The transfer of accountability for rape and serious sexual violence investigation from TP Business Group to SCD

Report: 9
Date: 7 May 2009
By: Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime Directorate

Summary

MPS concern in February 2008 over the two recent linked and high profile serious and series sexual offences cases [1] led the then Commissioner Sir Ian Blair to commission an in depth assessment of the MPS response to rape and serious sexual violence.

An extensive consultation and review project from July 2008, culminated in a presentation in March 2009 to the MPS Management Board with the recommendation that whilst much excellent work has been achieved by Sapphire teams since their creation, accountability for rape and serious sexual violence investigation should transfer from mainstream policing arrangements in Territorial Policing (TP) to the Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD).

The recommendation was that a dedicated 24-hour response to victims within a single dedicated line management would provide greater and more consistent support for victims, would professionalise the MPS’ investigative response with specially trained staff and would build on the organisational learning from internal reviews, including the two recent linked series cases.

A formal project overseen by Assistant Commissioner John Yates was launched in March 2009 to create a new operational command unit within SCD, with a transfer date of September 2009. The transition is being handled jointly between TP and SCD under Management Board oversight to ensure that victim care, performance standards and policy compliance are improved.

A key element of the work is an assessment of the local, London and National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) led intelligence structures to ensure compliance with all relevant intelligence protocols and codes of practice.

A. Recommendation

That members note the report.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. In July 2008, Management Board sponsored a joint TP/SCD assessment of the way the MPS investigates rape and serious sexual violence [2]. The aim of this work was to identify ways of improving our performance in this crime area, also prompted by concerns over two linked series cases that had disclosed significant shortcomings in our service delivery. Internal consultation included Sapphire practitioners, senior investigative supervisors and business support personnel in Territorial Policing and Specialist Crime Directorate. External stakeholders including Home Office, MPA, GLA, CPS, the London Criminal Justice Board, National Policing Improvement Agency and the NHS were provided with detailed project aims and included in the process, including in one to one meetings and focus groups.

2. Four different models for rape and serious sexual violence investigation were prepared by the Assessment Team and road-tested with practitioners and stakeholders prior to a recommendation being made to Management Board:

Table 1. Four models for rape and serious sexual violence investigation

Findings

3. Comparisons, consultation and other analysis showed that Model 4 has the greater potential to deliver performance improvement. Using these findings a business case for a new 24-hour command within SCD was presented to Management Board on the 3 March 2009.

4. Management Board agreed to the transfer of assets and accountability to SCD but conditional on adherence to the following ten principles:

• All costs associated with the transfer of relevant staff and assets must be accurate, cost neutral and comprehensive. (As a minimum they should include the following categories: Pay, Pension, Transport, Police Overtime, Police Staff Overtime, Training, Premises Costs, Supplies and Services, Corporate Supplies and Services and Business Group Income).
• TP confidence in the capacity of a new OCU to tackle rape and serious sexual violence effectively must be secured in advance of any transfer of staff and assets.
• There must be absolute clarity about the intelligence and investigative responsibilities that would remain within TP and confidence in the capacity of TP to maintain them once any transfer of staff and assets has been completed.
• The rights and entitlements of victims of rape and serious sexual violence, as detailed in the current Victims Code of Practice, must remain properly safeguarded during implementation and beyond. A new structure must also build on the developments of recent years to deliver the next stage in improving victim care.
• Where appropriate all relevant partner agencies should be included in the Implementation Project. The CPS must be included from the outset as a matter of high priority.
• An internal communication plan should be devised as a matter of priority with regular briefings to all relevant staff throughout the Implementation Project.
• Key MPS individuals with relevant knowledge, expertise and experience should be identified and included as far as is practicable, in the implementation project team.
• There must be a clear articulation to Management Board of the business benefits associated with the transfer of staff and assets to a new OCU prior to the transfer process and this in turn will need to be described in benefits and efficiency terms in the Service Improvement Plan.
• There should be appropriate levels of inclusion of the MPS, GLA and Home Office to ensure the aims and outcome of the Implementation Project are understood.
• The process of transferring assets should be undertaken through a properly structured change management project within a joint TP/SCD governance and scrutiny framework.

5. The work in support of the implementation project began on the 3 March 2009 with a proposed start date for the transition of 1 September 2009. Until then, responsibility for Sapphire remains within TP.

The strategic plan for implementing the restructure and how the MPS intends to ensure seamless, high quality service provision for victims and robust action against offenders during the process.

6. Assistant Commissioner John Yates appointed Simon Foy, Commander Homicide, Rape and Serious Sexual Violence, to lead the implementation project. He is jointly supported by Mark Simmons, Commander Violent Crime from Territorial Policing, to ensure the transition plan is validated by these two business groups.

7. A Project Board meeting monthly, co-chaired by the SCD and TP Commanders, will approve the transition arrangements under the oversight of T/AC Williams. The final decision to authorise the transfer will be taken by Management Board.

8. Project board membership includes those with senior level management responsibilities for rape and serious sexual violence, Police Federation, MPS Crime Academy, forensics, strategic analysis, the MPA and an independent advisor.

9. The Project board will be supported by an implementation team comprising Sapphire specialists, individuals with project and change management skills and senior TP and SCD crime management experience.

10. The principal aim of the Project is to improve the MPS investigation of rape and serious sexual offences. This will be enabled by the creation of a 24-hour Sapphire OCU within SCD to allow the transfer of accountability through a phased transition process, whilst maintaining links with other MPS functions and external contacts.

11. Key internal areas to address include crime recording standards, staffing, skills and training, front line response, shift patterns, risk management, supervision, performance standards, workload demand, resources and forensics.

12. Another key action is to assess the local, London and national intelligence structures for rape and serious sexual violence, to ensure the MPS is complying with all relevant intelligence protocols and national codes of practice. This work will concentrate in particular on the information requirements of the NPIA-led serious crime analysis section (SCAS) to ensure the MPS meets its information-sharing obligations.

13. Key external areas to address include working relations with the CPS, Havens, Victim Support and other relevant support agencies.

14. A dedicated MPS rape working group, modelled on the working principles of National ACPO rape portfolio group, will be established during the implementation phase in order to identify key strategic concerns for Londoners and promote good practice in respect of victim care, investigative techniques and prevention opportunities.

15. Advice from specialists within the ACPO rape portfolio is being taken to introduce good practice into the foundations of the new command and to provide an independent assessment of the MPS intelligence structure for serious sexual offences.

16. HMIC has also been asked to conduct a baseline assessment of current performance, to allow progress to be monitored at the earliest opportunity.

17. All operational activity including victim care, supervision arrangements and performance monitoring during the implementation phase will remain under TP control. SCD will continue to support the arrest of those who are wanted for sexual offences to minimise the number of suspects currently outstanding and at risk to others.

Benefits and risks and how the risks will be managed

18. Perceived benefits of the new structure include the following:

• The new senior management team under a single OCU Commander will be able to set the tone of the OCU and standards of investigation and performance.
• The single line management command structure will increase accountability and performance management.
• A dedicated minimum staffing model of resource/skill allocation should impact positively on the recording and investigation of crimes and on the current attrition rate of cases.
• The new command will provide the MPS with an authoritative voice to speak on behalf of victims in London.
• Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) compliance will be more readily achieved through a dedicated supervision structure.
• The new OCU will promote greater consistency in our service delivery to victims.
  
• Dedicated and ring-fenced staff will not be abstracted to other priorities.
  
• Longer tenure periods on Sapphire teams will enable bespoke training, skills development and further promote victim care.
  
• The new OCU will provide the MPS with a more flexible response to allegations of serious sexual offences, so that skilled staff can be deployed across London to support victims on a 24-hour basis.

19. Risks associated with the transition include:

• A funding gap could be identified between the assessment of 2007-8 sapphire costs within TP and the resources now required to meet the standards of the newly published NPIA guidance on investigating rape.
• Insufficient applicants/specific skills for the new command.
• Disclosure of further cases where errors have been made, undermining victim and public confidence in the MPS.
  
• Lack of clarity on which cases TP or SCD will investigate in the future, impacting on victim confidence.
  
• Business support within SCD12 and SCD1 will not be able to deliver effective support services.
  
• Reduced recorded performance.

20. These risks have been documented and are being monitored progressively through a formal risk log with project board oversight.

Concern that the MPS and CPS will be working to separate models in terms of regional and borough coverage and how this will be managed

21. The CPS and the MPS have recently been examining the potential for greater joint working in respect of major crime. This work is timely and offers the opportunity to build more effective links in to the foundations of the new command.

22. The findings from this senior level work have yet to be finalised and will be the subject of further updates, if ratified.

23. One of the ten principles governing the transfer from TP to SCD requires the inclusion of the CPS. As such, the contact and support arrangements from the CPS under the new structure will only be introduced with their participation and agreement.

How the ring-fenced detectives and other staff will be resourced and trained without reducing strength from other areas of work and details of any other staffing implications

24. The transition will include the transfer of physical resources currently used by Sapphire Teams from TP to SCD. An inventory is being drawn up and agreed with TP prior to transfer.

25. Specialist training for all staff who join the new command is currently being designed by the Crime Academy with the support from staff with specialist Sapphire and ACPO rape portfolio experience and is linked to the new NPIA guidance. Timescales for completion of this new training course have yet to finalised, but training delivery will be phased to minimise abstractions from operational commitments and can be absorbed within the current training commitments of the Crime Academy as other related training demands are reduced e.g. Sexual Offences Investigative Techniques (SOIT).

26. HR issues such as the job descriptions, selection processes, terms and conditions of employment and re-alignment of duties to accommodate a 24-hour response, are being progressed with HR, Police Federation and staff association support and are a key element of the implementation project.

Maintaining links between domestic and sexual violence at Territorial Policing HQ and on Boroughs

27. The new SCD Sapphire teams will remain borough linked and continue as members of the 32 public protection groups. Their remit will include continuing contributions to the daily intelligence and tasking and co-ordinating meetings, and to crime and disorder partnerships on every Borough.

28. The current policy and good practice support provided by the Sapphire TPHQ team and their inclusion in the TPHQ public protection structure will continue. The Sapphire HQ team will continue to operate from their base at TPHQ to help ensure that the move to SCD does not impede the existing public protection commitments, but enables the continuing development of information sharing and integration within the wider public protection arena.

29. A risk assessment approach based on the risk identification and assessment models used for domestic violence and child abuse is being developed for the new command, acknowledging the particular importance of information-sharing with these offence categories and the particular vulnerabilities of victims of sexual abuse.

Issues arising from the equality impact assessment and any other implications with regards to diversity

30. The new OCU will develop standard operating procedures and training based upon the new NPIA guidance, which has already been subject to a full equalities impact assessment.

31. It is recognised that rape is primarily about violence against women and in particular against women in minority ethnic groups. As many as 87% of victims are additionally vulnerable in specific areas such as mental health, age (under 18), disability, the influence of alcohol and domestic violence, a combination of complex needs and restricted access to support services. It is also recognized that the ethnic origins of victims and suspects for reported offences is disproportionate to their representation within the population and that a greater understanding of these issues is needed in order to better support victims and reduce offending.

32. The chair of the specialist independent advisory group on rape is a member of the Project Board along with the MPS lead on strategic analysis for vulnerable victims and they will advise the implementation team on race and diversity issues.

33. The implementation team will ensure that there is consultation on equalities issues with all relevant partners and other organisations. This will ensure that they are introduced into the new working arrangements at the design stage and help to minimise any adverse impact on the most vulnerable victims and communities.

34. It is intended to hold a ‘Listening Session’ with representatives from the six diversity strands, to ensure that the new OCU meets and promotes its equalities obligations and a scope of the need for a formal equalities impact assessment has been commissioned through the project support team.

The MPS response to the IPCC report into the unsuccessful investigation of alleged rape of a 15 year old girl conducted by Southwark Sapphire unit in 2005

35. This complaint was managed by the IPCC and was made following the unsuccessful prosecution of a suspect for the rape of Ms D’s daughter. At the time of the complaint an internal review was conducted of the structure and effectiveness of the specific Sapphire team involved. This review identified significant resource issues, in particular that some staff were not suitably qualified to investigate allegations of serious sexual assault. This echoed the results of consultation from the joint TP/SCD assessment that noted in its findings to Management Board in March 2009, that there are currently insufficient investigative resources to meet competing priorities at borough level, potentially undermining service delivery to victims.

36. This case is currently with the Commander professional standards (DPS), for a decision.

Other cases that have been referred to the IPCC with regards to concerns over MPS investigations of rape and sexual assault (other than the Worboys case) and how a centralised Sapphire Project in Specialist Crime will ensure that such failures do not recur

37. In the last year there have been a total of 6455 reported rapes and serious sexual offences in London. During that period, 39 complaints against police were recorded in respect of those types of allegation. There are currently 26 live complaints relating to serious sexual offence investigations and they date from May 2007 to February 2009 and have been made against officers on Sapphire Units, child abuse investigation teams and borough officers. Many of these 26 complaint investigations have been completed, subject to an appeals process and final closure.

38. Other than the referral to the IPCC of John Worboys and the Southwark complaint at para. 35 above, three other cases have been referred to the IPCC. These are:

• Kensington and Chelsea borough non-Sapphire unit
  Complaint about initial police response to a report that caller’s girlfriend was being abducted. This complaint was recorded on 17/12/2008 and is being investigated independently by the IPCC.
• Lambeth borough Sapphire unit
  Complaint about lack of thoroughness in a rape investigation.
• Wandsworth borough
  This complaint relates to the series offender Kirk Reid and is the subject of a voluntary referral to the IPCC.

39. A detailed debrief of the Worboys and Reid cases is being progressed by the implementation team, to ensure organisational learning is incorporated into the design of the new OCU.

40. In addition, the new OCU is seeking to expand on the review capability currently within Sapphire by accessing the experience of the SCD murder review team.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The new OCU will develop standard operating procedures and training based upon the new NPIA guidance, which has already been subject to a full equalities impact assessment.

2. It is intended to hold a ‘Listening Session’ with representatives from the six diversity strands to ensure that the new OCU meets and promotes its equalities obligations and a scope of the need for a formal equalities impact assessment has been commissioned through the project support team.

3. It is recognised that rape is primarily about violence against women and in particular against women in minority ethnic groups. In addition as many as 87% of victims are additionally vulnerable in specific areas such as mental health, age (under 18), disability, the influence of alcohol and domestic violence, a combination of complex needs and restricted access to support services. It is also recognized that the ethnic origins of victims and suspects for reported offences is disproportionate to their representation within the population and that a greater understanding of these issues is needed in order to better support victims and reduce offending. Sapphire teams will continue to have access to the wide range of interpreter and intermediary services already available to them.

4. The chair of the specialist independent advisory group on rape is a member of the Project Board along with the MPS lead on strategic analysis for vulnerable victims and they will advise the implementation team on race and diversity issues.

5. The implementation team will ensure that there is consultation on equalities issues with all relevant partners and other organizations, building on the work already undertaken by the review team. This will ensure that they are introduced to the new command team and working arrangements at the design stage and will be able to help minimise any adverse impact on the most vulnerable victims and communities.

D. Financial implications

1. One of the principles supporting the new arrangement is that the transfer of functions from TP to SCD should be cost neutral. The design of the new command is being based on the financial profile for Sapphire activity conducted by TP and agreed with SCD in January 2009. The new command, including a new senior management team and some business support functions, will therefore need to operate within a budget, based on 2008/09 costs, of £20.6m.

2. The estimated 2008/9 budget profile for the new command can be summarised as follows:

3. Much of the new command will continue to be located on borough in existing accommodation holdings. The new command SMT will be accommodated in existing SCD holdings. The cost of any additional support required by the new command will be met from existing SCD resources. The implementation date is intended for September 2009 when the final budget for the new Command will be agreed and transferred to SCD.

4. The business requirement for an intelligence structure and capability within the new command (beyond the existing borough and pan-London arrangements) is being scoped at present as a high priority. If required, it is expected that a proportion of this function would be absorbed within the existing MIB structure, with any shortfall being met through a reallocation of SCD funds, or by reprioritizing of existing functions.

5. Although a general increase in workload in the new financial year is predicted, there is insufficient data at this time to predict what these increased levels may be. This will be reviewed on a regular basis with any additional funding requirements being met from within existing SCD budgets.

6. In addition to the above budgets for Sapphire Units, SCD will also be taking over from TP the annual MPS contribution towards the running of the Havens. The budget for this is currently £2.1m

E. Background papers

• Report to the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board April 2009
• Report to the Communities Equalities and People Committee 12 March 2009

F. Contact details

Report author: Caroline Bates, Acting Detective Chief Superintendent, SCD, MPS.

For information contact:

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

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