Headline Performance Report for 2011/12

Report: 10
Date: 14 July 2011
By: Deputy Commissioner on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This paper describes current performance in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and in other corporate measures.

A. Recommendation

That Members note performance in the indicators compared with their targets and the MPS’s activity underway to improve outcomes further.

B. Supporting information

1. This document reports on MPS performance against the 2011/12 KPIs and their targets as set out in the MPA/MPS Policing London Business Plan 2011-14. The Plan sets targets not only for 2011/12 but also for the coming three years to encourage planning over the long term as well as the short term in the current difficult financial environment.

Report Structure

2. Territorial Policing (TP) are presenting their thematic performance report to this meeting and among other things it will deal with performance by boroughs. Consequently this report will concentrate on London-wide performance and will not have the commentary about boroughs that was in last month’s report.

3. The portfolios only include crimes where there is a victim as opposed to state based crimes that are discovered as a result of police action to enforce the law or prevent disorder - for example drug and public order offences.

4. The body of the report focuses on how the KPIs are performing against targets, the current trend and other relevant factors. Appendix 1 lists the KPIs, their targets and current and past performance.

5. The indicators are graded red, amber or green in Appendix 1 as follows:

• Red - performance off target and worse than at the same time last year
• Amber - performance off target but better than at the same time last year
• Green - performance is on or better than target.

6. All the non-KPI corporate measures featured in the 2010-13 Policing Plan are set out in Appendix 2.

7. Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest ‘whole’ number if over 20% i.e. 25% not 24.7% or 25.2%, unless a decimal place is necessary to support the point being made.

8. Because only two months have elapsed in the 2011/12 financial year the comparisons over time below are between the three months March to May 2011 and the same three months in 2010. Three months gives a more robust view of trends than just one month because the effects of the fluctuations are smaller the longer the period under consideration.

Current performance focus

Summary

9. The main points are;

• Violence Portfolio - down by 3,419 (-8.8%) and within that:
  • The number of victims of homicides fell by ten in the three month period.
  • There were 1,542 (-8.6%) fewer offences where a violent assault took place.
  • All three reported hate crime offences went down - domestic violence by 307 (-3.0%), racist and religious crime by almost 300 offences (-17.2%), and homophobic offences by 21 (-8.7%).
  • There were 20 (-14.2%) fewer instances when a gun was fired and 17 (-1.8%) fewer crimes when a knife was used to injure.
• Property portfolio - up by 3,480 (2.5%) including
  • Theft from the person (e.g. pick pocketing), robbery and burglary are all up by 8% to 17%, a total of 4,170 more offences.
  • The total reduction from criminal damage, motor vehicle crime and shoplifting came to over 3,700 crimes. That was as a result of declines of between 0.3% and 12.5% in those categories.
  • Property crime where a gun was involved was 172 (36%) below last year’s level for the three month period.
  • Knife crime in this portfolio has risen by 337 offences (16%) and knife crimes where the knife has been used to injure have gone up by 16 offences or 9%.

Violence Portfolio

10. Offences in the portfolio overall have declined by 3,419 or 8.8%. The 2011/12 target is a 2% reduction with a 5% reduction by 2013/14. Within that decrease have been 10 fewer homicides. The number of victims aged 1-19 has declined from 8 for the period in 2010 to 4 for the three months to May 2011.

11. Violent assaults where a person suffers a physical injury (VWI) fell by 1,542 or 8.6%. There were 331 fewer common assaults and 1,374 fewer harassment cases in the period than last year. Those decreases equate to drops of 2.9% and 15.5% respectively.

12. 121 violence offences where guns were discharged occurred in the period - 20 fewer than last year. While offences where a knife was used to injure dropped, the decrease of 1.8% was much less than the 14.2% fall for offences where a gun was discharged. The number of people killed by a firearm fell from 10 to 4. The 18 victims of knife/sharp objects homicides last year were two more than the 16 this year.

13. Centrally, the MPS has launched a number of operations against violence, particularly that involving weapons. Examples are Operations Target, Connect, Blunt 2, and Verano. The report by Territorial Policing to this meeting gives further details of some of them. Last month’s version of this report also discussed the refreshed Anti-Violence Strategy 2011-14.

14. The violence portfolio sanction detection (SD) rate is 27% which is the same as it was for the period last year. The rate is higher at 31% for VWI which is also similar to the rate for VWI last year.

15. Convictions for all crime (both crown and magistrates courts) rose by 15.5% in 2010/11 over 2009/10. Information on convictions broken down by crime type for magistrates’ courts is available but not for crown courts. Convictions in magistrates courts for offences in this portfolio (includes non-victim crimes) rose by over 2,000 or 11% and within that those for VWI increased by 52 or 5%.

The Number of Sanction Detections (SDs) For Rape

16. The previous report set out the reasons why the KPI is focused on the number of SDs for rape rather than the SD rate. 135 rape SDs were achieved in the three month period as compared to the 161 for the same months in 2010. It is important to bear in mind that the monthly figures fluctuate - in 2010/11 the monthly range was 37 to 71 (ex. Dec.). So, when looking at a particular three month period the inclusion or exclusion of one month can have a big impact.

17. Last month’s report predicted “a continuing increase in reported rapes in 2011/12, but at a reduced rate than during 2010/11.” This period’s figures bear that out. While the MPS is not complacent about the 8.3% (70) increase in recorded rapes, that is almost half the 16% rise between 2009/10 and 2010/11 and significantly less than the 30% rise between 2008/09 and 2009/10. As also mentioned at the last meeting there is an ongoing review of rape and serious sexual offences which we will discuss with the MPA at the next meeting of the Domestic & Sexual Violence Board (DSVB) in July. The review has established that improved crime recording processes and a reduced number of no crime decisions is the biggest single contribution to the increase in recorded rapes, followed by larger numbers of victims coming forward, in particular more victims are now reporting where they have previous knowledge of or have been in a relationship with, their attacker. There has also been a positive increase in the numbers of reports made by third parties on behalf of vulnerable adult victims and children.

18. The Sapphire Command has concentrated on increasing the number of successful prosecutions. In 2008/09 340 people were convicted of rape in London but in 2010/11 the number had gone up to 448 - a rise of almost a third.

The Change in Number of People Killed or Seriously Injured (KSIs) in Road Traffic Collisions

19. The number of KSIs in the 12 months to February 2011 decreased by 388 or 12.6% over the previous twelve months. There have been 52 fatalities from road traffic collisions in the three month period. In 2010 there were 27 and 43 in 2009 for the same period. The number of traffic fatalities for a three month period does fluctuate significantly and three month totals of 52 or more occurred once in 2009 and three times in 2008.

20. In the three month period 1,045 drivers have been disqualified. Among the contributory actions to the reduction in KSIs is safety camera enforcement work which covers both cameras at speed sites and at automatic traffic signal lights.

21. During 2010/11 81,597 Notice of Intended Prosecutions (NIPs) were issued exceeding the 80,000 target for the year. For 2011/12 the MPS’s goal is to issue 100,000 NIPs with at least a 65% positive outturn. Depending on the severity of the infraction, drivers are either offered a safety awareness course, a conditional offer of a fixed penalty or are issued with a summons. A positive outcome in this instance is one where either the offender attends the course, or pays the fixed penalty or a summons is issued for their offence.

22. The MPS is working with TfL to establish an up to date profile of collisions by severity at camera sites. That profile will inform the strategy being developed with TfL on where the new equipment will be deployed.

Property Portfolio

23. This portfolio covers most property crime including criminal damage, but excludes fraud and forgery because of national recording issues. The portfolio target for 2011/12 is for a 1% reduction on 2010/11 and a 3% one by 2013/14. There have been 3,480 more offences (+2.5%) for the three months to May 2011 than for the same period in 2010.

24. As was the case in last month’s report, the trends are different for the various offence types in this portfolio. There have been 202 fewer (24%) business robberies in the three month period compared to last year. Theft from a motor vehicle, shoplifting, and criminal damage are also lower than they were last year with reductions of between 4% and 12%.

25. However other types of property crime are causes of concern. Personal robbery, residential burglary, theft from the person, theft of a motor vehicle, other theft and theft of a pedal cycle are between 8% 17% above last year’s figures for this period. There have been 144 (1.7%) more non-residential burglaries, the remaining major crime type in the portfolio, in the period. The MPS has launched Operation Target in response to the rise in personal robbery and residential burglary and the details of that operation are provided in the Territorial Policing report to this meeting.

26. Property crime with knives or guns is a very small proportion (around 2%) of the portfolio. Those property crimes where a knife is used to injure or a firearm discharged are an even smaller percentage of the portfolio - 0.1%. Most of the weapon enabled property crime (83%) is personal robbery with a knife - it has risen by 376 offences (20%). However there have been only 20 more personal robberies where a knife has been used to injure. These very serious crimes make up only around 2% of personal robberies. It is important to bear in mind that most personal robberies do not involve guns or knives and those robberies are 10% above last year’s level.

27. Property DV, racist and religious hate crime and homophobic crime are all at lower levels than last year. The majority of hate crime is within the violence as opposed to property portfolios.

28. The majority of both kinds of motor vehicle crime, thefts of bicycles and personal robbery as well as almost half of business robberies and thefts from the person occur in either the street/road or dwelling/hotel. Licensed premises account for 17% (5,772) of other thefts, 20% of (2,014) thefts from the person, and 3% (351) of non-residential burglaries. Chemists account for 8% (880) of non-residential burglaries, 10% (81) of business robberies and 18% (1,991) of shoplifting offences. Unsurprisingly 14% (2,573) of thefts from a motor vehicle, 8% (607) of thefts of a motor vehicle and 7% (454) of bicycle thefts happen in car parks. Finally 8% (739) of personal robberies take place in parks.

29. The property portfolio sanction detection rate has declined from 11.4% to 10.6%. This is mainly because of 563 fewer cautions and penalty notices for portfolio crimes excluding criminal damage while the number of charges is only 39 (1%) below the number last year.

30. In 2010/11 convictions in the magistrates courts rose for almost all the property crime types where data was available except thefts of a motor vehicle. They decreased by 52 or 5%. On the other hand, the number of convictions for residential burglary, other theft, theft from the person and theft from the shops all went up by 15% or more.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents

31. A new national definition of ASB is due to be introduced in August 2011 and so 2011/12 will be a base line for setting future targets. All ASB calls will be classified as either personal, nuisance, or environmental. That will represent a significant change from the current ASB categories. [1]

32. Using the current categories, there were around 134,000 calls relating to anti-social behaviour for the period March 2011 to May. This is more than the figure mentioned in last month’s report for the three months to April 2011 but that is likely to be due to seasonal influences on ASB such as longer days and better weather leading to people being outside more. Also as the previous report said direct comparisons with last year are problematic because a new way of classifying calls was brought in the summer of 2010.

33. Last month’s report mentioned the information on repeat callers that the MPS updates weekly. It is then used by boroughs to deal with the local issues as necessary.

34. As mentioned above reported criminal damage with a victim has declined by over 2,800 offences or 12%. While not covering all ASB it may be indicative of progress being made by the MPS as a result of the focus of Safer Neighbourhood Teams on making local areas safer.

People who think the local police are doing a good job

This indicator is also only produced quarterly and the next set of results should be available for the next report.

User Satisfaction & Satisfaction Of White & BME Users With The Overall Service

This indicator is also only produced quarterly and the next set of results should be available for the next report.

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Olympic Safety & Security Programme

35. This KPI looks at the status of the five Olympic Safety and Security Strategy Programmes and the three London venue areas vs. achievement of the results set out for them in the Strategy. Depending on the status, the programmes and venues are assessed as red, red/amber, amber, amber/green, or green. The target for the KPI is amber/green which means the most common grade was amber followed by green. The status at the moment is amber with 2 programmes amber/green and the other programmes and venues amber.

36. In support of the Strategy the MPS has issued the "London 2012 Operating Instructions" after full consultation with employees’ organisations. It sets out a range of measures to mobilise enough officers and staff to police the Games. These include the rescheduling of rest days, the cancellation of all scheduled training, and limited annual leave for officers and key police staff. To compensate for that, the amount of annual leave that can be carried over from 2012/13 into 2013/14 will be increased.

37. The instructions give key dates to enable officers and staff to start planning for the year ahead and beyond. During the Games period (11 June to 23 September) there will be a standardised shift pattern across the whole of TP to support effective deployment in the special circumstances of the Games. The instructions also set out other measures that will apply to staff and officers with specialist skills.

Deliver A Balanced Budget For 2011/12 As Per The Policing Plan 2011/14

38. The Commissioner has outlined our vision of a balanced policing model with safety, confidence, and value for money at its core. Within that vision the MPS is committed to delivering excellent policing from tackling ASB and other crime in neighbourhoods through to dealing with terrorist and the most serious criminals often ‘behind the scenes’. However it is doing that within a financial climate of an expected reduction in its spending (compared to 2010/11 budget) of some £600m by 2014/15.

39. To do that the MPS is:

• Reducing its inanimate costs
• Delivering an effective business and operational model including:
  • Undertaking process improvement activity
  • Sharing services with and across the MPS
  • Exploring a range of outsourcing and joint ventures
• Only then reducing operational officers and PCSOs.

40. The Policing London Business Plan (PLPB) 2011-14 has identified significant savings that will balance the budget for 2011/12 but additional economies need to be found for 2012/12 and 2013/14. The scale of the challenge is:

41. About three quarters of the MPS’s revenue expenditure is on pay. The approved establishment, pending decisions on further savings in future years as reflected in the PLBP is:

42. Action underway to achieve savings:

• Major change programmes now well established and being progressed with appropriate corporate infrastructure in place to track progress and identify and mange interdependencies and risk.
• Early departure schemes developed and in operation using earmarked reserves established for this purpose.
• Star chambers established to monitor and control staff vacancies and officer deployment.
• Financial monitoring being amended to manage and control capital and revenue budgets more effectively with increased focus on major change programmes.
• Development of the 2012-2015 Policing London Business Plan already underway

43. The risks to achieving the necessary savings;

• Non-delivery of major change programmes and/or double counting of savings. Budget includes some resilience to cover such costs;
• Additional pressures placed on the service both operationally and financially e.g. Royal Wedding, State Visits, increased public order/protest events, withdrawal of partnership funding;
• Enactment of the Police and Social Responsibility Bill which will result in additional in year costs for which there is no specific provision;
• Less resources than anticipated (£11m) being available to support 2010/11 and 2011/12 budget spend when the 2010/11 accounts are closed.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Race and Equality Impact

1. The regular review of the statistics provided enables the MPS to highlight areas for diversity and equality consideration and address them accordingly.

Consideration of MET Forward

2. The KPIs and other corporate measures covered in this report reflect performance against the key outcomes of Met Forward: fighting crime and reducing criminality, increasing confidence in policing, and providing better value for money.

Financial Implications

3. The Service has during 2010/11 had to manage the Government’s ‘in year’ reduction in policing grant and the resulting cuts of £28m in general expenditure and £5m in counter terrorism funding, which was on top of the £124m reductions that were part of the 2010/11 budget.

4. The Policing London Business Plan 2011-14 was approved by the MPA Full Authority on 31 March 2011, with a balanced budget position for 2011/12. More work is required to close budget gaps of £92.8m in 2012/13 and £174.3m in 2013/14.

5. A report detailing the provisional revenue and capital outturn position for 2010/11 was presented to the MPA Finance and Resources Committee on 23 June.

6. The provisional outturn revenue position for 2010/11 is an under-spend of £5.6m (0.2% of budget).

7. The provisional outturn position for the Capital Programme is £188.2m, which is £88.1m (31.9%) below the revised budget of £276.3m.

Legal Implications

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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. The Strategic Operational 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.

Environmental Implications

12. This report contains no direct environmental implications. The MPS has included an indicator relating to the percentage change in total tonnes of CO2 emissions (from buildings, vehicles, operational air travel) which is reported annually within Appendix 2.

Risk Implications

13. Risks and opportunities identified in related to performance against the KPIs are reflected in the content of this report.

D. Background papers

None

D. Contact details

Report author: Worth Houghton, MPS Strategy and Improvement Department

For information contact:

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

Acronym List

• ASB - Anti-social behaviour
• BME - Black and Minority Ethnic
• CPS - Crown prosecution service
• DVSB - Domestic & Sexual Violence Board
• DV - Domestic Violence
• KPIs – Key Performance Indicators
• KSI – Killed or Seriously Injured
• MPA - Metropolitan Police Authority
• MPS - Metropolitan Police Service
• MV - Motor Vehicle
• PLPB - Policing London Business Plan
• SD - Sanction Detections
• TfL - Transport for London
• TP - Territorial Police
• VOLT - Victim, Offender, Location & Time
• VWI - Violence With Injury

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