Commissioner's update

Report: 12
Date: 25 October 2007
By: the Director of Strategy Modernisation and Performance on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This paper provides a more comprehensive update than the regular monthly report, taking into account in particular the National Policing Performance Assessment published on 9 October. The paper analyses the MPS performance against the context of the challenges it has faced in the last 2 – 3 years, and considers how that drives the strategic priorities it needs to address over the next 2 – 3 years. It notes that the MPA’s continuing support to this process of continuing performance improvement is critical.

A. Recommendation

That Members

1. Note the paper.
2. Endorses the strategic direction it sets out.
3. Works in partnership with the MPS in building on the progress made and meeting future challenges.

B. Supporting information

National performance measurement

1. The Government published on 9 October the 2006/07 PPAF (Policing Performance Assessment Framework) grades for police forces in England and Wales. This provides as rounded and objective a view of performance on an annual basis as exists, and is a deliberate mix of performance indicators (SPIs) and HMIC judgement of key aspects of qualitative police work (Baseline).

2. As with any performance mechanism, PPAF has its flaws – but it is the only game in town, covering a broad range of key policing activities, and with trends now discernable over the last 3 years.

3. On that basis, MPS performance, supported by the MPA, can be fairly described as sustainably improving. The “Executive Summary” – attached at Appendix 1 – sets out the overall judgement of performance, making clear both the scale of challenges facing the MPS and the need to improve in specific areas, such as satisfaction with the overall service from all victims and by victims of racist incidents in particular. Nonetheless, the summary paints a generally very positive picture with progress on a range of issues acknowledged, particularly in implementing Safer Neighbourhoods, which got an “Excellent” grading – along with Serious Crime and Public Protection. Strong progress in Performance Management was also highlighted.

4. Against its “Most Similar Forces” the MPS has also made significant progress – whereas two years ago, it was assessed as being only slightly better than GMP (a Home Office targeted force at the time), it is now presented as “better” than Merseyside as well as GMP, on a par with West Midlands and only slightly “behind” West Yorkshire.

5. Although the Home Office does not publish “league tables” as such, the MPS was shown two years ago as being in the bottom six of forces nationally. 2004/05 had overall “domain results” of three good, one fair and three poor – this has now progressed to two excellent, three good and three fair.

6. Comparisons with 2005/06 are less marked, but on specific ratings the MPS improved in four areas – Neighbourhood Policing, Sanctioned Detections rates, Offences Brought to Justice rate and Life Threatening and Gun Crime – while achieving a reduced grade in two areas – Perception of high levels of Drug Use and Victim Satisfaction. The reliability of the MPS is also significantly improving – in terms of the BCS rating of “being there when you need them”, for example, the MPS is now top of its MSF and fifth best force nationally.

7. This incremental improvement is more marked because the number of HMIC baselines has gone down from 25 last year to 8 this year (because of efficiency savings within HMIC), and the MPS has historically done proportionately better with the baselines than with the SPIs.

8. In overall terms, the MPS directional ratings are “Improved” in Tackling Crime and Resources and Efficiency and “Stable” in Satisfaction and Fairness.

9. The momentum these performance assessments demonstrate has generally been reinforced by performance over the last two and a half years. There were 140,000 fewer crimes in the last twelve months, compared with the 12 months to January 2005, with the sanction detection rate improving from 14% to 23% over the same period. In addition, the number of violent crimes is down almost 10%, with racist crimes falling by a third. The percentage of people confident in their local police has risen from 52% to 55% over the last two and a half years, and the proportion of people feeling there are high levels of anti-social behaviour has fallen from 29% to 26%.

10. The latest routine monthly report, looking at performance so far in 2007/08 is attached at Appendix 2. Significant reductions in the majority of crime types are being delivered, notably in robbery (down 16%) and in vehicle crime (down 9%). Theft of motor vehicles is at the lowest level since 1973/74, and all types of hate crime show strong reductions in comparison to last year.

11. As a consequence of this continuing downwards pressure – which can primarily be attributed to sustained corporate attention on performance management, proper maximisation of resources made available through Safer Neighbourhoods and other priorities and an increasingly intelligence-led focus to tasking – some significant historical landmarks have been reached. For example overall crime is at a ten year low.

12. There remain significant challenges around public satisfaction, reducing gun crime and improving further on our sanction detections (but in an ethically sound way) in particular. These challenges reflect the further crystallisation of key strategic priorities for next year (see paragraph 22).

13. Nonetheless, the picture this evidence suggests is one of a healthy and focused organisation, with scope for further improvement based on clear and shared goals between MPS senior management and the MPA.

WIDER CONTEXT

14. No police service, least of all the MPS, can assess its development solely against a performance framework, however rounded. The longer-term context is set by the other challenges – alongside the need to improve performance – which the Commissioner set out in February 2005. Progress on these four issues can be summed up as follows:

15. “Widening Mission”

The successful roll out of 624 Safer Neighbourhood Teams means that each of them now has dedicated accommodation from which to work and mobile phones on which the community can contact them directly. Over 400 of these teams have specially equipped bases within their communities and the roll out of these bases will continue until all teams have similar accommodation. While it is difficult to disentangle the specific factors that reduce crime, the impact of SNTs in London have mirrored the findings of national research that crime tends to fall more quickly in areas with neighbourhood policing teams. Over the last two years, Londoners’ confidence in their local policing has increased from 51% to 55%.

At the other end of the spectrum, the implementation of the Counter Terrorism Command is leading to a more integrated capability with significant improvements in business processes.

More generally, and with the support of the MPA, the MPS will continue to lead the case for connected responses to the complexities of problems facing big cities and elsewhere in tackling the spectrum of anti-social behaviour, crime, dangerous offenders, serious violence and terrorism.

16. “Effective but not efficient”

Through implementation of the Met Modernisation Programme, a range of complex and major change programmes is being developed and implemented geared towards improved performance and better use of resources.

With the completion of the C3i phrase of the CCC programme in September 2007, early indications are that the system is handling 16% more calls and that the system will be expected to handle up to 23 million calls by 2010.

The Met Intelligence Bureau has been established to create pan-London intelligence capability, which is reinforcing a targeted approach to performance improvement.

The 12 supporting programmes within the Information Quality portfolio should deliver significant reductions in support costs and other efficiency savings by the end of 07/08.

The MPS - generated CJS reform programme is driving benefits right across the CJS in London - with up to £4 million cashable savings to be delivered, for example, through the full roll-out of Integrated Prosecutions Teams and a full business case being developed for Virtual Courts.

• Bail to Returns are down from 30% to 22%,
• dealing with PYOs is down from 84 days to 73 days,
• the guilty pleas rate now stands at 77%,
• the ineffective trial rate is being met with the last 3 months averaging at 18%, and
• the Offences Brought to Justice (OBTJ) performance this year is already 7000 ahead of target.

Efficiency savings targets over the 2005/08 period are projected to deliver over £113 million over and above the 3% target delivered of £235 million over the same time frame.

Frontline resources have been redirected on a similar scale – a commitment of a further 270 police officers in 2007/08 alone, against overall savings of £65 million.

In planning for next year’s challenges, we have already agreed with the Authority a further tranche of over £30 million savings in overheads, underpinned by an MPS productivity programme targeting further improvements around IT, business processes and performance management in particular.

Business and resource planning is increasingly effectively integrated.

While there remain major challenges ahead in benefits realisation - not least the very substantial Transforming HR programme – the significant momentum generated by a co-ordinated approach to major change, at precisely the same time as significant performance improvements (many other organisations have struggled to do both in parallel), is clear.

17. “Successful but uncomfortable for some”

After a challenging first 12 months in embedding the values of “Together” across the MPS, there has been significant acceleration in products delivered – for example the Team Leader programme has now trained around 850 sergeants, inspectors and band D police staff and the OCU Commanders Leaders Programme is firmly up and running.

“TeamMet” – which was powerfully symbolised by the MPS response in July 05 – has become more systematically embedded, as evidenced by collective strategies on key issues such as violence, and shared processes such as a fully functioning corporate tasking mechanism.

The recruitment profile for black and minority ethnic officers has increased from 13 to 17% last year and is expected to reach 24% by the end of this year.

Most importantly, and for the first time, a routine basis for assessing the internal health of the organisation is now in train with the “Your views count” staff survey which will have the first quarter’s results published in November 2007.

As with many other leading organisations, this will be key to assessing internal progress and is therefore one of the Commissioner’s five performance “pillars” alongside crime reduction, crime detection, user satisfaction and public confidence.

18. “Brilliant at big jobs – not consistent at the routine”

This has remained a more stubborn challenge to deal with, as the overall “fair” rating on the PPAF satisfaction domain indicates.

Significant progress in sharpening up a deliverable set of Citizen Focus priorities – in concert with the impact of Safer Neighbourhoods teams and the implementation of the CCC infrastructure – is now being generated, particularly around Quality Call Back, Key Encounters, the Front Counter Project and the Victims Code of Practice.

With the rate of progress secured in the other three challenge areas, the priority now is to raise the standard of delivery further in this area in particular.

EMERGING CHALLENGES

19. Performance against national requirements and the context established in February 2005 must also take account of significant other developments. The three that have been most important since then have clearly been:

• Terrorism - the threat has demonstrably grown over the last 2½ years, as has the wider debate around how London and the nation has a whole can best tackle it. Both the MPS response to the attacks of 7 and 21 July, and including the Stockwell shooting on 22 July, continue to be an indelible and continuing part of MPS history.
• Olympics – this was not even remotely part of the agenda 2½ years ago. It is now the single biggest event the MPS has to plan for with profound implications for the identity, changing landscape and security of London.
• Youth violence – this has become an increasingly powerful expression of society’s concerns and vulnerabilities, in London and elsewhere. The MPS is clear about its strategic intent, but deliverability – not least through working in partnership with a wide range of other agencies – is a substantial challenge.

20. The MPS and MPA will - no doubt be confronted by other challenges which fall outside this report, but which will impact significantly on its performance and reputation.

21. The MPS remains determined to demonstrate it can respond effectively to such challenges without deviating from its strategic purpose in sustaining performance improvement, responding to the agenda set in February 2005 and tackling the 3 key additional challenges above.

STRATEGIC DIRECTION

22. On that basis, taking account of all of these factors identified, the MPS Management Board is proposing 6 key priorities for 2008/11:

• Make our services more accessible and improve people’s experience of their contact with us, especially victims and witnesses
• Enhance our counter terrorism capability and capacity
• Reduce serious violence and protect young people
• Disrupt more criminal networks and reduce the harm caused by drugs
• Make our neighbourhoods safer through local and city-wide problem solving and partnership working to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and road casualties
• Plan for, and effectively police, major events in London and prepare for the 2012 Olympics.

23. These priorities have already underpinned our approach to business and resource planning for 08/09 and will go forward formally as part of the draft Corporate Plan to November’s Full Authority, following discussion with the Authority last month at both the Scrutiny sessions and the joint finance/PPRC meeting. They reinforce a determination to maintain the course that has been set, but with a greater emphasis on the key challenges we believe that we and the Authority face over the months and years ahead.

24. Key performance targets will be used to monitor these priorities to ensure they are successfully delivered.

25. The Plan will be supported by the capability improvements driven by our Modernisation / Productivity agenda – including business-led IT change programmes, estates strategy implementation and further embedding behaviours around “Together”.

CONCLUSION

26. This report therefore sets out a clear narrative of achievements but also of the key challenges ahead. The MPS cannot deliver this alone, but needs to develop an increasingly sophisticated approach to working in partnership - within a framework increasingly geared to Local Area Agreements and other key requirements and within an environment driven by the growth, diversification and complexity of London as a world city.

27. The MPA is clearly key to this process – its leadership is essential in holding the MPS to account against this agenda and in working in partnership to build on the progress made by further improving the delivery of policing services to all Londoners.

C. Race and equality impact

28. Improving services to black and minority ethnic victims of crime is a performance priority.

D. Financial implications

29. Making increasingly efficient use of the resources entrusted to the MPS is a fundamental driver of all the priorities outlined in this paper.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Stephen Rimmer, MPS

For information contact:

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

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