Minutes - draft

These minutes are draft and are to be agreed.

Minutes of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 4 March 2010 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Reshard Auladin (Chairman)
• Jennette Arnold
• Tony Arbour
• Jenny Jones
• Joanna McCartney
• Caroline Pidgeon
• Valerie Brasse

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive)
• Jane Harwood (Deputy Chief Executive)
• Annabel Adams (Deputy Treasurer)
• Siobhan Coldwell (Head of Policing Policy, Scrutiny and Oversight)
• Jane Owen (Head of Policing Planning & Performance Improvement)

MPS officers

• Commander Simon Foy
• DAC Lynne Owens
• Chief Supt BJ Harrington
• DAC Sue Akers
• Anne McMeel
• Martin Tiplady
• Clive Chalk

109. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

109.1 Apologies for absence were received from Richard Tracey, Cindy Butts, Toby Harris, Kit Malthouse, Steve O’Connell, Deborah Regal

110. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

110.1 None

111. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

111.1 The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2010

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2010 were approved and signed as a correct record.

112. Urgent actions and urgent operational issues

(Agenda item 4)

112.1 Martin Tiplady attended SOP to outline the plans the MPS has in place to deal with the 48 hour PCS strike scheduled for 8/9 March 2010.

112.2 The strike is a national PCS strike, in response to changes the cabinet office has made to the civil service compensation scheme, which essentially reduce the amounts payable on redundancy. Five out of the six civil service unions have accepted the changes. PCS has not and have voted overwhelmingly for strike action (albeit with low turnout). Members were balloted on two courses of action – 2 2-day strikes and on action falling short of a strike (voluntary overtime bans etc.), both were accepted. Members were told that it was not known when the second strike would be, but the “action falling short” will start on 10th March and run until the beginning of April.

112.3 Members were told that the MPS have issued guidance to all managers on how to manage staff, and a notice would be placed on the intranet for all staff. PCS are co-operating fully with the MPS in terms of ensuring pickets behave appropriately etc. A special HR helpdesk will be running from Sunday at 9pm to Wed 9am, for managers who require HR advice.

112.4 The committee was informed that the MPS convened a gold group, and there were strategies across the organisation for ensuring resilience was available to meeting policing demands. Three key vulnerabilities were identified – high memberships amongst PCSOs, staff working in the 3 call centres (CCC) and at the Palace of Westminster. The MPS was confident that CCC will be operating normally and they had warned all staff with appropriate training, that they will be on call and required to work if necessary. This included using a higher number of police officers in CCC than usual. There had been good collaboration with Black Rod to ensure appropriate security at the Palace of Westminster and all boroughs had contingency plans to ensure virtual courts, front counters, property and custody are staffed (these are the mission critical services, where PCS membership is highest).

112.5 Members were told that there were likely to be pickets outside key police buildings and the Palace of Westminster, but as noted above, the MPS had assurances from the union that they would behave appropriately.

112.6 It was noted that arrangements were in place to quantify the cost and a report would be made available in due course. Communication strategies were in place for all key stakeholders e.g. local authorities.

113. Headline performance report

(Agenda item 5)

113.1 The MPS informed the committee that confidence in local policing is up 3.7%, serious violence has been reduced by 1.1% and that there was a peak in knife crime offences in January. Knife crime was split into three categories, knives used, seen and intimation. One third of the crimes were intimation based. The committee was also told that performance on serious acquisitive crime was going well exceeding its 2% reduction rate. It was noted that informed that Operation Bumblebee was delivering improvements. Gun crime is on the increase though the proxy gun crimes measure shows 09/10 as lowest financial year for gun crime per 1000 people.

113.2 Members asked how MPS were going to deal with the great variation in confidence in the police across boroughs. The committee was told that there is a difference in national statistics and local statistics on confidence and that there are many boroughs that look good on their own but are poor when partners are included and vice a versa. In order to increase confidence the MPS were trying to improve the way in which borough commanders discuss performance outcomes with the public. A ‘traffic light’ scheme has also been introduced to show which areas are high risk to help the police target these areas.

113.4 It was noted that anti-social behaviour is a key driver in confidence and that there were strong improvements in boroughs where the MPS have introduced new tactics on how to deal with anti-social behaviour.

113.5 The committee asked about the cost benefit analysis of Operation Bumblebee as the papers indicted that in Redbridge out of 89 arrests only 16 people were charged with burglary. The committee was told that that the MPS had scaled down Operation Bumblebee responses since January 2010. They were told that Operation had been funded by Territorial Policing out of existing budgets, and that resources were now focused at hotspots and on dealing with cross-border crime. The committee was told that Operation Bumblebee had not been stopped but was being resourced in a different way given that it was expensive.

113.6 Members asked about the comment in the report that within gun crime there had been an increase in the use of automatic weapons. The MPS reported that that there had been a substantial increase in actual shootings, although there was a large increase, this increase is smaller than it was in the beginning of the year. There have been some changes in gun use. Guns are less easy to get hold of so are shotguns used much more along with guns converted from replicas, which are not as fatal in statistic. There are many more ‘lower limb’ injuries as a result of these firearms rather than other guns. There is a gang element to this, and the MPS have been targeting individuals and gangs, which has in turn reduced the level of shootings.

113.7 The committee was told that HMIC are due to produce their “report card” on the 8 March 2010. They were told that it would include scores on local policing, confidence and protective services. Although there will be a value for money score, it will be published later in the month.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

114. MPS Drugs Strategy

(Agenda item 6)

114.1 The draft MPS drug strategy 2010-2013 was presented to the committee for approval. The strategy was revised following significant consultation and focuses on public confidence, although the expectation that the MPS will focus on the most harmful drugs remains. There has been a move away from targets, except on confidence and they will be using diagnostic indicators to indicate progress. It is a dynamic process that will be refined over time.

114.2 Members were concerned about the move away from the aspiration in the last strategy to establish Drug Intervention Programmes in all 32 boroughs. The MPS indicated it would provide members with information outside the meeting on this issue.

114.3 Members were concerned about the focus on confidence and perception. They sought reassurance that it was being underpinned by hard data as perception can be wrong. The MPS was asked whether the 3% target was sufficiently challenging. Members noted it was possible to deliver the target without looking at the underlying crime. The MPS acknowledged the concerns but noted that they wanted to develop a strategy that allowed the 32 boroughs to respond to local need without being too prescriptive. The expectation is that boroughs will, with their communities, identify what impacts on confidence in their area, and tackle those problems. Barnet and Lambeth for example are likely to have very different issues. Some key diagnostic indicators will be closely monitored e.g. crack house closures, seizures, organised criminal networks disrupted.

114.4 Members were concerned that there needs to be a full internal and external communication strategy. They noted that there needs to be engagement with community police engagement groups and with crime reduction partnerships and with magistrates. Police officers and police community support officers also need to understand for example what the strategy says on the use of cannabis. The MPS told the committee that they recognised the importance of communication.

114.5 Members also asked whether dealing with drug related crime had been deliberately omitted. They assured that the strategy does look at targeting offenders and that although not specifically mentioned, targeting repeat offenders will be a key tactic.

114.6 Given the concerns they raised, Members were reluctant to endorse the strategy. The MPS indicated that they thought many of the issues raised could be dealt with by amending the delivery plan.

Resolved - The committee agreed not to endorse the strategy pending amendments from the MPS. In particular the MPS were asked to respond to the DIP and reoffending issues raised by members and to the internal communications issues.

115. TP TO SCD Rape transferral update report

(Agenda item 7)

115.1 The MPS presented a report on the progress being made to transfer the responsibility for rape from TP to SCD. The committee was told there was a significant internal and external evaluation programme including an HMIC visit planned for the summer of 2010. The change programme is on track and there has been good collaboration between TP and SCD.

115.2 Members asked what reassurances could the MPS offer now that the strategy had been in place 6 months on improving performance. Members were told there were two assurances, the first is that the police were taking reports of crimes of this nature very seriously and that they adhere to the prime principle that the veracity of the victim is beyond doubt, and all victims are dealt with in a professional manner. The public should be reassured that that when someone comes to the MPS that they get a sense that no stone will be left unturned. The second assurance was that an improved approach to intelligence had been developed which should help with better vigilance, especially regarding people who are committing lesser offences, stating that the Met was aware of the potential progression from lesser offences to more serious ones.

115.3 A member stated that the figures presented were disturbing and asked that as these lesser offences were being treated as ‘an iceberg crime’, was the MPS requesting more resources already?

115.4 The MPS stated that a number of factors had to be taken into account a number of factors before extra resources were sought including are the right people in the right place? Are the shift patterns good? Are the opportunities to integrate with other parts of the SCD to use the resources at their control effectively exploited? They are going through a process of gauging the resource need but didn’t want to ask for resources during a surge in crime.

115.5 It was noted that many MPA members see this as a priority. Members were assured that the MPS saw this as a definite priority too. It was noted that that the MPS was receiving support from other business groups, particularly in respect of detective capability. The immediate need was to ensure that there were sufficient SOITs. It was noted that although SCD has been identified as a growth priority by management board, this would have to be balanced against achieving reductions elsewhere.

115.6 Members noted that the paper was complex and that they had expected more analysis then asked why the increase in offences had occurred. The Chair noted that there had already been discussion on the topic in the Member briefing before the meeting, the outcome of which was that some research would be commissioned to understand the reasons for the increased reporting.

115.7 The MPS were asked about the consistency in recording rape offences. It was noted that as part of the new arrangements all reporting/classification is done through one route instead of via 32 borough crime management units, which was leading to better consistency. Geographical factors do have an effect, as some boroughs were better than others at recording. There are some crime hotspots too, which are being carefully monitored.

115.8 There was a discussion about staffing levels and the number of vacancies. Members were told that not all officers had opted to move across from TP. The MPS indicated that the overall vacancy rates were not unusual and that they were achieving key milestones such as trying to get a SOIT trained officer to a victim in an hour. Shift-wise, 4 officers have been increased to 5 officers on night duty. These SOIT officers a pan-London resource, shared across the boroughs.

115.9 Members asked when the first complete round of Continuous Improvement Reviews would be done and were told that the complete review should be done by the time the HMIC review starts. It is hoped that they will inform this process.

115.10 The Chair asked the MPS whether there was a role for special constables in this area of work. The committee was told that this was part of an on-going debate about Specials becoming investigators.

115.11 It was agreed that the MPS would bring a further paper back to the committee in the autumn when the new arrangements have been in place for a full year and when the various internal and external reviews are complete.

Resolved - That progress on moving the investigation of rape from TP to SCD is noted and a further paper will be provided to the committee in October 2010.

116. Policing Pledge update

(Agenda item 8)

116.1 The committee received an update report on the implementation of the policing pledge. Members were told that there was significant cultural change and that there was important progress in place. An improvement plan has been developed to address the areas of concern, highlighted areas by the HMIC. There was to be an internal inspection in each BOCU.

116.2 Members indicated that they would like to see copies of relevant internal inspection reports. It was noted that the reports were restricted. There would be a discussion with MPA officers outside the meeting to agree how this request could be met. It was suggested that members could talk to their link borough commanders about the findings for their boroughs.

116.3 There was a discussion about the vacancy levels on safer neighbourhood teams and whether there was any flexibility in staffing levels. Visibility data was also questioned. Members were told that there were no plans to change the number of PCSOs allocated to SNTs, although the financial situation is such that there will be some review of the neighbourhood structure as part of the TP modernisation programme. There is also scope to use resources including PCSOs differently to get more out of them. It was noted that the processes for capturing abstraction data are being improved including better central resource management by CCC.

116.4 Members were concerned that boroughs needed to do more to ensure that the details of officers on teams were kept up to date. The MPS acknowledged that this was important and borough commanders are being told that it is not acceptable to allow information to become out of date. Members remained concerned that voicemail boxes are not checked as frequently as they ought to be. The MPS acknowledged that this was unacceptable.

116.5 Members asked how good practice was shared between boroughs. They were told that there were meetings fortnightly with area commanders, this was top of the list.

116.6 The Chair asked what impact has the national pledge advertisement campaign had on the MPS and reminded the committee that the prime minister had said 2 March 2010 that he would like to see PCSOs spending 80% of their time on the beat. He also questioned the problem of governance in paragraph 8 regarding the HMIC report.

116.7 The committee was told that the SNT have had questions about the advertising campaign but no major increase in calls. About the PM’s statement on PCSOs, the MPS has some concerns about phraseology, they aspire to PCSOs spending 80% of their time engaging with the community which could include time spent in community meetings.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

117. Satisfaction gap between white and BME victims of crime

(Agenda item 9)

117.1 The MPS introduced the report indicating that this was an interim paper to update on progress so far. Members were told that the new assistant commissioner in TP took the issue extremely seriously and has tasked his business group to resolve the problem. Members were told that a substantive piece of research is required across the criminal justice system. The MPS noted that MPS performance compares well to its most similar force group. The MPS noted that that they need to better understand who they were.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

118. Thematic Performance update report from TP – Central Communications Command (CCC)

(Agenda item 10)

118.1 The MPS introduced this paper by stating that CCC was reaching the targets set for it. Members were told that the CCC had surveyed 2000 people by text and also brought in 12 people who were dissatisfied with the service to find out how to better it. All these schemes helped the CCC improve its service. Budget-wise, Members were told that there was a £1.3 million under spend and that next year the forecast was for a reduction of £4.5 million. The command has launched a new equality diversity strategy. The CCC has just under 2000 staff, 119 of which are police officers and are required in the CCC sites to give resilience. They are also helpful performance-wise too. Industry standard software is now in place to support resource management, enabling CCC to predict call volumes, allowing better workforce planning. It was noted that the CCC overtime budget spend is significantly overspent but this is offset against under-spends in staffing budgets. Given the long-term shift planning they have to do, overtime is a necessary management tool.

118.2 The Chair recommended that Members visit a CCC call centre to see how it worked, saying that it was impressive. Members asked for more detail about the equality diversity strategy and the CCC being the first service to implement this. They were told that CCC is working with the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate using the four strands of the strategy to change the working practices and culture of the Command.

118.3 Members asked about staffing and resilience and whether the balance between police officers and police staff was right, particularly given the impending industrial action. Members were told that the original business case for C3i was to take police officers out of the command entirely, but in practice their operational knowledge is useful. There are 450 officers trained across the organisation that can be brought in when necessary. The MPS is ensuring their skill levels are maintained for the Olympics. Police staff, over time gain knowledge and in practice the public are not able to tell whether they are speaking to a police officer or a member of police staff – the service level is the same.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

119. Findings from the ‘Have your say on policing in London’ policing priorities consultation

(Agenda item 11)

119.1 The MPA introduced the report by indicating that the analysis provides the starting point for next year’s business planning process. A more detailed report will be published the MPA website. Consultation was undertaken using four mechanisms: online survey, postcard questionnaires, public attitude survey and an MPS youth survey completed by 31,000 young people. There was a good depth to information gathered. The focus was on accessing existing channels such as Safer Neighbourhoods data, GLA surveys and augmenting where necessary.

119.2 Members welcomed the survey findings and made the point that the survey was very cheap. They particularly welcomed the scale of engagement by young Londoners.

119.3 The MPA clarified that the youth survey was run by the MPS. The MPA survey received 1,500 and were from are from the MPA team going to events and handing out the surveys, and from the web based survey. The advantage of the MPA survey was the free text section that allowed respondents to put down their concerns rather than choose from a set list of options. .

Resolved - That the report be noted.

120. Report of the sub-committees of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee

(Agenda item 12)

120.1 The report summarised business cases approved by Olympics sub-committee at their February meeting and the business discussed by the counter-terrorism and protective services committee at its January meeting.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

121. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 13)

Part 2 - exempt items

122. Report by the Director of Professional Standards on behalf of the Commissioner (request for funding)

(Agenda item 14)

122.1 Funding was agreed.

124. Exempt minutes of the meeting on 4 February 2010

(Agenda item 17)

124.1 Members considered the exempt minutes of 4 February 2010 and found them to be accurate.

The meeting finished at 4:30 pm.

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