Police reform agenda

Report: 11
Date: 25 July 2002
By: Clerk

Summary

This paper introduces the strategic framework document. It is the result of substantial consultation and drafting, with the planning panel fine tuning this latest version. Members are asked to agree to an MPA/MPS launch in late August/early September, subject to any comments agreed at this meeting.

A. Recommendations

1. Members are invited to note the developments referred to in this report and to confirm that detailed further work should be delegated to the relevant committees.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The present programme of police reform rests on a significant tranche of recent change. The context is set in the existing legislation:

• Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 - sets out police powers in relation to stop and search; entry, search and seizure; arrest; detention; and the questioning and treatment of persons by the police.
• Police Act 1996 - provides for the organisation of police forces; sets out the functions of the Home Secretary and Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary; recognises police representative institutions including the Police Federation and Police Negotiating Board; and sets out the functions of the Police Complaints Authority and the procedures for handling complaints and undertaking disciplinary proceedings.
• Police Act 1997 - makes provision for the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad and the Police Information Technology Organisation.
• Local Government Act 1999 - makes provision imposing on police authorities Best Value requirements relating to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 - amends the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984; establishes the Central Police Training and Development Authority; and makes further provision about the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad.
• Crime and Disorder Act 1998 - establishes local partnerships between police, local authorities and others to help fight crime.

Legislative change

2. Notwithstanding considerable amendment in the House of Lords, the Bill is likely to be enacted largely in accordance with briefings the Authority received earlier this year. The following are the key and topical issues.

3. The introduction of an Annual National Policing Plan and three-yearly strategy plans.

4. In practical terms, the Act allows the Home Secretary to issue an annual policing plan which will include

• Home Office strategic planning priorities for the three year period beginning with that year
• Specific policing objectives, performance indicators and Best Value goals
• Regulations codes of practice and guidance by the Secretary of State
• Any other relevant information plans or advice.

5. Clearly the MPA annual policing and performance plan must be compatible with the National Plan but there is the potential for top down / bottom up conflict depending on how prescriptive an approach is taken. In any event, police authorities are entitled to be consulted on the Plan which will be informed by the National Policing Forum. The APA and the MPS are part of the Forum and the Authority has requested that the MPA also be represented on this influential body.

6. The first National Plan will be produced in November 2002 and the Authority will progress matters through the Planning, Performance and Review Committee.

Provisions to spread good practice (including Codes of Practice and powers of intervention where a force or part of a force is inefficient or ineffective).

7. The production of new Codes of Practice and guidance on operational matters rests with the National Centre for Policing Excellence but as this is a part of the national police training body (Centrex) rather than ACPO, chief officers are concerned that it will not be under their direction. The APA is represented on both the NCPE and Centrex Steering Boards. Under an amendment to the original Bill, the Mayor of London is entitled to be consulted over the Codes of Practice to be issued to chief officers.

8. The commissioning of the new Codes of Practice and guidance on operational matters lies with the Police Standards Unit. They selected five initial Policing Priority Areas then employed Crime Concern and NACRO to identify major obstacles to effective policing/partnership, and to make recommendations. Southwark BOCU is one of the five PPAs and the Authority will soon receive the Standards Unit report and the MPS response to it. The Standards Unit have agreed to consult with the Authority before declaring any additional priority areas within the MPS.

9. Originally the Home Secretary was to enjoy an unfettered power of intervention in failing police forces but amendations to the Bill put additional safeguards in place whilst maintaining the principle. These safeguards are

• Intervention may only be triggered by an adverse report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
• The requirement to produce an action plan will be routed through the police authority, who will have between 4 and 12 weeks to submit the plan to the Home Secretary
• The police authority, in consultation with the chief officer, will determine the measures and performance targets to be included in the action plan to address the areas of concern identified by the Home Secretary

The Home Secretary will be able to comment on the adequacy of the plan if it is not satisfactory. The police authority will then be able to revise the plan in the light of the Home Secretary's comments. This is a significant improvement on the original provisions and goes some way towards reducing centralised control and maintaining the balance within the tripartite structure.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

10. The Police Complaint Authority will change to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The main differences will be

• Rights of appeal over refusal to record complaints (A fertile area for this type of appeal are complaints relating to direction and control rather than personal conduct; the Bill allows for the Home Secretary to give guidance on such matters which police authorities must heed when dealing with the complaint).
• A new informal resolution procedure
• Independent investigation by the IPCC
• Chief Officers notifying complainants of outcome of investigations
• IPCC power to present discipline cases

11. Police authorities have a general duty to keep informed about complaints matters and to support and help the IPCC. The MPA is represented on a PCA Working Party to oversee the changes in practice and procedure around complaints against police. These are unlikely to take effect before spring 2004.

Police community support officers

12. At the discretion of the chief officer, the legislation will allow the employment of civilians with limited police powers, depending upon their designation by the chief officer. The role and powers of PCSOs in the MPS are the subject of regular reports to the Authority including a report by the Commissioner at this Authority meeting today. In a broader context it seems that the Home Office will allow six forces to pilot PCSOs for a period of two years, though only MPS PCSOs will have a power of detention. The pilots will be evaluated by HMIC at their conclusion.

Accreditation of community safety organisations

13. Before implementing an accreditation scheme chief officers must consult with their police authority (and Mayor in the case of the MPS). As yet the Authority has not been involved with work undertaken in relation to accreditation, qualifying standards, the business process or cost recovery but some interest from local authorities and commercial organisations at the very least must be anticipated. To an extent there seems to be duplication with the Security Industry Act 2002 which allows for the statutory licensing of individuals working in the security industry and the voluntary registration of security companies. Early work will therefore involve the determination of common standards as between different accrediting bodies and different police forces. Accreditation is also covered in mored etail elsewhere on the agenda.

Crime and disorder reduction partnerships

14. Police authorities will now be statutory partners in Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. This has potential resource implications and the APA is conducting a project on how police authorities can implement the new statutory responsibility but this may not meet the unique needs of the MPA which has 32 CDRPs. The Authority is currently undertaking a scrutiny into the police input and contribution to CDRPs across London and this will help identify the best means of discharging the duty. The panel, co-chaired by Cindy Butts and Richard Sumray, will offer recommendations in a report due to be submitted to the Authority at the end of November.

Changes to police regulations

15. To deliver the reforms envisaged fully, modernisation of the police pay and conditions framework, through the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), was seen as essential. Consequently the following issues have implications for the Authority.

Competence-related threshold payments

16. Each member of the federated ranks will have access to a competence-related threshold payment of £1,002 a year (pensionable) once they have served for a year at the maximum of their pay scale. Work is required at national level before responsibility for implementation passes to local forces. National guidance is being developed by a working party of the Police Negotiating Board. It is expected that the agreed guidance will be issued to police forces and authorities by 30 September 2002.

New pay scales

17. The pay scales for the federated ranks will be shortened and subject to a minimum increase of £402 per point. The Authority will need to be satisfied that work is in hand to amend pay systems in order that the revised pay scales come into effect with regard to payments made to officers from 1 April 2003.

Special priority payments

18. A scheme for special priority payments will operate in each force and target on front line / operational officers in particular. Payments under this scheme to individuals will be between £500 to £3,000 a year, although exceptionally payments of up to £5,000 a year may be made. They will be taxable but non-pensionable and will be paid as a single lump-sum in December.

19. The Agreement expects that no less than 20% of force strength will benefit from the scheme and no more than 30%, save in exceptional circumstances. In the first year (2003/04) at least an additional 1% of the force's annual basic paybill for ranks below chief officer must be spent on the scheme, in the second year, at least 1.5% and in the third year, at least 2%. Funding will be provided centrally to meet these minimum costs. Police authorities will be required to oversee the impact of the scheme on the various parts of the force.

20. The Authority must agree, in consultation with the appropriate staff associations, a local scheme of payments in line with the above criteria. In doing so, they will have to have regard to guidance to be issued by the Home Secretary. It is expected that this will be available in the autumn.

Bonus payments

21. The Authority must determine a local policy with the Commissioner and following consultation with the staff associations, award bonuses of between £50 and £5000 per head for occasional work of an outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important nature.

Reducing the overtime bill

22. There will be a service-wide target of a 15% reduction in the overall overtime bill over the three years starting 2003/04. The baseline will be set following consultation with the Audit Commission. Within this national framework the police authority and chief officer must agree and set a force target, in consultation with the Inspectorate. No specific action is required at this but work will commence shortly to gather data from all forces on current levels and spend on overtime. This is an important exercise as it will inform the development of the PNB guidance.

Other changes to the management of working time

23. The present 8 day threshold for triggering the higher rate of compensation for working on a rostered rest day will be reduced to five days. Duty rosters covering at least three months will be drawn up and published locally by force management after full consultation with the Joint Branch Board.

Allowances

24. Main elements

• Plain clothes allowance will be halved from 1 April 2003 and discontinued from 1 April 2004.
• Subsistence, refreshment and lodging allowances will be discontinued from 1 April 2003. Instead, officers will be reimbursed expenditure incurred in the course of duty provided it is necessary, reasonable, additional to what the officer would otherwise have incurred and backed by a receipt.
• Removal allowance will be discontinued from 1 April 2003. Instead, officers who are required to move will be reimbursed for associated expenditure provided it is necessary, reasonable and backed by receipts.
• Frozen undermanning allowances will be discontinued from 1 April 2003.

The Authority must ensure that work is in hand in their force to publicise these new rates and amend local procedures accordingly.

Regulations and determinations

25. To simplify the system of Regulations and Determinations, new regulations will be drafted and considered by PNB during 2002 but detailed implementation work cannot commence locally until this has been done.

Encouraging officers to stay on beyond 30 years

26. To develop a scheme designed to encourage officers to continue in service beyond 30 years, subject to the agreement of both the individual and force management, in the context of a scheme authorised by the Authority. Detailed implementation work cannot commence locally pending further discussions in the PNB Working Party.

Improving the management of ill-health

27. There is agreement in principle to the development of new regulations and guidance concerning the management of ill-health. The agreed objectives are to ensure that

• personnel practices and the pension regulations combine to ensure that fair and effective decisions are taken on poor attendance and ill-health retirements
• where possible, police officers are rehabilitated for duty rather than retired on ill-health grounds;
• there is greater consistency in decision making between forces.

28. Detailed implementation work will commence after discussions in the PNB Working Party. However, subject to the progress of discussions in the working group, the APA will issue a paper during the summer concerning the role of police authorities in medical retirement cases, for consultation with all police authorities.

29. All these very significant developments will be the subject of detailed scrutiny by the Human Resources Committee, informed by the MPA representatives on the PNB and the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales (PABEW).

Health and safety

30.The Act transfers the liability for all breaches of Health and Safety legislation (in respect of police officers, employees and contractors) from the chief officer to the police authority. The Secretary of State has the power to bring this section, and any transitional arrangements, into effect when considered appropriate.

Since Parliament has transferred the accountability for health and safety issues to the Authority, it must believe police authorities have the right to determine policy in such areas. We will therefore have to consider the means by which the Authority can assess the level risks and decide upon the appropriate response. As recent cases have shown this extends into the arena of operational policing. For example, there is an increasing unease about the deployment of MPS officers to incidents at Underground Stations where they are out of radio contact.

C. Financial implications

There are no direct costs associated with this paper. The detailed financial implications of the various initiatives will be fully considered in the papers which will come to the relevant committees.

D. Background papers

None.

E. Contact details

Report author: Keith Dickinson, MPA.

For information contact:

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

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