Thematic Performance Report against MPA/MPS Policing London Business Plan

Report: 8
Date: 7 April 2011
By: AC Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report gives an overview of MPS performance on the corporate objective “Build confidence in the police by delivering agreed customer standards and improving people’s experience of our services.”

A. Recommendation

That

1. Members note the contents of the report

B. Supporting information

1. The MPS is committed to keeping neighbourhoods safe from harm with a visible local policing presence, engaging with local communities, and behaving with professional courtesy and treating people fairly.

2. The MPS has been determinedly working to further improve the already high levels of confidence expressed by the public in their police service. Our current performance is at an all time high and we remain committed to delivering better still both for individuals and our communities.

3. When the public are asked ‘if the police and local authority are dealing with the crime and antisocial behaviour that matters in this area’ (referred to as the ‘partnership’ question) and if ‘the police in this area do a good/excellent Job’ (referred to as the ‘good job’ question) the MPS has in recent years consistently been the highest performing police service when compared to the most similar police forces in the country. [1] 65% of London’s public believe that the Police do a good or excellent job according to the Public Attitude Survey. More details around our performance in relation to the ‘partnership’ and ‘good job’ measures are discussed later in this report at paragraph 24.

Development of Met Promises

4. The Policing Pledge was created, in large part, as a public promise as to the levels of service that the public should expect from police forces across the country. A series of performance measures were aligned with the individual Pledge commitments and shortly thereafter forces were subject to an inspection by Her Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The learning from this inspection has since been addressed though an action plan.

5. The bureaucracy of collecting performance data in respect of each Pledge element created a costly process. Some elements of the Pledge did not naturally lend themselves to automated, lean data collection (for example, the percentage of SNT time spent working visibly on a neighbourhood).

6. Other Pledge elements could have driven the organisation towards a culture of achieving the individual measures at the expense of delivering a tailored and high quality service. As an example, merely achieving a publicised promise to schedule public engagement meetings can nevertheless mask poor quality interactions with the public. There can be a danger of hitting the target but missing the point.

7. The removal of the Policing Pledge by the new government was seen as an opportunity to allow the MPS to re-focus staff and customers on the key objectives and standards that the organisation intends to deliver. A commitment to the people of London that can be tailored to suit the needs of local neighbourhoods and communities, rather than a national generic Pledge, will enable the MPS to keep its grip of the excellent progress and improvements made in customer service.

8. The MPS has proposed a series of key promises that could form the basis of the replacement for the Pledge (discussed later in this report). Monitoring of the promises can be achieved using existing corporate data that tracks activity and outcomes against quality and satisfaction rather than statistical targets. The proposed measures will allow Pan London and business area management to understand headline performance relating to confidence and satisfaction. It will also provide them with diagnostic data sets that will allow the identification of the causal factors behind both poor and good performance.

Leadership and Governance

9. Our successes have been achieved through strong leadership, a desire to understand (through analysis); and governance arrangements that facilitate strategic challenge; the driving and monitoring of progress; and, the opportunity to learn lessons.

10. The performance of boroughs in improving public confidence, as measured by the Public Attitude Survey (PAS), is monitored and assessed at the Key Performance Review meetings (KPRM) held quarterly for the boroughs of each area. These meetings are chaired by the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of TP with the relevant Area Commander present. Borough Commanders are held to account for their borough’s performance, with a detailed scrutiny of key public confidence and satisfaction data from the current weekly performance scorecard.

11. Each borough has a Confidence action plan that addresses areas for improvement and structured to reflect the activity within the key drivers of confidence that will enable improved confidence.

12. Within the TP performance framework, Area commanders meet monthly with their borough commanders to scrutinise strategic management and operational activity under their action plans for the four key drivers of confidence: engagement, fair treatment, crime effectiveness and worry about ASB.

13. The Confidence and Satisfaction Board, also chaired by the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of TP, provides an overview and co-ordination of emerging performance issues, research and development, and best practice across all MPS business groups. Each business group is represented at this Board and retains a detailed bespoke public confidence improvement plan against which the Board holds them to account. The Board also has the capacity and capability to commission specific confidence improvement work.

14. In September 2008 the MPS Performance Board adopted a Confidence Model that had been developed by the MPS Strategy, Research and Analysis Unit (SRAU). This model is derived from comprehensive analysis of the Public Attitude Survey (PAS) data and identifies four crucial drivers that impact on levels of public confidence in the police:

• Effective engagement
• Fair Treatment
• Effectiveness in dealing with crime
• Worry about Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

15. The first two of these, effective engagement and fair treatment, have been found to offer the greatest influence on improving community confidence. Underpinning these four drivers is an expectation that high quality, local information will be made available to inform the public about what the police are doing to address local issues. The confidence data is provided by the SRAU and is currently published quarterly but will move to monthly reporting in the new performance year 2011-12. The data is utilised in all performance meetings.

16. At a national level, the Confidence Route Map suggests that tackling crime and ASB, driving effective partnerships, delivering a high quality service, working with the public, and developing an empowered, engaged and confident workforce are also likely to have significant impact on raising confidence. These elements are reflected in the strategic focus of Met Forward, the MPS Values, the MPS Priorities, and in the Commissioner’s 5 Ps policing style.

17. In order to form a better understanding of local opinion across London, the MPS has since 1983 undertaken its own survey, the Public Attitude Survey (PAS). The PAS consults 20,480 people annually (640 people per BOCU) and the details are published both internally and publicly on the MPS website. The data is published quarterly and relates only to MPS Boroughs and makes no comparison with other force areas. The extent of the PAS provides sufficient rigour for the data to be statistically valid at Borough level. At the present time the SRAU have agreed the tender for a new market research company to begin work in April 2011. The revised approach will seek to ensure that the data gathered is reported on each month, is Borough based and allows managers to be confident in using it as a decision making tool. It will focus on local problems, visibility, engagement and confidence.

18. Within our internal key performance indicators the MPS uses the public confidence measure (police doing a good job) in preference to the partnership question. There are several reasons for this, including the complicated nature of the partnership question itself (to what extent do you agree that the police and local authority are dealing with the crime and antisocial behaviour that matters (to you) in this area) which has six differing aspects for the public to consider. We also believe that an MPS BOCU performance should not be assessed on an area that can be adversely influenced by the differing level of perceived resources and partnership activity that may be outside of their control.

19. In addition to the PAS the British Crime Survey (BCS) will also be referred to later in this report. The BCS is an independent survey, which has been carried out in all Police Forces of England and Wales since 1982. The data is published quarterly and comments on the individual performance of each force and in addition demonstrates their achievements relative to their most comparable forces within England and Wales placing them in a category of Most Similar Family Groups (MSFG). The BCS conducts interviews with over 51,000 people per annum with around 3000 surveys carried out within the MPS area. The BCS and PAS use similar methodology and amongst other questions, both surveys ask the public exactly the same ‘Partnership’ and ‘Good Job’ questions. Numerically it can be seen that the PAS is statistically more accurate than the BCS survey.

In further describing MPS performance this report has been structured to describe our activity against the key deliverables as set out in the MPS/MPS Policing London Business Plan 2010-13.

key deliverable: to continue to provide a visible and accessible policing presence in our communities through Safer Neighbourhood Teams dedicated to local policing and to tackling local policing priorities.

20. The MPS is committed to working in our communities and to building a shared confidence in policing London. This is delivered through our Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNTs) that work with communities and partners to identify their most significant problems (priorities) in a sustainable way. We are committed to single patrolling where this is possible (subject to local risk assessment) to encourage engagement with London’s communities and to increase the visibility of our patrols as well as our capacity and resilience.

21. SNTs across London employ a Victim, Offender, Location and Time (VOLT) approach to problem analysis as part of medium to longer term problem orientated partnership policing. The greater the community safety capacity, shared intelligence, tasking, resources and know-how of local partners enables a sharper focus in identifying the signal crimes that signpost the adverse quality of life issues that blight communities on a daily basis.

22. Safer Neighbourhood teams in each of the 624 London wards work together with their ward panels in agreeing up to three local priorities. These priorities typically require a medium to longer term problem solving approach involving local partners; the time-span for the successful resolution of each priority is therefore set according to local circumstances and need, which varies typically between three and 12 months. During 2010 the most commonly agreed priorities were:

• Residential Burglary
• ASB by youths
• Theft from Motor vehicle
• ASB in general
• Drug dealing / using

23. Locally agreed priorities are continually listed and updated on the web page of each SN team. These are hyperlinked to information on the action taken so far to resolve these local crime and ASB issues under the title ‘We asked, you said, we did’.

24. The MPA Safer Neighbourhoods Scrutiny has reported a key headline that:

“Safer Neighbourhoods policing has been a huge success for the MPS and [has] bought a change to how Londoners relate to and perceive their local police”

The MPS has been working successfully towards improving public confidence. The latest British Crime Survey (BCS) results indicate that the percentage of people who think that the Metropolitan Police is ‘doing a good job’ has risen significantly from 55.1% in the last financial year to 60.2% at the end of the second quarter (September) 2010. The MPS was also consistently the most successful when compared to most similar forces and is currently placed 11th amongst all forces in England and Wales for this measure.

‘Partnership’ confidence (the police and local authority are dealing with the issues of crime and ASB that matter in this area) has increased steadily from a baseline of 47.4% in 2008/09 to a rating of 56.7% for the second quarter 2010. This also places the MPS as consistently the best of all similar forces and an overall position amongst all forces of third, the highest achievement of the MPS to date. [2]

25. Most recent PAS data (December 2010) indicates the MPS average for public confidence (police doing a good job) at 65% with the three boroughs of Sutton 86%, Merton 80% and Waltham Forest 78% currently the best performing. Tower Hamlets at 50%, Bexley 44%, and Lewisham 34%, are the three most challenged boroughs. PAS indicators of partnership confidence (are the Police and Local authority dealing with the crime and ASB that matters in this area) show the MPS with an average of 50%. Whilst Kingston at 75%, Hounslow 75%, and Redbridge 72%, substantially outperform this. Bexley at 31%, Barnet 29% and Lewisham 23% are the most challenged boroughs.

• Public confidence in Bexley has remained static between Q2 and Q3 2010-11 but in Q4 there are encouraging signs of improvements in the drivers of confidence which are expected to translate into improved confidence being reported in first quarter of 2011-12. The apparent performance lag is as a result of the aggregated reporting mechanism which provides an average performance figure incorporating the previous three quarters.
• Lewisham has had the lowest public confidence of all boroughs, but the current trend is upwards for overall confidence due to encouraging increases in the last quarter in all four key driver areas. Detailed analysis was completed in respect of the areas for improvement towards improving the key drivers for increased public confidence. In 2010 a meeting took place with the SRAU and as a result the BOCU have formulated an action plan. Further support may be provided in the form of a peer review though the developmental process.

26. Boroughs are also able to call upon the considerable research and analysis expertise of the SRAU. Bespoke borough service recovery action is formulated for challenged boroughs around detailed scrutiny of the local PAS data and examination of how the borough’s strategic and tactical profile fits the known drivers of confidence. There is a wealth of information and researched best practice available to boroughs through the SRAU website and the extensive Safer Neighbourhoods (SN) website. These resources are continually revised and updated in the light of best practice and learning gained from maintaining a keen local and national perspective.

27. Senior practitioners from the SRAU and CSNT are regularly invited to participate in national conferences, seminars, and reviews of public confidence and community safety that augment the capability of the organisation to improve confidence. Historically the SN peer review service offers boroughs a small, specialist team of highly experienced and knowledgeable practitioners with the capability to assess and diagnose performance in confidence related issues. The peer review team is trained to NPIA national standards and is able to draw upon a broad range of skills; by working with both senior management teams and front line staff to a bespoke programme for the borough, the team presents public confidence, satisfaction and partnership models in an operational context. The CSNT will continue to offer help and support in this area.

28. The MPS is committed to the purposeful presence of SNTs and other police patrols in neighbourhoods at times when they will be most effective and when local people tell us they are most needed. During 2010 SNT officers and PCSOs carried out 8.6 million patrol hours across London. This represents in excess of two patrol hours for every household in London and 96.15% of available SNT patrol. Time spent away from dealing with local priorities in local neighbourhoods is kept to an absolute minimum. SN teams have a robust policy that allows temporary short-term abstraction for only the most significant of operational reasons such as critical incidents, serious crime incidents and major public order commitments.

29. The MPS policy of single patrols has produced a London wide average of 350 more uniform patrols each day. The aim of single patrol is to provide increased visible reassurance and presence on the streets as well as a point of access and engagement for the communities of London.

30. The MPS has a dedicated Safer Transport Team (STT) in every London borough. Each of these teams through problem orientated partnership activity is responsible for tackling crime and anti-social behaviour on the bus routes and within the transport hubs. Between July and December 2010 the Safer Transport teams recorded 34,226 patrolling hours on the public transport network, with 98.33% of available time spent on patrol. STT protocols do not usually involve deployment to local critical incidents and corporate demands to the same extent as SNTs.

31. The Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary (MSC) currently has 4,460 officers and a plan to recruit a further 2,200 by 2012. The MSC teams across London from June to November 2010 recorded 330,716 patrolling hours in addition to the MPS police officer and PCSOs borough resource.

32. Each borough has also identified primary town centres. Since April 2009 all boroughs have been required to provide four additional patrols per day for seven days a week. This has further increased to reach an overall total of an additional ten daily patrols [3] over the original base. Boroughs make effective use of MSC and local Operation Sphere opportunities (operational deployment of office-based staff to undertake proactive foot patrols). The purpose of these patrols is to increase police presence, engage with local communities and businesses, taking account of the associated diverse needs in these areas, and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour through a problem orientated partnership approach. The Town Centre Programme Board continues to track activity and progress and is now focusing on opportunities to improve engagement and partnership collaboration (with businesses, local authorities, community safety partners and consumers) to embed effective and sustainable problem-solving activities into the work of permanent town centre teams.

33. Alongside quarterly public confidence data, PAS produces a complementary publication ‘Londoners’ Views Count’, which captures overall views taken from the survey results PAS to demonstrate what the residents of London state are their concerns. The top five issues of concern across all boroughs during 2010 have been:

• Speeding vehicles (34%)
• Dangerous driving (27%)
• Teenagers hanging around (27%)
• Rubbish / litter lying around (24%)
• Burglary (21%)

34. As a result the MPS Traffic portfolio has recently reviewed all local priorities published on SNT web pages to identify local concerns about speeding vehicles and dangerous driving. Traffic Management Officers are in regular contact with local SN teams and work together in partnership with them and council Road Safety Officers. The MPS provides Safe Drive Stay Alive events for young people aged 15-17, which is a partnership presentation that highlights the dangers of driving for those about to obtain a driving licence. Traffic officers also provide Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) support at pre-planned operations in local neighbourhoods and across the strategic road network. High profile operations target collision hotspots and dangerous driving and include action against illegally operated large good vehicles and coaches. Operation Reclaim is the ongoing London-wide initiative to identify and where necessary seize dangerous condition and untaxed vehicles. During 2010 over 34000 vehicles were seized. The Traffic tasking process continues to support the government ‘Think’ campaign with high visibility patrols and action.

Examples of work taking place on individual Police Boroughs to provide a visible and accessible service

35. Lewisham Borough was commended at the MPS 2010 Diversity Excellence Awards for their work with the third largest Deaf community in London. Staff have worked hard to improve communication between the police and the local Deaf community. Basic sign language lessons have been given to over 80 police officers on the borough to help them provide initial interpretation to Deaf people coming in to contact with police. Through the existence of the team promoting the Deaflink scheme the local Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing community are more confident in the police resulting in an increase in the information being passed to police. The scheme has provoked interest from local schools and other agencies supporting Deaf people. Other Boroughs are now keen to start their own Deaflink forums and there has also been interest from other police forces.

36. The “Nutmeg” project in Barnet was also commended. This is a youth involvement project built around concerts highlighting local music and dance groups. Over 12 months 2,250 attended the events resulting in barriers being broken down between young people and police, and increased ward panel representation by young people.

37. The work of Bromley's Darwin Safer Neighbourhood Team is featured on a brand new government website site, which has launched to help children aged 11 – 14 engage with citizenship in a fun and unique way. “Directgovkids Papertown” is aimed at children in Key Stage 3 and contains a range of resources including videos, online interviews, interactive comics, games and fact files. All resources are designed to be included within a teacher's Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship lessons, and will encourage real engagement with the subject. The site contains four missions: bullying; democracy; disability awareness; and safer streets.

38. In Harrow the Somali Interagency Taskforce has been working with the Somali community and this work was presented to the MPA Equality and Diversity sub committee in July 2010. However, since then the Taskforce has been re-named 'The New Arrivals Taskforce' and is working with all refugee and new immigrant groups in the borough. The London Refugee Council has applauded the work jointly led by of the SO15 community worker and the local council, and DCFD are currently working to replicate the work across London.

Key Deliverable: to improve public confidence in policing London by engaging with our communities and by ensuring that neighbourhoods are informed about local crime and policing issues.

39. MPS research indicates that people who feel well informed about local policing feel more confident in their local police and are more likely to believe that local crime and anti-social behaviour have improved. Latest PAS data indicates that 64% of people surveyed in London feel informed about what their local police are doing. Safer Neighbourhoods Teams hold regular police-initiated public meetings and engagement events, at least once a month, to agree local crime and policing priorities and provide updates and information about local crime and policing issues. Borough Commanders also engage with local partners and communities at monthly meetings.

40. The ongoing success of Safer Neighbourhoods is built through improvements in the quality of our engagements and communication. We are continuing to tackle local priorities identified by our communities and, for the fourth consecutive year, our Central Safer Neighbourhoods Unit has initiated an on-line youth survey to identify young people’s fears and perceptions of crime throughout London. The intelligence from the youth survey is used to inform the prevention, engagement and patrol strategies used by police and partnership resources.

41. Since 2008 The MPS has hosted a public facing, internet based, crime mapping website created following Government and public consultation. Through an easy to use navigation tool, members of the public can identify locations within London on a Google-style map by entering a post code and then access data relating to crime and disorder levels. This information can be presented at borough, ward or sub ward levels and further broken down into differing crime categories by the user, based on either current or historical trend data. Shortly the site will be expanded to include data relating to Anti-Social Behaviour. The site, which provides a visually clear, effective tool for providing London with community information relating to crime/disorder, also enhances community engagement through providing links to local neighbourhood team contact details, crime prevention advice, online reporting, Victim Support, Crimestoppers and has a facility for leaving feedback.

42. In February 2011 the NPIA on behalf of the Home Office launched street level crime mapping available through the internet to the public thoughout the England and Wales. This site is still subject to further development and expresses the crime data in a quite different way to the MPS site. At this time it has been considered worthwhile to continue supporting and developing the MPS site as it offers a different and valuable dimension to the public and partners.

43. Our crime mapping website allows people to easily view the key reported crime and disorder levels in their borough, together with local police performance in dealing with these. Maps show a range of key crime indicators with detailed crime data down to street level. Comparisons can be made against other ward, boroughs and national crime trends.

44. In addition to the ward panel process and the ‘we asked you said we did’ engagement process the MPS have promoted the advantages of using ‘natural neighbourhoods’ as an engagement tool. As few residents know the electoral wards that they live in, ‘natural neighbourhoods’ are areas defined by local people with dedicated officers responsible for that place or community.

45. Local people on each natural neighbourhood will have their own concerns and preferred methods of communicating with police. Residents see their neighbourhoods in terms of places they visit: their street, estate, park, school, shops. A neighbourhood defined by the community is likely to share common interests and concerns, and favour distinct communication styles. A SNT can tailor their engagement and communication methods and talk about issues that are relevant to that neighbourhood: engagement that is intelligence-led, and cost-effective.

46. Sir Ronnie Flanagan states in his Review of Policing, “There is consistent evidence from various areas of public policy, both nationally and internationally, that engagement should be tailored to communities’ needs and references and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ model or strategy”.

47. The MPS Strategic Research and Analysis Unit have published research that well produced SN newsletters contribute to confidence; where newsletters follow the MPS good practice model, they have the potential to significantly enhance public confidence in the police. However, newsletters that do not follow the good practice model have the potential to significantly damage public perceptions. All borough communication and press officers have undergone further training and development in January this year in the design and production of quality newsletter products. A new corporate SN newsletter campaign begins with the Spring edition of a newsletter for distribution by a commercial organisation to every household in London.

48. Website Content Management System (CMS) - the MPS are implementing a modern, professional and resilient CMS, as the first step in providing a core, stable sustainable web presence and user centric design and information. It is locally focused and has the capability for devolved content management. Phase 1 was launched February 2011 and will deliver the core CMS system with News and Appeals being fully content managed. Phase 2 in Summer 2011 will deliver the new website customer centric structure, new design, with Borough and Safer Neighborhoods pages being fully content managed, along with a level of customization for visitors to highlight their local content based on postcode.

Examples of work taking place around the MPS to improve public confidence in policing London by engaging with our communities and by ensuring that neighbourhoods are informed about local crime and policing issues.

49. The Territorial Support Group (TSG) has continued with a well established community engagement programme which included at least ten events in August 2010 meeting with community groups and young people. These visits are listed within CO performance indicators as reported in the Central Operations Thematic report for Strategic and Operational Policing Committee 11th November 2010.

Key Deliverable: to deliver agreed customer standards and develop the ways in which people can access police services.

50. Currently work is being completed by the MPS in developing an action plan in response to the Community Engagement Commitment. This will be presented to the Communities, Equalities and People Committee in 5th May 2011.

51. The proposed statements which detail the MPS commitment to the communities of London are outlined below. These proposed messages have been previously submitted to the MPA Community Engagement and Citizen Focus (CECF) Committee on 13 December 2010 and members of MPS Performance Board in July 2010.

52. In response to the discussion at the CECF Committee in December 2010, we are in the process of arranging consultation that offers informed briefings by July 2011 for each borough CPEG on the development of Met Promises. Borough commanders will be provided with briefing notes and a short slide presentation giving an overview of the work to date: from the MPS response to the abolition of the Policing Pledge and the development of Met Promises. CPEGs will be asked to respond to the proposed Met Promises.

53. Borough commanders and CPEGs will also be able to call upon the support and expertise of senior practitioners from the Crime and Customer Strategy Command in delivering these briefings.

54. Prior to publication and the feedback from CPEGs, Met Promises will be adapted by the DPA and ‘acceptance tested’. We will then seek to include the statements in external communications and publicise accordingly. Performance Board commissioned further development of the public messages and consideration of how the MPS could measure the success against the promises without recreating the scorecard used to assess the Policing Pledge. Progress on this was summarised to the MPA Strategic and Operational Policing Committee who requested further information and development.

Fairness

• We will always treat you fairly with dignity and respect, ensuring you have fair access to our services at a time that is reasonable and suitable for you.

Responding and listening to your concerns

• We will answer all telephone calls promptly. We will respond rapidly in cases of emergency. If we agree that police attendance is needed in other situations, we will send a patrol, giving you an estimated time of arrival and if we fail to keep to this we will explain why. If we agree with you that the attendance of a police officer is not necessary we will give you advice, answer your questions and / or put you in touch with someone more appropriate who can help.
• Your local Safer Neighbourhood Team will organise a range of opportunities to allow you to tell us about the issues of crime and disorder that matter to you and for you to find out how you can become involved in dealing with these issues. We will publicise these events and our attendance widely and in a variety of ways so that they are inclusive and involve the widest representation from your local community.
• Problem solving; we will work hard together with our local partners to put in place long term solutions to persistent crime and anti-social behaviour problems in your area.

Your local Safer Neighbourhoods Team

• We will provide you with information so you know who the members of your dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Team are, where they are based, how to contact them and how to work with them.
• We will ensure your Safer Neighbourhood Team and other police patrols are visible and in your neighbourhood at times when they will be most effective and when you tell us you most need them.

Keeping you informed

• We will give you the latest information on what we have achieved to reduce crime and disorder and improve the safety of your local community. We will provide specific information about local crime and disorder issues and continue to make this available on the MPS website – viewed through the web pages of your local borough police.
• If you have been a victim of crime, we will agree with you how often you would like to be kept informed of progress in your case and for how long. You have the right to be kept informed at least every month if you wish, and for as long as is reasonable. (NB this is consistent with Victim Code of Practice legislation).

When things go wrong

• If we fail to deliver the high standards of service that we strive for, we will agree with you what will be done to put it right and in the most effective way to your satisfaction. We will also try to put in place measures to prevent it happening again.

55. Digital Engagement will enable the MPS to increase its overall level of interactions with Londoners in a more cost efficient manner and potential more effective manner that may suite some section of society. On a local policing level officers and staff can use the internet to engage and inform specific communities with local knowledge and understanding. Whilst face to face interaction will remain a highly effective method of engaging with citizens and improving confidence, digital engagement increases the opportunities for community inclusion in the delivery of police services. A corporate digital engagement strategy is due for presentation to the MPS Confidence & Satisfaction Board in April 2011.

56. The Access for London project incorporates innovative ways for Londoners to access MPS services: a form of electronic ‘virtual’ front counters where an enhanced MPS online presence allows contact with police to complete a wide range of transactions. Online standard questionnaires will also provide the opportunity to gauge customer feedback from a wider range of actual interactions and experience of MPS services and not just through victim of crime or public attitude surveys. More volunteers will be present in front counter environments to offer a triage service, speak with people who attend police front counters, and record customer feedback at critical points of the customer journey. There are currently 138 front counters in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), of which 66 front counters are open 24 hours a day and 19 are operated by Met Volunteers giving their time.

57. Overall response times to all emergency calls to the police that are graded for immediate response have improved consistently over the last four years. The time taken to attend these calls has fallen to a current MPS average of 8.56 minutes. The time taken to attend a significant call (graded S) has fallen year on year to a new low MPS average of 35 minutes. It is of note that despite the removal of the Pledge targets to attend immediate graded calls in 12 minutes and significant graded calls within 60 minutes the MPS has continued to improve on performance. Central Communication Centres (CCC) have recently implemented a revised focus on the quality of personal responsibility, leadership and supervision in the three centres with a stripping away of layers of process based bureaucracy that potentially hampered staff from providing a customer focused response to callers. The deployment of volunteers at Lambeth CCC has led to greater time spent with callers during quality call backs and has led to more accurate and precise customer feedback and action.

Examples of work taking place around the MPS to improve public confidence in policing London by improving access to our services

58. Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea are involved in a joint pilot of ‘virtual ward panels’ on their respective boroughs. The purpose is to increase police wider community engagement in harder to reach groups, make ward panels more representative of the communities in their area and improve the quality of the consultation process - a ‘virtual’ knock on the door. The pilot seeks specifically to access those communities who are “cash-rich time-poor”, the young highly IT literate communities in their boroughs, and persons with caring responsibilities who would not be able to attend traditional evening community meetings.

59. Interim reports and feedback from survey participants indicate strongly that they feel reassured that police understand local issues when they see them in the survey and that they are dealing with them, feel more involved, and appreciate both the easy to complete e-survey and the cost-effective communication method.

60. A dedicated DPA Community Engagement team works to engage with ethnic and specialist media (ESM) by giving them more access to the organisation, while utilising them to reach specific audiences. This year the DPA arranged a special media briefing with the Commissioner and members of the ESM. Also present were other senior officers from each of the key business groups which allowed reporters to put questions covering a range of topics. Other special events have also been arranged for ESM, including a visit to the Met’s Central Communications Command where journalists were shown around and given briefing by the OCU Commander, where key messages regarding appropriate use of 999 and language services were given.

61. A further example is a live television interview held with Commander Steve Rodhouse, Commander Crime and Customer Strategy, on Universal Television’s prime time Saturday night programme, Social Issues. This is a programme reaching tens of thousands of London based Somalis. Universal TV had previously spoken to young Somalis in London to ask them about their views of police. Many spoke about concerns over gangs, knife crime and stop and search. These issues and others raised live by viewers were put to Mr Rodhouse. He told viewers about the Mets work in keeping London safe and the importance of speaking and listening to all communities in the capital. He spoke also about the Mets priorities, the work to recruit a diverse workforce and our overriding principals of fairness and integrity.

62. Other bespoke events by other business groups have been promoted by the DPA to ESM allowing them to report positively about what the Met is doing to keep London’s communities safe.

key deliverable: to enhance the standard of service we provide by working with communities and partners

63. The MPS is dedicated to improving service delivery to all those who use our services, particularly to victims and witnesses. The introduction of the new non-emergency number 0300 123 1212 has offered. We are improving our Front Counter service; implementing the recommendations of ‘National Call Handling Standards’, enhancing despatch performance and response times; improving our communication with victims; acting on feedback from our Quality Call Backs; and developing the awareness, skill and expertise of all employees engaged in key encounters or public interactions.

64. A joint tasking and action group (JTAG) within each community safety partnership is where practical problem solving on local priorities takes place between police and partner tactical practitioners using the VOLT intelligence-based approach. The JTAG offers the MPS and key partners an important opportunity to pool resources, know-how and intelligence in a cost-effective way.

65. Police and partners in a JTAG apply a range of prevention, intelligence, enforcement and engagement tactics in designing bespoke problem orientated partnership plans as part of the wider tasking process through the use of the VOLT methodology. The JTAG approach:

• allows local police and their partners to have a more thorough and shared understanding of the issues of crime and ASB that matter to local people
• though ward panels and other communication strategies this allows us to demonstrate to local people that police and partners are actually dealing with these identified issues and goes to the very core of sustainable crime and ASB reduction through improving public confidence
• reflects the initial findings of both the MPA Safer Neighbourhoods Scrutiny and the MPS SN Review that there is a desire for even closer partnership working - with improved sharing of intelligence, tasking, and service provision

key deliverable: to continue our focus on improving the experience of victims and witnesses of crime and reduce the satisfaction gap between BME and White victims.

66. A Customer Service Strategy has been drafted for the MPS. It sets the standards expected of employees and commits to local delivery of high quality services with a corporate approach. The Strategy is based on four principles which support the corporate themes and the drivers of satisfaction and confidence. Those principles are Effectiveness, Value for Money, Accessibility and Continuous Improvement.

67. Key Performance Review Meetings (KPRM) for each Area is held every quarter, chaired by the Deputy Assistant Commissioner with the relevant Area Commander present. Borough Commanders are held to account for their borough’s performance, with a detailed scrutiny of key confidence and satisfaction data from the current weekly performance scorecard. There has been a slight increase of 1% in the reported level of overall satisfaction of victims to 79% in the third quarter 2010-11 of the User Satisfaction Survey (USS) [4] compared to previous 12 months rolling data 2009-10. The longer term trend for this indicator has also been flat with overall satisfaction consistently between 76% and 80%. Individual MPS boroughs continue to show little variation and are far more grouped together than for public confidence measures: the lowest level of overall user satisfaction at 74% is found at three boroughs: Islington, Barnet and Hounslow. The boroughs with the highest level of overall satisfaction are Sutton 84% and Bromley 83%. Seven boroughs all have 82% overall satisfaction.

68. MPS user satisfaction results are broken down into white and minority ethnic groups (MEG) to identify the satisfaction gap, which is currently 7%. Third quarter 2010-11 data shows an increased level of 81% for white people and a static 74% for MEG. Individual borough performance varies: Harrow have a 82% satisfaction level regardless of ethnic origin whilst every other borough demonstrates a higher level of satisfaction in white victims than that expressed by victims from a MEG. The borough with the largest satisfaction gap is Barking and Dagenham (17%) followed by Bexley and Havering at 15%. Individual borough action plans are required by the relevant area KPRM to address low performance and complement the four strategic themes of the Diversity and Equality Strategy for 2009-13: fair and responsive services; enhancing community engagement; workforce and working culture; and governance and performance management

69. The longer term trend for this indicator has been a relatively stable gap of approximately 5%. The gap remains partly because the white and MEG demographic profiles differ in terms of age, deprivation level and opinions of police. MEG victims in the sample are more likely to be younger, live in more deprived areas and have a negative view of the police prior to contact, and this has an impact on subsequent satisfaction. There is also some evidence that MEG satisfaction is lower for certain crime types. The two more significant stronger drivers of satisfaction - police action and treatment - have remained static. Improvements in lesser satisfaction drivers ease of contact and follow up may be due to specific corporate strategies such as the improvements outlined at CCC and key process interventions such as borough Victim Focus Units (Victim Focus Units provide regular updates to victims and have improved MPS performance to 90% of victims updated within agreed timescales of the Victim’s Charter.)

Examples of work taking place around the MPS to continue our focus on improving the experience of victims and witnesses of crime and reduce the satisfaction gap between BME and White victims.

70. An MPS Customer Service Cross Business Working Group was established in August 2010 to coordinate activity across the MPS aimed at improving the quality of customer service. The group is chaired by the Commander of the newly formed Crime and Customer Strategy Command. It aims to focus on practical deliverables in significantly improving the quality of customer care to those who receive policing services and in particular black and MEG victims and witnesses. There are four strands of priority work:

• improving the customer service and satisfaction of black and MEG victims & witnesses
• advising customers and / or victim & witnesses how an investigation is progressing
• improving secondary contact after initial information is provided to a victim / witness, including the name of the investigator and how to contact
• improving the leadership and delivery of customer service at local level.

71. The Commander Crime and Customer Service Command leads quarterly borough level meetings which include a broad analysis of satisfaction levels: an examination of the complex user satisfaction data; and the identification and sharing of best practice.

72. Recent products include; revised letters to victims of crime which we have been developed after consultation with focus groups of victims of crime to provide a better service and response to their needs, the new letters are now is use across the MPS; and also the development of an online survey for victims of crime, it is anticipated will provide us with an invaluable source of feedback. The survey has been developed and should go live shortly subject to final scrutiny within the organization.

73. The Traffic portfolio is researching disproportionality in road traffic collisions amongst: those that are considered to be living in deprived areas of London; and pedestrian casualties amongst elderly people. The Roads Death Investigation Unit is beginning a service improvement project around the service provided to witnesses of collisions.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. This report seeks to highlight the importance of continuing to capture and understand the experiences of as many service users and different communities as possible so as to assess the factors that can help deliver improved confidence and satisfaction in the MPS and improve levels of satisfaction received. Our ambition should be to ensure that the philosophy behind the Policing Pledge is retained and that improvements are seen and felt by Londoners, particularly when examining the different satisfaction rates between white and BME customers.

2. This is consistent with the expectations of the MPS Diversity and Equality Strategy 2009 – 2013 specifically theme one, 'Fair and Responsive Services':

• Ensure we are delivering services that are accessible and responsive to people's needs
• Ensure we are treating people fairly and with respect

3. The MPA and MPS Community Engagement Commitment 2010 – 2013 contains a commitment to monitor broadly similar themes, namely:

• Increased public confidence in the police
• A wider range of people taking part in MPA and MPS community engagement

4. The introduction of replacement messages for the Pledge as an approach to delivering excellent service would help to reinforce those commitments.

5. There are equality impact assessments which are currently being conducted on the specific work-streams deriving from the projects within the paper presented.

6. For instance the EIA on the changes to the methodology in the Public Attitude Survey presents some risks not only in relation to the impact of the changes on different equality groups per se, but also the risk to the MPS in not collecting demographic information on all equality groups.

7. Specifically, the proposed changes to the monthly five minute ‘tracker’ telephone survey which provides borough level survey data, will focus on collecting data only on the gender, race and age of the respondent. Religion or belief, sexual orientation and disability data will not be collected or evaluated in this process. This change in methodology runs the risk of falling short of the obligations under the Equality Act 2010 public sector duties, which will require public sector bodies to collect data on all of the protected equality characteristics (including religion or belief; sexual orientation; disability). There is also a risk that the changes will make it difficult and, in some cases, impossible for the MPS to provide information and evidence to answer challenges from the MPA, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and other bodies in relation to the service delivery provided to specific equality groups protected under the legislation.

Consideration of MET Forward

8. The MPS can continue to build confidence in the communities of London by re-asserting policing promises to the public that reflect the customer service principles contained within the corporate strategic priorities and MET Forward. We can constantly strive for improved public confidence by demonstrating we are ‘on their side’, to fight crime and reduce criminality to make our communities safer and to deliver the best possible value for money by involving people in priority setting and active citizenship.

Financial Implications

9. There are no additional financial implications directly arising from this report

Legal Implications

10. There are no legal implications directly arising from this report.

Environmental Implications

11. There are no environmental implications directly arising from this report

Risk Implications

12. There is a slight risk that the abolition of the Policing Pledge and the Home Secretary’s signal that the sole purpose of the police should be to concentrate on crime reduction could lead to a reduction in focus on standards of improving community confidence and delivering excellent customer service. Nonetheless with the strong lead from the Commissioner, the published MPS strategic priorities of improving confidence, safety, and value for money and the current drive towards a more customer service based culture the proposals in this paper should mitigate this.

D. Background papers

None

D. Contact details

Report author: CI Kevin Hobson, Crime and Customer Strategy Command (Safer Neighbourhoods)

For information contact:

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

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