Headline performance report 6 months to September 2009

Report: 4
Date: 5 November 2009
By: Deputy Commissioner on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an overview of progress against targets set for Critical Performance Areas and other corporate measures featured in the Policing London Business Plan 2009–12.

A. Recommendation

That members note the latest performance against the Policing Plan and the MPS’s activity underway to improve outcomes.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. This report provides an update on progress against our key areas of performance. The MPA/MPS Policing London Business Plan 2009-12 highlights how we will deliver the two key outcomes of safety and public confidence (along with ensuring that we do so efficiently and with a clear focus on improvement). Our Policing Plan, underpinned by the 5Ps, has been developed to sustain the crime reduction that has been achieved over the last ten years and, at the same time, increase public trust and confidence in the MPS.

2. Our aim is to focus discussion on areas we are looking to improve. The following paragraphs report performance by exception against those indicators where there is greatest need for action.

Report Structure

3. The report comprises two main sections:

• 'Critical Performance Areas' (CPAs) - the corporate ‘critical few’ measures highlighted in the Policing Plan (Appendix 1).
• Other Corporate Policing Plan Indicators – all non-CPA corporate measures featured in the Policing Plan (Appendix 2).

4. In a change to previous reports, this report provides data for the first six months of the 2009/10 financial year rather than for the rolling 12 months, as enough of the year has passed to make comparisons against 2009/10 targets meaningful. The period covered unless otherwise indicated is from April 2009 to September 2009 compared to the same six months of last year. Performance is shown against the 2009/10 targets and assessed using a red, amber or green traffic light.

• ‘Green’ status indicates performance on or above target.
• ‘Amber’ status indicates performance marginally below target.
• ‘Red’ status indicates exceptions where performance is well below target and appears at risk unless remedial action is taken.

No traffic light status has been shown for those indicators where there is no data relating to the current performance year e.g. Confidence in local policing, which uses British Crime Survey (BCS) data to March 2009.

Current performance focus

Most serious violence (MSV)

5. MSV has increased by 49 offences (0.8%). This means that MSV offences for the next 6 months cannot exceed a total of 4,925 (a monthly average of 820.8) if we are to meet the 2009/10 annual target of – 4.3%. The combined measure of MSV and Assault with Injury (AWI) has increased by 1.4% over the same period and there has been an increase in gun crime, as detailed in a section below. However, within MSV, homicides have reduced by 30 offences (34%) over the six month period. This now represents the lowest number of homicides over the last 10 year period. Whilst some of this decrease may be attributable to medical advances it is consistent with the fact that there has been a significant reduction in the number of homicides involving sharp instruments - down 42% April - September 2009 cf. April - September 2008. There are also reductions within serious youth violence (down 4.8%, 172 fewer victims) and knife crime (down 4.7%, 303 offences) over the same period.

6. Operation Verano, which commenced on 6 July 2009 and was scheduled to run until 4 October, has been extended into January 2010. This will optimise the MPS’s ability to take a pan-London view of intelligence on violence and gangs and to provide a fast time operational response against the threat of serious violence with respect to guns, knives, gangs and young people.

7. Knife crime is showing a decrease of 303 offences/4.7% but that decrease is less than the target decrease of 5.6%. Action against knife crime is continuing under Operation Blunt 2 which is part of Verano.

Serious Acquisitive Crime

8. Serious acquisitive crime comprises residential burglary, robbery and motor vehicle crime. As a whole, serious acquisitive crime is down 1.3%, which is below the target for 2009/10 of a 2% reduction.

9. This reduction, however, masks 2,617 more residential burglaries (9.8%). As part of the action to address this, Operation Bumblebee had its media launch on October 19 and included an advertising campaign to support operational activity to tackle the increase in burglaries. The campaign will have adverts on burglary prevention at bus stops, on tube card panels and on radio. Packs giving comprehensive crime prevention advice have been produced and will be handed out to recent victims of burglary and their neighbours as well as being available to order. Nevertheless, seasonal trends indicate that steep rises in residential burglary tend to occur in December and January which, in the coming months, may affect the achievement of the serious acquisitive crime overall target.

10. Motor vehicle crime remains on a downward trend (- 7.7%) and is at its lowest level for a similar 6 month period since at least 1998/99. Robbery rose by 368 offences (2.3%) but much of that increase took place in May which had 267 more offences more than the previous May. Otherwise the trend this year is similar to that of last year.

Serious sexual offences sanction detection rate

11. The sanction detection rate (SD) for serious sexual offences is 23.5%, against a target of 31% for 2009/10.

12. Information was requested at the September meeting on the conviction rate for serious sexual offences. The Offences Brought To Justice (OBTJ) rate is almost the same as the conviction rate because there are very few OBTJs for this crime type that do not result in convictions. The Government is the only source for this conviction information which is only provided for rolling 12 month periods.

13. The latest available Home Office’s data shows the OBTJ rate for serious sexual offences for the year to May 2009 is 25.4%, an improvement over the year to May 2008 when it was 21.0%. The MPS is fourth in its Home Office MSF group.

14. A number of activities are underway as reported last month. Most significantly the new SCD2 Sapphire OCU was established on 23 September 2009. As part of the changeover the MPS has improved its recording of rape by introducing in April 2009 a small team responsible for all ‘no crime’ decisions. In September SCD2 took responsibility for the classifying of all rape allegations - previously that function was carried out by the 32 boroughs. It is widely acknowledged that rape is very significantly under reported. Improved recording of rape will help the MPS and its partners to support more victims, work better together to prevent sexual assaults and catch more offenders.

15. However those improvements (commencing in April) may have contributed at least partly to the increase of 20% in recorded rapes for 2009/10 and may continue to contribute to increases. Another possible impact of SCD2 becoming responsible for rape investigations may be fewer sanction detections during the first few weeks of the new operation because of delays in processing cases between the MPS and the CPS. This does not mean that cases are being dropped, but that cases may not be processed as fast as normal because of the changes whilst the teams review and build on current cases.

Police officer recruits from minority ethnic groups

16. The proportion of BME recruits for the current half year is 13.8% against a target of 20%. It is projected that the proportion for the 2nd half of the year will be 25.4%, lifting the 09/10 performance to 16.6% overall, an improvement from 16.2% for 08/09. This was recognised last year as a challenging aim, forming part of the MPS’s goal to raise the percentage of officers from a BME background to 10%. During this financial year it has became apparent that the current economic climate was reducing police officer turnover, with 18% fewer police officers leaving the service than originally forecast. Consequently, Management Board reduced recruitment targets by 400 ensuring the MPS remained within budget. The lower than expected attrition and lower recruitment means that, on the one hand fewer experienced officers are leaving but on the other hand, the opportunity to improve diversity decreases.

17. The number of BME recruits joining the MPS during the 6 months to September 2009 was 160.

18. BME police officer strength has increased from 2,864 at the end of March 2008 to 3,013 at the end of September 2009, an increase of 149 officers. This represents 9.0% of the total police officer strength of 33,298 as compared to 8.8% at the end of March 2009.

Gun crime

19. For the year to date there has been a 17.0% increase (252 offences) in reported gun crime. This short term performance, however, must be viewed in the context of the 25.8% decrease achieved over the whole of 2008/09.

20. Within this overall rise, there have been 86 more Trident gun crime offences/125%. There is another report to this meeting on Trident which discusses Trident and other shootings.

Assets Recovered

21. The average value of assets recovered April - September 2009 was £3.4m against target monthly average of £3.75m. There is considerable monthly variation - in the last 12 months the range is £9.6m - £1.3m. Hence, in the report considered by SOP Committee in October (which considered the data period April - August) this indicator had moved to ‘Red’ status. Nevertheless, the monthly variation [September 2009 was three times as high as August 2009 (£4.19K vs. £1.37K)] means that it has now moved to ‘Amber’.

C. Race and equality impact

Implications of performance against individual targets relating to race and equality issues are considered in in-depth performance reports throughout the year. This report notes exceptions in strategic disproportionality indicators where applicable.

D. Financial implications

The content of this report raises no additional financial implications beyond forecasts and estimates previously presented to the Authority.

E. Legal implications

1. There are no direct legal implications arising, as this is a performance monitoring report.

2. The MPA has a duty to secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force for its area and a duty to hold the chief officer of police of the force to account for the exercise of his functions and those persons under his direction and control, under s6 of the Police Act 1996.

3. The MPA also have a specific duty to monitor the MPS’s performance against the Policing Plan under s6ZA of the Police Act 1996, as inserted by paragraph 8, Schedule 2 of the Police & Justice Act 2006 and the Police Authorities (Particular Functions & Transitional Provisions) Order 2008.

4. The Committee is the relevant committee to receive the report as its terms of reference set out it is responsible for considering and maintaining police performance against the Policing Plan targets and any performance indicators set locally or by external organisations.

F. Background papers

• Appendix 1: 2009/10 Critical Performance Areas
• Appendix 2: 2009/10 Policing Plan Corporate Measures

G. Contact details

Report author: Katy Tuncer, Sarah Hedgcock, Worth Houghton, MPS Strategy and Improvement Department

For information contact:

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

Acronym List

AWI

Assault with Injury

BCS

British Crime Survey

BME

Black and Minority Ethnic

CPAs

Critical Performance Areas

CPS

Crown Prosecution Service

MSF

Most Similar Forces - Home Office group of similar forces - MPS, W. Midlands, W, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester

MSV

Most Serious Violence

OBTJ

Offences Brought To Justice

OCU

Operational Command Unit

SAC

Serious Acquisitive Crime

SCD

Specialist Crime Directorate

SD

Sanction Detection Rate

SOP

Strategic and Operational Policing

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback