Commissioner’s report

Report: 5
Date: 27 May 2010
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report summarises progress against the strategic outcomes featured in the 2010-13 Policing London Business Plan.

The report is intended to highlight the approach to delivery against the corporate objectives and identifies key operational initiatives designed to deliver a safer city for all London’s communities.

A. Recommendations

That the report be received.

B. Supporting information

1. The 2010-13 MPA/MPS Policing London Business Plan sets out what we believe matters to Londoners. We need to convince communities that we are on their side, our streets are secure, we are intolerant of violence and that we reduce crime and catch criminals. We must deliver all this in a tightening financial environment with the resources entrusted to us. Over the coming months this report to Full Authority will set out how we intend to achieve this and, in turn, increase the public’s confidence in us.

2. The Business Plan highlights 20 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used to assess our performance against these aims. These are attached at Appendix 1. The KPIs this year place a greater emphasis on value for money with indicators and targets for the efficient use of our assets and maximising the use of police officers on operational policing and front line duties. They also give more prominence to the delivery of a safe and secure Olympics

3. Each of the indicators will have associated targets and progress against these targets will be reported to members each month at the Strategic and Operational Policing (SOP) Committee, including trends and the likelihood of achieving the end of year target. A high level performance summary will be included as part of this Full Authority Report as at Appendix 2.

4. The purpose of the Commissioner’s Report will be to provide a commentary on the strategic approach that we are taking to deliver against our high level, long term priorities of confidence, safety and improvement informed by KPI targets. This will be supported by research and analysis that informs our corporate response and activities, and will provide members with more useful background on what drives our operational decision making.

Look and feel of the report

5. The report will use the strategic outcomes featured in the Policing London Business Plan as the context to describe what we are doing across the organisation to meet our targets and KPIs.

6. For example, there is a long standing indicator around the number of homicides and the sanction detection rate. Progress against this indicator and sanction detection target will be routinely reported at SOP. This Full Authority report will be used to provide greater depth of analysis about victims, backgrounds and circumstances and how we use this information to resource and conduct investigations, how we support affected communities and where it impacts upon the organisation. Following the recent publication of the Stern Review this month’s focus is on tackling rape and, particularly how we are supporting victims.

7. The report will also feature a sample of recent initiatives and operations that have taken place across London over recent weeks that demonstrate how both local and officers from specialist teams have worked to reassure communities and bring the perpetrators of crime to justice. Those we have selected this month are shown below in paragraphs 15-27. Where possible, we will make reference to stories that have appeared in national or local media and I will expand upon these when I make my verbal report at the meeting.

8. Finally, the report will include some commentary on recent or forthcoming events that the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner have involvement with that might be of interest to members. An example is featured in paragraphs 28-31 below.

Tackling Rape and Serious Sexual Offences

9. The MPS’s fourth Headline Key Performance Indicator for 2010/11 is Reducing Violence. This includes a target for reducing the number of Most Serious Violence crimes and increasing the Sanction Detection rate. It also includes a performance measurement on the percentage of rape victims who are satisfied with the way police initially deal with them. These are attached at Appendix 1.

10. Following the publication of the Stern Review - which the MPS contributed to and welcome - this month’s report seeks to update the MPA on changes the MPS has made to the way it investigates rape including enhanced focus on victims. There has been a rise in the number of recorded rape offences in 2009/10 across almost all Boroughs. A detailed assessment of recorded offences undertaken by the MPS suggests that - whilst an increase in offending cannot be ruled out - this rise is attributable to improved crime management processes, increased reporting through the Havens and increased reporting by victims.

11. Since September 2009, through the newly created SCD2 Sapphire command, the MPS has delivered a more consistent operational response across London, with informed daily scrutiny of rape and other serious sexual offences by fully qualified staff with dedicated and experienced line management.

12. There have been notable operational successes and co-operation to good effect between SCD2 Sapphire, SCD1 Homicide and BOCUs. The MPS has a strong partnership with the Havens and is involved in innovative work alongside the Crown Prosecution Service and the London Criminal Justice Board to improve decision making, improve case progression and reduce case attrition.

13. The needs of victims must be at the heart of every rape investigation. They must be treated properly and sensitively and know that every possible line of inquiry has been exhausted in the attempt to bring their attacker to justice, should they wish to pursue a criminal justice outcome.

14. Whilst detections and convictions are important, it is also important that we maintain the confidence of victims throughout investigations. KPI 4D has been agreed for 2010/11 to measure how rape victims are initially dealt with by the MPS.

Recent Initiatives

Using DNA

15. A man who raped a young woman at knifepoint in 1989 has been sentenced to a total of fourteen years in prison following an investigation by the Sapphire Cold Case team. Winston Millington, 45, of Chandos Road NW2, attacked his victim, who was 25 at the time, in January 1989 in Max Roach Park, Brixton. Despite a full police investigation at the time and widespread media coverage there were no arrests until the case was reviewed in 2008. DNA samples taken after the attack were re-examined by the Forensic Science Service. One was upgraded and matched Millington's profile on the National DNA Database. Millington was arrested in August 2009 and convicted on 12 April at Southwark Crown Court. He was sentenced to nine years for rape and five for indecent assault, to run concurrently.

16. DNA evidence led to 30-year-old Owen Joseph Fagan of Sidcup being jailed for burglary on 7 April, following an investigation by Bexley burglary squad. In October 2009 a couple returned home to find their rear kitchen window had been forced open and property worth £310 had been stolen. Police forensic scene examiners found traces of blood on the window sill, made a cast of the tool marks left by the implement used to force the window and noted smudge marks on the glass, indicating the burglar had worn gloves. In November 2009 DNA from the blood sample led to the arrest and charging of Fagan, who was already known to police.

Tackling Drugs

17. Nigel Piper, 39 of South Croydon was jailed for three years in April for conspiring to supply cannabis. A 7.5 tonne lorry under his control on the M25 was diverted by MPS traffic officers in order for its weight to be established. The vehicle was found to be over laden with 9 tonnes of waste from a large-scale cannabis factory. 6 cardboard boxes were also discovered containing skunk cannabis valued at over £100,000. Hillingdon CID gathered evidence showing that Mr Piper, who ran companies selling hydroponic equipment and cannabis seeds, was involved in transporting the produce of cannabis factories. After a three week trial, a jury took just two hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict. The case will now be subject to a Financial Investigation with a view to confiscating Mr Piper's assets.

18. Four men have been found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine, following an investigation by the MPS Serious Organised Crime Command. HMRC intercepted and seized four parcels sent from Bolivia in August 2009, each containing cocaine with a total value of £1million. The parcels were sent to innocent addresses in Herne Hill - a pet shop and a school - both of whom returned the parcels to the depot. Abrahim Abdul Wahid visited the pet shop posing as a courier employee, asking for the packages. Later that day all four members of the gang attempted to retrieve the parcels from the Croydon depot using a false name and address. Detectives tried to arrest them and were involved in a short vehicle pursuit, during which the gang jumped red lights and collided with other another vehicle. In a search of Anthony Reid’s home, officers found a fully converted, loaded MAC-10 sub-machine gun, stored in his child’s bedroom. All four will be sentenced this month.

19. A number of successful drug raids have taken place in the last month, thanks to information from members of the public. In Croydon on 9 April, in a joint operation between Fairfield Safer Neighbourhoods Team and British Transport Police, a man was arrested and both a suspected Class A substance and a suspected dangerous dog were seized. The address was identified as a problem premises by Fairfield SNT when the housing association provided information that the address was being visited by lots of people throughout the day and night for very short periods.

20. Information given to the Shooters Hill Safer Neighbourhoods Team about men acting suspiciously around Woolwich Common led to two men being arrested in possession of crack cocaine with a street value of over £500. Several bags of cannabis and over £250 in cash were also found on the men. Both have been bailed to return in June 2010 pending further enquiries. The SNT are working with other policing teams in the Woolwich area to disrupt drug dealing and ensure that complaints and information from the local community are immediately followed up.

21. Approximately 640 cannabis plants were recovered by officers from Haringey's Drugs Focus Unit following a raid on a property after information was given to the police by the local community. On 9 April officers forced entry to a house in Sussex Gardens, N6 to execute a drug search warrant. An EDF engineer attended, found that electricity was being unlawfully abstracted and made safe the supply. Five rooms were being used for the cultivation of the plants. Later in April, officers in Greenwich seized 480 cannabis plants from an address in Eltham, SE9. Having identified an irregular heating source coming from the loft of the property, officers from the Coldharbour and New Eltham Safer Neighbourhoods Team gained entry and uncovered an advanced drug cultivation process that included an automatic water system.

22. Nine drug dealers have been taken off the streets of Harrow following an operation by the Territorial Support Group. Following concerns highlighted by Harrow BOCU, an intelligence led pro-active operation was carried out by TSG officers targeting the sale of class ‘A’ drugs. The pro-active phase of the operation ran from March to June 2009 with the last suspect being arrested in November 2009. On 14 April at Harrow Crown Court he was sentence to 18 months in prison, completing the operation. The nine men received a total of 26 years in prison.

Serious Violence

23. Three Croydon men have been found guilty of the robbery and manslaughter of a man for his Blackberry phone. Jegir Ali Ahmmadi, 20, Roshan Samedov, 18 and Awat Hussein Muradi, 18 were all found guilty on 23 April. On 19 October 2009 Saravanakumar Sellappan, 24 of Thornton Heath died of a head injury sustained when the three men robbed him two days earlier. CCTV images showed the defendants selling the phone at a food shop near the scene of the robbery. They sold the phone for £60 and a box of fried chicken. The person who bought the phone was not told that it was stolen and he contacted the police after seeing appeal posters in the local area. Mr Sellappan did not report the matter to the police, claiming to hospital staff that he sustained his injuries falling down the stairs. Sadly, his friends found him unconscious early the next morning. He underwent surgery for injuries to his brain but never regained consciousness.

Serious Organised Crime

24. A man from Finsburk Park, N4 has been sentenced to a total of seven years in prison after 600 mobile phones were found in his flat. Safaine Azzouz, 28 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to remove criminal property from the jurisdiction of England and Wales and concealing criminal property. The 600 mobile phones, dozens of cameras and a number of laptop computers were seized by police from the offender's property. The phones, valued at £120,000, were mostly identified as being stolen in robberies, burglaries and pick pocketing throughout the capital and beyond. Some are believed to have come from organised criminals responsible for a recent crime trend of targeting concerts to pickpocket people. £55,690 in cash was also seized and has been confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Dangerous Dogs

25. Greenwich BOCU has been targeting owners of prohibited and dangerous dogs in the community. A man has been given a conditional discharge and been ordered to pay compensation after a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, that was off the lead, savaged another dog and tore a dog walker's jacket. A woman in Eltham, SE9 has also been convicted of possession of a prohibited dog. An adult Pit Bull Terrier and three puppies were seized from her home address following a search warrant executed by officers from the local Safer Neighbourhoods team and the Status Dog Unit. She was sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge and the adult dog has been placed on the dangerous dogs register.

Recent events

26. Volunteer Police Cadets have been taking part in events to promote YOU London, the umbrella organisation to promote uniformed youth organisations in the Captial. On 17 April Barking and Dagenham Volunteer Police Cadets hosted the first joint ‘YOU London’ Fun Day for all young people in YOU organisations in the Borough. The Fun Day saw over 100 young people and their leaders from the Police Cadets, Air Cadets, Boys and Girls Brigade, Girl Guides, Scouts and St John Ambulance taking part in a series of games and challenges such as a rope ladder climb, a stretcher run, an assault course, as well as intelligence-challenging games.

27. HRH the Duke of Kent and the Commissioner officially opened and unveiled a commemorative plaque at the recently refurbished Hyde Park Stables on 27 April. The stables had been disused for six years and refurbishment work began October 2009. The project, led by MPS Mounted Branch with support from Royal Parks and the London Borough of Westminster, has resulted in brand new stables to accommodate seven horses. The new stables were created to be as ecological as possible. The day-to-day work of those based at the new stables will include routine patrols of the capital's three main parks, attending ceremonial events and offering operational support during public order events such as football matches.

Current key events

28. The Special Constables Conference 2010 took place in London on 20 and 21 March, hosted by the Metropolitan Police Service near Tower Bridge. The theme of the conference was 'sharing the success of the Special Constabulary' with the aim of giving delegates the opportunity to share best practice from around the country. Examples that were highlighted included the policing of town centres, dealing with night time economy crime and disorder, as well as the excellent work being carried out alongside Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

29. Television presenter Davina McCall kindly gave her time to support the event, speaking after the Gala dinner. The Commissioner and Policing Minister David Hanson both spoke to welcome delegates to the event. The NPIA used the conference to showcase a national Employer Supported Policing (ESP) model, a scheme by which police forces and employers work in partnership to reduce crime in their communities. Businesses and organisations signed up to this new scheme will offer degrees of support to their forces, from promoting membership of the Special Constabulary to their employees to providing paid time off for Special Constabulary duties. The MPS are about to welcome the Greater London Authority into the ESP scheme and showcased their London work at the conference.

30. The conference was an opportunity to celebrate the good work of Specials - ordinary men and women who are prepared to give up their free time for their communities. The Metropolitan Special Constabulary now has 3,123 officers and we hope to have 6,667 by 2012. Approximately a third of the MSC are from BME communities (31%) and around a third are female (29%).

31. The Metropolitan Police recruitment bus is currently visiting locations around London. An ‘open event’ recently took place in Barking town centre, with the local Safer Transport Team, volunteers and Cadets speaking to local people. Over a hundred members of the local community approached the team, expressing an interest in becoming either a Special Constable or a volunteer.

C. Race and equality impact

These include improving the quality of service provided to victims of hate crime, ensuring that a consistent and effective service is provided to London’s diverse communities; improving performance against domestic violence, ensuring a consistent level of service across all communities and minimising disproportionality issues; increasing community trust and confidence in the police use of stop and search ensuring it is used fairly and proportionately; continuing to develop a workforce that reflects the diversity of London and improving the progression of women within the police service.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications arising directly from this report.

E. Legal implications

There are no specific legal implications raised by this report.

F. Background papers

• None.

G. Contact details

Report author(s): Director of Business Strategy, Michael Debens

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: How we measure success Headline Key Performance Indicators 2010/11

Appendix 2: Key Performance Indicators

Appendix 3: Glossary of Terms

APACS

Assessment of Policing and Community Safety performance indicators set devised by the Home Office for police forces in England & Wales for it and other Government bodies to use to monitor and assess policing and community safety

BCS

British Crime Survey – a Home Office managed survey of UK residents conducted face-to-face to capture levels of crime, public attitudes to crime and other criminal justice issues. Surveys ~48,000 citizens across England & Wales annually, ~3,000 in London, results are published quarterly and relate to a rolling 12-month period. Respondents 17 yrs +; business crime not included.

CPA

Critical Performance Areas - the suite of MPS corporate measures used to track progress against the delivery of corporate objectives

Criminal network

a network of individuals involved in ongoing criminal activity for personal gain (usually profit, can also be social standing).

Disruption

a disruption has been achieved when a network is unable to operate at its normal level of activity for a significant amount of time.

Harm

wwhere the consequence of pursuing an activity is seen to have an adverse effect on the social, physical or economic well being of individuals or a community.

OGC

Office of Government Commerce /dd>

SD

Sanction detection - police generated detections of a crime including charges, cautions, fixed penalty notices [FPN], taken into considerations [TIC], summons and cannabis warnings

SAQ

SSerious Acquisitive Crime (Includes robbery, residential burglary and motor vehicle crime)

SPI

Statutory Performance Indicator /dd>

TIC

Taken into consideration – the clear up of multiple crimes attributable committed by one criminal e.g. multiple burglaries

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