in 'low level' homophobic crime is still concerning.

20.12 Darren Williams agreed and noted that in the Fiona Pilkington case the low level offending wasn't dealt with which led to tragic consequences. He added that more reports of low level offending will help prevention work and that he wanted people to report their first experience of hate crime to stop escalation.

20.13 Sue Sanders requested further information on the 'watch over me scheme'. She added that she thought there should be further research into hate crime in schools and that teachers needed to be adequately trained on equality and diversity issues. Homophobic bullying in schools would be regarded as a hate crime on the streets.

Action: Information on Watch Over Me Scheme to be made available

20.14 Darren Williams responded that further information on the 'watch over me scheme' can be made available. He added that he didn't think that children would recognise what they were doing as a hate crime and, while that did not make it right, it would impact on the approach taken. A web page is being put onto the MPS website that will help people identify what a hate crime is. The MPS will endeavour to build better links with schools.

Action: MPS to develop improved information sharing systems with schools

20.15 Kirsten Hearn asked what was being done around boroughs that report an increase in homophobic or transphobic crime.

20.16 Darren Williams said that the Territorial Policing (TP) Violent Crime Directorate is there to advise and provide data but in addition there is the important role of the link commanders. These are ACPO commanders who oversee other borough commanders.

20.17 Members interjected however that commanders frequently move role which makes consistency of service and relationship building difficult.

Action: MPS to explore ways to mitigate continuity problems caused by Borough Commanders frequently shifting posts within the organisation

20.18 Clive Lawton commented that 'homophobia' sounded more like a fear than a crime. He raised concerns over the casual use of the word 'gay' to mean 'bad'. Is there a shrugging acceptance within the gay community that you just have to get on with things despite low level abuse? How much of low reporting is due to distrust from communities and how much is due to acceptance of this abuse? What constitutes a low level crime? Can we target a particular borough; encourage gay people in a specific area to intensively report on crimes to help us better understand the response and perhaps act as a benchmark?

20.19 Sue Sanders said the derogatory use of the word gay is a problem. It needs to be challenged in the media where it is used as a causal insult. With regards to identifying the prevalence of homophobic hate crime there are surveys that indicate 64% of LGBT people have experienced some form of hate crime.

20.20 Marie Stewart commented that low level crime is reported but the police response is not always right. If people receive a poor service they will be reluctant to report again.

20.21 Darren Williams said that unfortunately the poor first response is not exclusive to LGBT communities; it applies to all hate crime. The lessons must be learnt from the Pilkington case – if a crime isn't given a number it gets put down the list and is not dealt with quickly. Every hate crime should be dealt with by a specialist.

20.22 LGBT Liaison Officers effectiveness should be monitored centrally.

Action: The deployment and effectiveness of LGBT Liaison Officers (LOs) should be recorded and evaluated centrally. What rules and guidance for LOs are produced.

20.23 Marie Stewart asked if there were any complaints around quality of service.

20.24 Darren Williams responded that this would come under the remit of the Department for Professional Standards but if it is of benefit it could be attached to a future report as an appendix.

20.25 Marie Stewart asked how the MPS could ensure compliance at a local level. How can London's communities strengthen the Violent Crime Directorates ability to ensure policy and good practice is followed on borough? In addition how the MPS treats its LGBT staff internally is often a useful benchmark of how LGBT members of the public will be treated. Lastly what is the MPS policy on dealing with musicians/artists who give out hateful messages?

20.26 Darren Williams said that the MPS wants to ensure its work around LGBT issues is rolled out corporately across all 32 boroughs. The ACPO Link Commanders are pivotal in ensuring this happens. As for LGBT staff internally, this is a matter for every person and key leaders. He said that he personally was involved in bespoke mentoring of staff so they can reach senior positions. It was also a case of involving LGBT staff in key policy debate because of their unique view point. It's about celebrating difference within our staff and having people in positions where they can represent their community and the police. The MPS is trying to close the service delivery gap but this will take time. With regards to hate crime artists and musicians, CO14 is working on this and the MPS takes the issue very seriously; it's important that communities talk to the MPS at all levels of the organisation to help in dealing with these issues.

20.27 Doug Lewins spoke of the problems created by the autonomy of boroughs. Ways must be found to bring borough commanders in line. He asked as to the current state of the LGBT IAG. Disabled people are also part of the LGBT community; where do they feature in the statistics? What is the current state of the Diversity & Citizen Focus Directorate? If low level crime is detected does it get put to the local authority to deal with as anti social behaviour? Has this impacted on crime rates at all?

20.28 The DCFD is undergoing a review and restructure. At the moment internal talks with staff are taking place so potential changes cannot be discussed in public. Using independent advice and ensuring information filters down to local authorities is difficult and more work remains to be done in this area. Positive action is taking place around cautions and cases sent to court – both are being used. Toward the end of the year Darren Williams will be looking specifically at cautioning and what the impact might be on a victim if a perpetrator receives only multiple cautions. Work has already been done on the issue of charges versus cautions when tackling domestic violence.

20.29 Mark Heeley asked what was being done to ensure police have a presence on social media sites. For example could a hate crime reporting application be available on mobile phones?

20.30 Kirsten Hearn asked about websites such as Face Book and MySpace?

20.31 Darren Williams said that it was a challenge to move with new technologies. A new portal of some kind or another opens up every week; keeping up with these in any sort of measured way would be very difficult. There is also the issue of phones being stolen and potentially sensitive information being stolen. Despite the inherent difficulties he advised that he would consider it positively.

20.32 Cindy Butts said that we need to be able to show if LGBT Liaison officers are a success or not and reminded the group that LGBT issues are not solely linked to hate crime but cover a much broader spectrum.

20.33 Darren Williams agreed and said there was a set of specific rules and guidance being drawn up.

20.34 Kirsten Hearn called an end to the questions and provided a quick summary of what had been heard at the meeting.

21. Public Protection Desk Update

(Agenda item 5)

21.1 Mark Clark introduced the report on Public Protection Desks (PPD). In effect PDD signified the move from evolving 'every child matters' to the whole of London - 'every person matters'. This will involve significant challenges around infrastructure and information management systems like MERLIN will need a massive upgrade.

21.2 In effect PDD signified the move from evolving "every child matters" to the whole of London - 'every person matters'. This will involve significant challenges around infrastructure and information management systems like MERLIN will need a massive upgrade.

21.3 Darren Williams said that if the police believe an individual is at risk an officer can call it in quickly but the level at which something becomes a risk can be difficult to identify. If its indicators like a dirty house, naked child or no food in the cupboards become apparent then child services will become involved. However child services are different across each borough so there are potentially 32 different ways of taking it forward.

21.4 Clive Lawton asked if anyone in the MPS had responsibility for checking up on such children with child services.

21.5 Darren Williams responded that if the child becomes involved with the police then yes, but not if the police are not formally involved. It is a gap the MPS is trying to close.

Action: The grey area where the police service role ends and other agencies (e.g. social services) begin must be clarified to prevent confusion and ensure vulnerable individuals do not fall between the cracks of organisations. At what point does something not officially regarded as a crime become a problem of serious concern? How is this identified and recorded by the police and communicated to other organisations?

21.6 Kirsten Hearn asked what guidance is being given to police commanders in their boroughs to communicate with other organisations.

21.7 Mark Clark and Darren Williams responded that each individual borough needs to make a decision on how many people are dedicated to this task. Dip sampling of borough response has been carried out (e.g. what has happened to this child). The MPS has difficulties with risk and it would be useful if meetings could be risk driven and not performance driven.

Action: What guidance is given to borough commanders around communicating with other organisations to ensure people do not disappear between these cracks? What risk management systems are in place to help?

21.8 Cindy Butts suggested it would be useful to have a flow diagram that outlined where the different responsibilities overlapped or where there were gaps.

Action: Flow diagram showing responsibilities to be produced

21.9 What quality assurance processes are in place? How will the improvements to MERLIN be funded? Is there anything the MPA can do to support this process?

21.10 Mark Clark responded that information sharing agreements have been rewritten with a view to increasing information sharing with partners. Quality assurance is carried out in all 32 PPDs, but getting these accredited is a challenge in itself due to the small central team, it should be completed by the end of the 2010-1011 financial year. A report is produced each month on all individuals who make up the public protection group.

21.11 Doug Lewins noted that in the equality impact assessment it was accepted that children under 18 were a distinct group. Were they involved and what is young people's continuing role in the process?

21.12 Mark Clark agreed to report back on this issue.

Action: The Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) stated that children under 18 were identified as a distinct group. What input have they had into the role of public protection desks? Do they have a voice in how they are operated?

21.13 Kirsten Hearn asked what is meant by 'vulnerable adults'?

21.14 Darren Williams said that vulnerability is situational. He can't give a list of people who are vulnerable they are all different depending on the circumstances.

21.15 David Collier asked if he could see the quality assurance report from Croydon.

21.16 Darren Williams said that this would be a document that shows the link commanders opinion on what can be done better and probably will not be a public document. A public protection report, however, is on the MPS police website and this will show performance.

21.17 Doug Lewins suggested that the local CPEG might be the best place to raise issues on local performance and receive further information.

21.18 Cindy thanked the MPS for their hard work and good answers to the Sub-committee.

21.19 Mark Clark said that dealing with adults is currently at the 'processing stage' but the plan will be to provide a level of service to adults comparable to children under 'every child matters'. This will be a massive challenge that will take time and resources.

21.20 The Chair and members thanked the MPS for their hard work and presenting to the Sub-committee.

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