Specialist Crime Directorate 5: update report

Report: 9
Date: 13 October 2011
By: Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report provides:

• An update on reported allegations, crime and sanction detection (SD) headline performance for the financial year 2010-11;
• An outline of how through key diversity and partnership projects SCD5 works with partners, communities and other MPS units to improve service delivery; and
• Priorities and direction of travel for 2011-12 including SCD5 contribution to national developments.

This report assumes some awareness of the 2009/11 modernisation programme of SCD5 and of issues covered in previous papers submitted by SCD5 to the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee between December 2008 and October 2010.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the content of this report.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. Child abuse encompasses all situations of ill treatment of children, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, infanticide and child homicide. SCD5 investigates allegations of intrafamilial child abuse, Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) and historical allegations where the victim, now an adult, reports being abused as a child.

2. SCD5 planned strength is 460 police officers and 202 police staff, having risen by 18% following a comprehensive review alongside the Laming 2 report and the scrutiny of the tragic death of Peter Connolly. In 2008, SCD5 had a substantial recruitment and retention problem. Since 2009 the command has consistently been up to strength and has no difficulty attracting and retaining suitably skilled staff. This is down to a number of factors including improved resources, new working practices, induction processes, effective supervision, a mentoring scheme, improved continuous professional development and an overall policy of inclusion. The command comprises 60% female officers, 78% female police staff, 16% ethnic minority and 21% PCs or TDCs. 12% are on flexible working arrangements.

3. In addition to the 18 Child Abuse Investigation Teams (CAIT) that cover London, the command has central units that address matters outside the CAIT capability or capacity:

• The Serious Case Team deal with complex linked abuse cases and other high profile proactive investigations.
• Operation Paladin is a joint MPS/UKBA safeguarding team based at Heathrow.
• The Major Investigation Team (MIT) investigates child homicide cases, death by neglect, ‘shaken baby’ syndrome and manages the associated familial complexities.
• The Paedophile Unit tackles child abuse online and offline by targeting predatory paedophiles. This includes grooming offences and the distribution of indecent images.
• The Partnership Team lead on specialist child abuse issues within distinct communities (outlined below).
• The Continuous Improvement Team identify areas for development through audit, promote shared learning and best practice and drive forward excellence across teams.
• The Training Unit serves the specialist needs of SCD5 and supports training to TP at all levels including front line officers, CSUs, Jigsaw and duty officers

4. Each area of the command is now subject to annual review as part of the command’s continuous improvement regime. April 2011 saw the introduction of electronic pages on the CRIS system for child abuse investigations. This £0.5m investment will facilitate improved supervision and risk management. This was the last of the 30 areas for improvement identified by HMIC following the death of Peter Connolly.

Reported crime and SD headline performance for 2010/11

5. Appendix 1 gives reported allegations and crime, by team, for 2010/11. SCD5 investigated over 20,000 allegations of abuse in 2011/12. Whilst this represents an increase of allegations (as opposed to confirmed offences) over the previous year, confirmed offences decreased by 3% indicating that the increase in allegations and referrals is a result of better early identification and prompt safeguarding support.

6. Rape offences increased (largely due to an SLA with SCD2, which resulted in SCD5 taking some offences committed between children) and neglect offences decreased. Intra-familial physical abuse of children rose by 1%. Common assault, ABH and neglect of children remain the most frequently reported offences.

7. The table below sets out SCD5 sanction detection (SD) headline performance (by exception - top 5 and bottom 5 CAITs). The target for overall SD performance in 2010/2011 was 22%. As a command SCD5 achieved an SD rate of 27%.

Top 5 CAIT’s by overall SD Rate 10/11

Bottom 5 CAIT’s by overall SD Rate 09/10

8. Three CAITs failed to meet the overall SD target of 22%. However, the command as a whole exceeded the target. The CAITs that failed to meet the target did so by 1% or 2%.

9. As well as meeting and exceeding our overall SD target, the command also met all but one of its performance targets: SCD5 achieved a rape SD of 40% against a target of 42%, a narrow miss considering rape offences rose by 14% compared with the previous year. Achieving the target was further exacerbated by the SLA with SCD2. The attendance of staff at initial case conferences and the provision of reports for review case conferences was 100% against a target of 95%.

10. Whilst maintaining scrutiny of overall headline performance the command, through the new Child Risk Assessment Matrix (CRAM), has also refocused its management of risk and the delivery of appropriate outcomes for children. In some cases this means not pursuing an SD if this is deemed not in the best interests of a child.

11. Additional processes that help measure success in terms of quality and risk reductions are now in place. A rolling inspection and continuous improvement process supports a bi-monthly DIs meeting chaired by the OCU Commander where teams are held to account, lessons are learned and best practice shared. This process drives a culture of quality and risk reduction. Consistent factors requiring management attention as a result of inspections are:

• Variation of referral process decision making and effective use of the CRAM
• Inconsistency of decision making within partner agencies (mainly Children’s Social Care)
• Variable effectiveness of the partnership relationship

12. Where performance issues are identified the SMT ensure the appropriate support is delivered, with firm management intervention and action plans where necessary.

Partnership Working

13. Internal and external partnership working is integral to all SCD5 operational action. Each of the four regions hold quarterly Police led meetings attended by every CAIT DI and the Children’s Social Care Lead for each borough. These meetings aid communication and share best practice, in addition to resolving cross boundary issues and standardising information sharing protocols. Strategically, SCD5 Partnership Team supports by co-ordinating a number of critical and diverse pieces of activity as follows:

• CAIT working partnerships: The team examines local partnership working as part of the CAIT inspections. Since 2009 the team has sought to define a practical model of what effective borough/LSCB partnership working looks like; assessment/evaluation criteria, best practice, joint measures, shared responsibility etc. The team looks at internal, external, statutory and voluntary relationships. Whilst anecdotal and subjective in nature this allows sharing of good practice and management interventions for ‘quick wins’ where conflicts are perceived. This approach was recognized by the Munro review on effective joint working.
• Project Ocean is a project to map supplementary schools across the capital and involves Safer Neighbourhood Teams, SO15 and faith communities across London. Supplementary schools offer faith based education over and above formal education and generally sit outside the scope of the oversight mechanisms in place for mainstream schools. This work focuses on both Muslim and Jewish communities and is being shared with LSCB partners to compare data and identify oversight discrepancies.
• Project Azure is the MPS led response to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and is increasingly embedded in partnership work with health and education. A summer holiday pro-active operation has been introduced with safer airports team, Operation Paladin, BAA, Social Services, the Home Office and a variety of airlines. The operations target specific flights based on intelligence and engage with passengers to raise awareness of FGM. Interventions occur where travellers are considered at risk.
• Project Violet focuses on child abuse linked to a belief in spirit possession and works with faith communities and local statutory and non-statutory partners. SCD5 sit on the national religion, witchcraft and child safeguarding working group.
• Project Pan Pan is aimed at producing appropriate interventions in relation to children on protection plans. It increases awareness of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) through systematic communication with each SNT briefing on specific cases, training on police powers, appropriate interventions and how to feedback information to case officers. Project Pan Pan was developed in North London and is currently being rolled out across all London boroughs.
• Project Indigo is a preventative partnership for Sudden and Unexplained Death in Infancy (SUDI). Lessons learnt and risk factors identified from SUDI responses are fed into the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) and disseminated out through LSCB’s. SCD5 recently co-hosted a national summit with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death (FSID) and delivered an analysis of data collected over a 5 year period. This identified particularly vulnerable groups and was invaluable for partners to target their audience for awareness campaigns. In 2011/12 SCD5 DIs will receive a week’s training, a new course designed with SCD5 training unit and NPIA, in ‘investigating sudden childhood death’.

14. CAITs work closely with Territorial Policing (TP) in relation to sex offenders and DV related child abuse by attending both Mappa and Marac meetings. SCD5 are members of the TP led Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) project board.

Training

15. SCD5 retains its own specialist training unit that has been integral to developing and maintaining the highest levels of training and development to meet the changing needs of child abuse investigations and child protection. Training developments are made in partnership with various academic institutions and standards are very much at the forefront of training nationally. Key new elements include:

• Following the development with the leadership academy in 2009 of a HYDRA based, 2 day Multi-Agency Critical Incident Exercise (MACIE) for strategic leaders, SCD5 have developed a one-day Child Abuse Practitioner Exercise (CAPE) for operational staff and supervisors. These immersive learning exercises with statutory and voluntary partners have been recognised by the Munro review as best practice and are currently being rolled out nationally by NPIA
• Following new NPIA learning descriptors the Specialist Child Abuse Investigative Development Programme (SCAIDP) has been redesigned to incorporate child development and guidance in overcoming other barriers to communication. Social workers are now offered a three day basic achieving best evidence (ABE) course prior to their attendance on the two week joint investigation and ABE course to achieve a similar level of knowledge and understanding as their police colleagues.
• A bespoke 3-day course for Police Conference Liaison Officers (PCLO), researchers and detective sergeants - a syndicate based exercise to improve skills in summarizing, risk assessment, decision making and risk reduction. This training starts in November.
• Specialist child witness interview training - will create a cadre of specialist child interviewers within SCD5. This is an advancement on the national ABE standard and has evolved from research into very young child witnesses and those with communication difficulties.

Direction of travel and priority areas for 2011-12

16. As part of the SCD and MPS re-alignment programme SCD5 will continue to scrutinize the efficiency and effectiveness with which its various functions operate within the MPS. Over the last three years SCD5 has developed a true culture of continuous improvement. It is not an exaggeration to say there have been substantial improvements in performance and working practices since 2008. There is however no complacency. The command continues to develop a focus on tackling risk and prioritising work to protect those identified as most at risk of harm. Different projects with the Universities of Cambridge, Middlesex and Kingston will deliver improvements in: internet based operations, understanding children’s use of the internet, improved psychological support to staff in high risk roles, evaluation of the CRAM risk assessment model and interviewing of very young children (under 5).

17. SD performance year to date stands at 26% overall (target 22%) and 43.9% rape (target 42%). The Paedophile Unit is benchmarking new performance indicators through 2011-2012. Using emerging technologies, legally audacious investigative tactics and effective partnerships with CEOP, Interpol and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) the unit is focusing on:

• Detecting contact abusers using the internet
• Tackling the threat posed by high risk predatory paedophiles at large in London
• Safeguarding children from on line abusive situations and
• Using technology to deter internet users from distributing child abuse images.

18. SCD5 attendance at review case conferences remains a clear focus for PCLO’s and supervisors. We have seen performance increase from 21% to 46% in 12 months (against a self set target of 50%) and this figure is continually rising.

19. SCD5 are part of a Child Protection Plan Effectiveness working group. This involves pilot boroughs reviewing details of their child protection plans to ensure objectives are measurable and achievable, with the ultimate goal of reducing the risk and length of time children are on a plan.

20. In June 2011 SCD5 established a Youth Council with the MPS cadets. This body has already helped inform officers and staff dedicated to tackling online abuse.

21. Based on recent court rulings, new ACPO guidance and internal reviews, the focus for the SCD5 continuous improvement programme for 2011-2012 is:

• Quality of victim interviews.
• CRAM compliance and effectiveness in reducing risk.
• Team progress since last year.
• Compliance with Visor - (Violent and Sexual Offender Register)
• Child trafficking identification and intervention.

22. Throughout the year the OCU Diversity Group is conducting themed focus groups to identify issues and improve support to staff. Recent improvements include additional support to staff going on maternity leave and the next theme is ‘age’.

23. SCD5 are re-evaluating the Occupational Support provided to staff and officers exposed to child abuse material and who regularly deal with vulnerable victims, to ensure consistently effective support and delivery. This is utilising the skills of a specialist psychologist to re-design the psychological support questionnaire to screen out unsuitable new entrants. Additionally, a separate risk assessment tool has been developed to identify the impact / risk of each distinct role within the command. Each role is scored according to validated factors and the appropriate level of OH support is delivered accordingly. This system allows scope for adjustments by line managers where individual risks are identified.

24. SCD5 will continue to work with London partners following the seven London borough pilots of the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) systems methodology, an alternative to serious case reviews.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. There are many factors which may impact negatively on children and young people, their access to a safe childhood and to services available to them. These are fully documented in the equality impact assessment which complements our policy and standard operating procedures. The partnership projects detailed in this report ways the command responds to and addresses these sensitive areas of risk.

2. Standard operating procedures are monitored on a daily basis by supervisors and other units. The Strategic Relationships arm of the Customer and Commercial Services Directorate is currently discussing monitoring arrangements with SCD5 regarding their effectiveness and intend to make recommendations about the measures employed and about the future of policy within SCD as a whole. SCD5 is intelligence and risk assessment led and without effective monitoring there can be no service improvements or good practice developed. All information received concerning children at risk or who are actually being abused is shared with partner agencies; children’s social care, education and health. This is monitored within these agencies who feed back to LSCBs on a regular basis and serious case reviews take place when required. As such there is a continuing monitoring of our performance by outside agencies as well as within. At present research is being conducted to assess the possible effect of the Olympic Games in 2012 on child abuse and whether or not this likely to have a significant impact on SCD5’s workload.

Consideration of MET Forward

3. The ongoing process of improvement to which SCD5 is committed, supports the delivery of all of the Met Forward key outcomes of fighting crime and reducing criminality, increasing confidence in policing and giving better value for money. It specifically supports and enhances the Public Protection element of the Met Specialist work stream through a clear focus on the continued, and continuous, improvement of safeguarding delivery for the communities we serve.

Financial Implications

4. This is an update paper and there are no additional financial implications.

Legal Implications

5. This is an update report for information only, therefore there are no direct legal implications arising.

6. This report highlights the MPS is committed to collaborative working with key agencies to ensure the risk of harm to children is understood, assessed and acted upon the most appropriate way in each case.

7. The Children Act 1989 (“the Act”) is the key legislative framework in relation to child protection matters. In addition to providing the Local Authority with powers to protect children, the Act provides a constable with powers to remove a child to suitable accommodation, or take such reasonable steps to ensure a child’s removal is prevented, where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child would otherwise be likely to suffer significant harm. The Act also sets out various duties upon the police force following the making of a Police Protection Order, including notification to the appropriate local authority.

Environmental Implications

8. This is an update report on current SCD5 performance, staffing and practice. Therefore there are no environmental impacts arising as a result of this report.

Risk Implications

9. There are obvious serious risks associated with a failure to properly manage and investigate child abuse allegations. These are set out in the sections above along with the measures put in place by the command to mitigate them. There are no health and safety implications specifically associated with this report.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Detective Chief Inspector Sue Inwood, MPS

For information contact:

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

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