Minutes - draft

These minutes are draft and are to be agreed.

Minutes of the meeting of the Equalities & Diversity Sub-committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 10 February 2011 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Kirsten Hearn (Chair)
• Cindy Butts
• Amanda Sater
• Clive Lawton

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive)
• Fay Scott (Head of Equalities and Engagement)
• Michael Wadham (Policy Development Officer)
• Shirani Gunawardena (Policy Development Officer)
• Michael Taylor (Committee Officer)

MPS Officers

• Denise Milani (Director, Diversity and Citizen Focus)
• Ben-Julian Harrington (Chief Superintendent, Central Communications Command)
• Richard Heselden (Directorate of Professional Standards)
• Caroline Mortimer (Acting Director of Logistical Services)
• Michael Booker (Director, Languages and Cultural Services)
• Jon Thomson (Head of Operations, Languages and Cultural Services)
• Shaun Kennedy (Strategic Manager, Organisational Development)
• Amanda Webster-Robbins (Strategy and Improvement)
• Halil Huseyin (SAMURAI)
• Attilio Grandani (Italian Police Staff Association)
• Dan Sultem (Jewish Police Association)
• Robert Gurr (Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association)
• Bevan Powell (Black Police Association)

Others in attendance

• Nathalie Stewart (Westminster Stop and Search Community Monitoring Group)
• Doug Lewins
• Marie Stewart (Taylor-Stewart Associates)
• John Howard (De Beauvoir Safer Neighbourhood Group)
• Carol Demuth (Bexley CPEG)
• Councillor Melvin Collins (London Borough of Hounslow)
• Tayo Disu (Lewisham Community Police Consultative Group)
• Royston John (National Coalition Building Institute)

17. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

17.1 Apologies were received from: Necdet Nedjet (Turkish Police Association), Chris Brooks (Association of Senior Female Police Staff), Anita Jakhu (Brent Community Safety Board), Ivor John (Hillingdon Community Police Consultative Group), Joyce Sutherland (Bexley Community Policing Engagement Group), Peter Collier (Croydon Community Police Consultative Group), Sonoo Malkani (Harrow Community Police Consultative Group), Len Faram (Havering Community Police Consultative Group), Elizabeth Spring (Elders Voice), Frank Berry (Sutton Federation of Tenant and Residents' Associations), Gordon Deuchars (Age UK London) and Tim Bennett-Goodman (Waltham Forrest CPEG)

17.2 The Chair opened the meeting, outlining housekeeping and fire safety procedure. At this meeting standing orders are suspended to allow members of the public to speak on the subjects covered.

18. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

18.1 No declarations of interest were made.

19. Minutes: Equality and Diversity Sub-committee – 9 December 2010

(Agenda item 3)

19.1 The minutes of the last meeting were agreed, and feedback was received on actions from the last meeting.

• Details on upcoming ‘Operation Makepeace’ events have been circulated
• It was confirmed that there are currently no plans for the Gunshot Locator to be introduced in the MPS.

20. Central Communications Command: Equality and Diversity

(Agenda item 4)

20.1 Ben-Julian Harrington introduced the report; outlining the developments made in order to support the diverse Central Communications Command (CCC) workforce and address disproportionality. In response to the Race and Faith Inquiry recommendations, a central application process has been implemented, and 40% of staff on the mentoring programme are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME). Processes have been developed to address equality and diversity issues; including the use of Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs), and engagement with community consultants and faith groups.

20.2 One of the key initiatives is to open CCC to public scrutiny; terms of reference have been developed, and there is representation from London boroughs, such as an open day for CEPG chairs on 10 March 2011. For emergency 999 calls, there is currently a disproportionate user satisfaction gap between white and BME users; although this is less pronounced in non-emergency calls. Members enquired whether the satisfaction gap was could be representative of wider issues in the local communities. The 2011-12 user satisfaction survey will include specific questions to address this issue, and an independent survey company has been commissioned to examine boroughs with lower levels of satisfaction.

20.3 Members noted that although headline figures of diversity in CCC are positive; certain groups (such as Muslims) are underrepresented. Members enquired on how disproportionality in supervisory level roles can be addressed, and whether the MPS recruitment lag was a contributing factor. The CCC Equality and Diversity Board will be examining these issues at its next meeting. One of the challenges in ensuring a diverse workforce in CCC is that some staff do not declare their ethnicity/religion/disabilities in surveys. Attilio Grandani noted that staff can lack confidence that the monitoring data they provide will be protected, and that staff associations are working to provide reassurance to their members. Members suggested that a statement detailing what the data is used for, and the positive impact it leads to, could be useful in reassuring staff.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note detailing what work CCC is undertaking (including work with staff associations) to encourage its staff to provide more complete diversity monitoring data.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note on how much the ‘recruitment lag’ (i.e. the time taken to work through the system/career path) accounts for the lack of BME supervisors.

20.4 Doug Lewins enquired whether the vacancies in CCC had any impact on the work of current staff, and enquired on the composition of the Community Consultative Forums (CCF). The MPS responded that the surrender of the vacant posts has not impacted performance levels, and staff surveys and focus groups are used to identify any issues arising for staff. The CCF utilises Community Police Engagement Groups (CPEGs) because of their statutory links to boroughs, and their network of community groups.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note confirming whether an EIA was conducted when deciding to remove the vacant CCC posts.

20.5 Members enquired on the progression of the Emergency Short Message Service (SMS) for deaf service users. The MPS was the first UK police force to utilise the Emergency SMS system; it was first implemented in September 2009, and currently receives over 5500 users have registered for the service; with CCC receiving an average of 2 per day. It is the intent of the MPS for this service to become mainstreamed by the end of 2011.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note on whether a review of the SMS service has taken place, whether it has been judged successful, and whether the service will be mainstreamed.

20.6 Members enquired on the timescale for an analysis of potential causes of the disproportionality in levels of public satisfaction, and on whether there is still a central MPS skills bank, in addition to the one used by CCC. The MPS will use the 2011-12 user satisfaction survey to identify potential issues, and the results of the first quarter would be analysed around July 2011. The central MPS skills bank is still utilised, although the CCC skills bank includes details on a wider variety of work skills. Members also noted the disproportionality in misconduct cases and Fairness At Work (FAW) complaints; the MPS Service Improvement Group will be examining this, although it was noted that levels of formal misconduct have more balanced proportionality.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note on the first quarter results of the 2011-12 user satisfaction survey. This note is to include information on the disproportionality between white and BME respondents and how this satisfaction gap might be closed.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note detailing work that has been undertaken to investigate the disproportionality between white and BME individuals with regard to misconduct and disciplinary action.

20.7 John Howard enquired on the positions in CCC which are occupied by disabled staff; because CCC is office based it would seem a suitable work place for many people with a disability. Members enquired as to how CCC call centres are managed, how staff are supported, and how the centres are publicised. Due to the technological nature of the work, staff centres are more regimented, and CCC is engaging with staff to ensure they are fully supported. Open days are arranged for CPEGs to visit call centres, so that they can gain an insight into their operations.

21. Publicising the Complaints - Process to the Public and Internally

(Agenda item 5)

21.1 Richard Heselden introduced the report, and outlined the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) Customer Service Team (CST), which now serves as the single point for responding to complaints. Statistics from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) shows that over the last seven years, there has been a national increase of 113% in the number of complaints; whilst the MPS has seen a rise of 163%. CST staff have received training on equality and diversity; however it is difficult to monitor this data, as 47% of complainants do not declare their ethnicity. In consultation with IPCC, it has been requested that ethnicity data become a mandatory field, in order to improve monitoring, and to check for disproportionality.

21.2 Members enquired how the status of the IPCC is explained to the public, and how the DPS is promoted to the public as an alternate avenue for making complaints. All complaints to the IPCC are assessed as they are received; the IPCC can either investigate cases themselves, supervise investigations, or refer them to the police if they are minor. Each borough has a dedicated DPS inspector in order to engage with the community and promote the DPS.

21.3 Members enquired how the MPS responds to the perception from certain communities that making complaints may result in reprisals from police, and how the MPS can reassure the public that this is not the case. Although there is a requirement for staff to be informed of complaints made against them, it is made clear to the public that misconduct is not tolerated in the MPS. The MPS receives complaints from a range of communities, and there is no evidence that specific communities are averse to filing complaints. Members suggested that in order to reassure the public that there is no risk of victimisation in the complaints process, the MPS should publicise the positive remedial actions that have resulted from the complaints process.

Action: MPS to explore the possibility of implementing an information campaign to reassure the public that there is no risk of victimisation in the complaints process.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note on how people with mental health disabilities are assisted when making complaints.

21.4 Doug Lewins enquired as to whether there was a strategic plan to promote the complaints process to the public; how sergeants are used in the CST; the promotion of police pension forfeiture results from misconduct; and whether a dip sampling process was in place. The MPS responded that there is a marketing action plan used to promote the successes of the process, and a bi-monthly internal newsletter has also been developed, which shall publicise all good news stories. The use of sergeants in the CST ensures that a more immediate pro-active response to complaints can be implemented. The MPS utilises a training DVD to inform staff of the possible financial elements of misconduct. Following discussions with the MPA, dip sampling is now being implemented.

Action: MPA and MPS to examine ways to promote police pension forfeiture in order to reassure the public that misconduct is not tolerated in the MPS.

21.5 Nathalie Stewart enquired on the level of training that CST staff receive in supporting members of the public with mental health issues. The MPS responded that CST staff undertake customer service training which includes responding to cases involving mental health issues. Marie Stewart enquired as to the mechanism for 'collective memory' when learning from complaints. Are all complaints are recorded? Is there a central database of learning? John Howard enquired whether the Independent Custody Visitor (ICV) scheme have impacted on the level of complaints from custody. Because complaints are categorised by type of complaint rather than referrer, the influence of ICVs cannot be extracted from the data in this way.

22. MPS Languages Programme

(Agenda item 6)

22.1 Caroline Mortimer introduced the report, which outlines the progress made to deliver a more efficient and appropriate service to the diverse population of London. Key to the Language Programme is the Interpreter Deployment Scheme; which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The scheme has improved service delivery to the public, with a compliance rate of over 90%, and has also delivered savings of £9,000,000. Interpreter hub sites, with video conferencing capabilities, are being constructed at sites spread across London, and a ‘Rosetta Stone’ programme is being developed to help MPS staff to upgrade their linguistic skills.

22.2 There is an ongoing EIA on the programme; with the robustness of the interpreter list being constantly assessed, and recruitment campaigns being conducted to ensure the availability of interpreters for all languages. As part of the development of the video conferencing suites, training will be provided to staff and interpreters, along with a full evaluation. The public shall be offered a suite of services to choose how they interact with interpreters, which still includes options for face to face discussions.

22.3 Councillor Melvin Collins enquired about service delivery to those with visual impairment, dual sensory impairment and physical disabilities, and on the level of consultation with groups such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). The MPS responded that the Language Programme is engaging with the deaf community, and has developed a database of staff with specialist knowledge for liaising with these communities. There has been a 37% increase in staff registered with British Sign Language (BSL) Skills, and the programme also utilises lip-readers. Although BSL is the most widely used sign language, the programme is also developing options to accommodate users of other sign languages. Members requested a briefing note on provision of services to deaf-blind service users.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note on the provision of services to deaf-blind service users

22.4 Through their work in Criminal Justice, interpreters are often involved in work of a sensitive nature, and the Language Programme will allow staff to develop their skills to meet the requirements of the service. Members acknowledged the challenging task of developing a language programme to meet the needs of the diverse population of London, especially in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. The diversity issues shall be brought to the attention of the MPA Olympics and Paralympics Sub-Committee for consideration.

Action: MPA to forward this report to the Olympics and Paralympics Sub-Committee for consideration.

The meeting was closed at 12.15pm

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback