Progress in recruiting to borough workforce targets

Report: 12
Date: 26 September 2002
By: Commissioner

Summary

This paper has been prepared in response to concerns raised as to the ability of the Metropolitan Police Service to achieve the Borough Resource Allocation Formula (RAF) target for the year to 31 March 2003. It outlines the current breakdown of borough strengths, the actions being taken by the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure an equitable distribution of personnel and the target date for achievement of RAF.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the contents of the report.

B. Supporting information

1. The allocated levels and posting of police officers is a matter of considerable public interest and debate. Within the MPS, our overall police numbers are controlled by RAF and a Budgeted Workforce Target. The Budgeted Workforce Target (BWT) for 2002/3 saw an increase of 1,896 police officers to a total of 28,340. This included the Mayor’s 1000, the counter-terrorism bid for 689 and the Transport for London 207.

2. To achieve this, as well as replacing leavers, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) will have recruited approximately 3,500 officers by 31 March 2003 and the MPS BWT of 28,340 will be reached by that date.

3. In Appendix 1 attached, column 2 shows the pure borough RAF allocation and column 4 shows the revised RAF finally agreed for the year (17,904). This figure was reached taking the pure RAF allocation figure and adjusting it to dampen the negative effect on the boroughs that would have suffered a reduction in the allocated number of officers. It was agreed that boroughs would not go below their strength as at 5 December 2001 (column 3). The higher of that and the pure RAF figures was agreed as the one to be allocated to each borough for 2002/3.

4. The urgency around the augmenting of the units involved in counter terrorism work and the need to achieve the safer streets targets and contractual obligations with Transport for London meant that there have been significant conflicting demands. At a time of substantial growth, over a short period of time, the Commissioner developed a growth plan that ensured that the different functions were prioritised (including child protection, for instance) whilst minimising the impact on other areas of policing.

5. Key features of the plan are to ensure that boroughs maintain an appropriate level of resourcing, by careful management of internal transfers to non borough units. This must ensure that special consideration is given to the “safer streets” boroughs and those that started the year sigificantly under their new RAF target.

6. As a result, it is anticipated that the borough strength on 31 March 2003 will be 17,188, with circa 1200 additional officers undertaking their training at Hendon. Those posted to boroughs by 7 July 2003 will result in them achieving their RAF target by that date. This is not a position any different from previous years and reflects both the budgetary allocation and the numbers that can, presently, be processed through the Training School. Whilst the MPS will be at BWT on 31 March 2003, the training requirement means that the full impact is felt by boroughs over a 15 month period.

7. Given the level of public interest in this matter and in order to report a truer picture, one possible way of addressing this for the future is to hold recruits, whilst at Hendon, as strength against the borough on which they are to be deployed.

8. In addition, figures available on 31 August 2002 indicate that although boroughs as a group are under strength a number remain at or near their RAF allocation. Column 5 of Appendix 1 displays the breakdown of strengths per borough as at 31 August 2002 and displays a disparity between boroughs. Some of this is due to the fact that a number of boroughs, i.e. Haringey, Newham and Tower Hamlets, gained significantly under RAF for the current year ending 31 March 2003. This has resulted in a need for substantial intervention to ensure parity.

9. At a corporate level, the responsibility to take the lead (in partnership with Assistant Commissioner (AC), Territorial Policing) on the balancing of police numbers between boroughs, falls to AC Human Resources (HR). The Police Postings Policy, issued in May 2001, provides a framework for the movement of police officers within the MPS.

10. As a starting point, probationers are allocated to ensure an equitable % across all boroughs to maintain a balance of experienced officers. This is done to avoid simply filling the vacancies of boroughs, which have a significant shortfall, with non-experienced officers. The probationer average as of 31 August 2002 was 23% of borough PC strength. By 7 July 2003, the average is expected to rise to 35%. The aim is to ensure that a consistent figure is replicated across all boroughs.

11. Where this probationer posting process results in boroughs forecasting a strength above their BWT, they will be required to ensure that officers are encouraged to transfer to boroughs that experience a higher turnover, such as Brent, Haringey, Hackney, Southwark and Lambeth and those that have grown under RAF such as Newham and Tower Hamlets. This is a most difficult and sensitive process and is achieved only as a result of challenging and sometimes robust management. In the absence of any better arrangements, it can cause anxiety and upset to individual officers. It will not go unnoticed that these are, mostly, all inner-city boroughs and in the main in North London. This is where management attention is now firmly fixed.

12. In addition, work is undertaken to forecast where officers will be transferring from, in order to be able to provide timely replacements as they transfer. There are a number of challenges here such as:

• accurately predicting from where officers will move in excess of 3 months ahead, although history assists in terms of some of the boroughs above;
• the fact that boroughs in South London are currently healthier in terms of numbers than those in North London.

13. To go some way to keeping up borough strengths and reducing the negative effects of the loss of experienced officers from boroughs to other parts of the organisation, a significant investment has been committed to the recruitment of officers from other constabularies. Thus far the success in this intervention has resulted in many of the vacancies, in both borough and non borough units, being filled by experienced officers.

14. Column 6 shows what will be achieved by 31 March 2003 by the careful balancing of HR Directorate including, if necessary, an element of compulsory transfers of experienced officers across boroughs, in line with the Police Postings Policy.

15. Column 7 shows the expected outcome on 7 July 2003 following the deployment on borough of officers recruited before 31 March 2003.

Conclusion

16. The work described above shows the complexity of decision making required to address the operational requirements. By 31 March 2003 the MPS will have achieved its BWT and the required number of trained officers will be available to boroughs as soon as is practicable. Moreover, the commitment to ensure a balance of experience ensures that each borough is dealt with in an equitable manner.

C. Equality and diversity implications

17. Achieving a balance in our workforce is one of our current most challenging priorities. The need to ensure a balance in our workforce numbers – and workforce composition – are activities that are closely monitored, in terms of experience, ethnicity and gender. Whilst this report is not, primarily, about these issues, we are keen to ensure that our workforce planning systems reflect our aims in achieving and maintaining a balance in the workforce.

D. Financial implications

There are no additional financial implications arising directly from this report. Costs will be incurred in progressing the final objectives and these will be contained within allocated budgets for 2002/3.

E. Background papers

• None

F. Contact details

Report author: Robert Dellegrotti.

For more information contact:

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

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