Strategic and Operational Policing Committee: legacy report

Report: 5
Date: 8 December 2011
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report summarises the successes of the committee and outlines how its work will be taken forward in new the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, which is due to start work in January 2012.

A. Recommendation

That

1. Members endorse the areas identified below for continuation under the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC); and
2. Members agree to submit this report to the Full Authority in January 2012.

B. Supporting information

1. The MPA’s Strategic and Operational Policing Committee (SOP) was established in November 2008 and has been responsible for:

• the MPA’s oversight and approval of strategic operational policing policy/priorities and the business change that supports this
• at the strategic level ensuring that this policy and planning results in improved operational performance and productivity
• Ensuring that the MPA is effective and outcome-focused in discharging its responsibilities, for example through its business plan and scrutiny programme
• The MPA’s statutory responsibilities for professional standards, including dealing with complaints against ACPO rank officers
• dealing with urgent business or matters that do not come within the terms of reference of other committees.

2. The following paragraphs summarise some of SOP’s key achievements and where relevant, consideration is given to how the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime will ensure that key aspects of this work are carried forward.

Producing the Annual Policing Plan and monitoring performance

3. SOP, jointly with Finance and Resources Committee, has overseen the development of the annual policing plan, its priorities and the budget underpinning it. On an annual basis, the joint-committee met regularly in the months leading up to the publication of the plan and budget, in order to oversee its development, to ensure that appropriate indictors and targets were being included.

4. The committee has scrutinised headline performance on a monthly basis, including performance against the targets agreed in the plan. Members have been particularly concerned about the variations in performance between boroughs and the consistently poor performance in some boroughs. There have also been concerns about performance against sexual violence targets. Whilst in general performance trends have been reassuring, there have been recent concerns about knife crime trends.

5. At regular intervals, the committee has also considered thematic performance reports, focused on how the MPS is delivering against the strategic objectives outlined in the performance plan. This has included scrutinising how the MPS reduces victimisation, targets the most harmful offenders, improves confidence in policing and achieves value for money. The committee’s focus has been how the MPS works corporately to deliver these objectives as well as the outcomes being achieved.

Scrutiny

6. SOP has acted as the lead committee for MPA scrutinies. In this role it has directed a scrutiny of the MPS’s safer neighbourhoods model as well as ensuring the follow up of the recommendations made in that report. It has also tracked progress in areas that have previously been subjected by MPA scrutiny including changes to policy and practice following the Stockwell inquiry.

7. The Authority reviewed its oversight of all areas of Public Protection in 2009/10 and through SOP, implemented an oversight programme incorporating Child Protection, Safeguarding Adults (including mental health issues), Violence against Women (see below for more details), Missing People, Offender Management (with a focus on Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements), and the MPS response to victims and witnesses through the Victims Code of Practice (VCOP). Under Met Forward, Public Protection, Rape and Violence against women were prioritised and the overall principle of protecting the most vulnerable from harm informed the work of the MPA and MPS in the field of Public Protection. Of particular concern to members has been ensuring that child protection arrangements have improved as a result of the learning arising out of reviews of the death of “Baby P”.

8. The MPA continued its oversight of Violence against Women, ensuring that the MPS approach to rape and serious sexual offences was under particular focus. Members scrutinised reports on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Trafficking and Prostitution, Women’s Safety and the Olympics, and Domestic Violence (including so-called ‘honour-based violence and forced marriage). The MPA also continued to support the delivery of The Way Forward, the Mayoral strategy to tackle violence against women and girls on London. As part of this, the MPA and MPS jointly produced London’s first Violence Against Women Annual Report. As reported rape continues to rise, and offences of domestic violence appear to be falling it remains essential to retain oversight of these issues going forward into the MOPC.

Professional standards and organisational learning

9. On a quarterly basis members have scrutinised professional standards performance with a particular emphasis on complaints against police officers. Members have been particularly keen to understand the intervention measures used to reduce the levels of complaints particularly in B/OCUs where complaints appear to be disproportionately high. The success of these interventions has been monitored. Alongside this, the committee has focused on how the MPS learns from adverse events, in particular recommendations from HMIC and IPCC reports. There has been regular scrutiny of the MPS’s approach to organisational learning.
The future under the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime
10. The MOPC is responsible for holding the Commissioner to account for improving the operational performance of the MPS. Setting strategic targets and a Police and Crime Plan will be a central aspect of MPOC’s work. Overseeing and monitoring the performance of the MPS and their services to London will also be core to the function of the MOPC, including ensuring that the MPS are fully considering equality and diversity. In order to carry out this function it is important that the MOPC has access to performance measures and performance data from across the MPS.

11. Performance monitoring will cover ongoing aspects of MPS work or project based pieces of work, utilising original analysis, partnership data and MPS sourced performance reports.

12. MPOC will continue to monitor MPS headline performance. New performance oversight reports are being developed to monitor both policing and organisational performance. Areas covered will include: TP, SCD and CO performance on crime and antisocial behaviour; organisational performance such as HR and recruitment and financial performance and customer service, including satisfaction, confidence and response times.

13. The top level MPS performance data will be published each month on the MOPC website. A new set of relevant Criminal Justice performance measures will also be developed over time as appropriate and published on the MOPC website.

14. Business group reports (e.g. Territorial Policing, Specialist Crime Directorate, and Central Operations) and briefings will be provided to the MOPC to support the Deputy Mayor for Policing in holding the MPS to account through monthly performance meetings. This work will be carried out in partnership with the MPS to ensure both organisations are using the same data.

15. It is important that the MOPC understands the needs and views of London and Londoners in order to successfully act as their reprehensive when overseeing the MPS. MOPC will undertake regular consultation with the public and business on priorities for London and ad hoc research-based consultation on specific issues, such as attitudes to individual policies. Research will also be carried out as required into the policing, offender management and criminal justice needs of London and Londoners.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. The committee has robustly scrutinised the equality implications arising out of the reports presented to them as well as commissioning reports that specifically address disproportionality. An example of this is robust scrutiny of the efforts being made to close the gap in satisfaction with policing between white and BME Londoners.

Financial Implications

2. The committee has considered the budget alongside the police plan annually. It has also considered the financial implications of delivering significant change programmes within the MPS e.g. TP development. The committee has also taken a keen interest in productivity and ensuring that policing in London is delivered efficiently and effectively.

Legal Implications

3. Where appropriate the committee has considered legal implications. This has been particularly true in respect of the decisions the committee has made in respect of requests for funding and riot damages act claims.

Environmental Implications

4. Where appropriate, the committee has considered the environmental implications arising out of reports it has scrutinised.

Risk Considerations

5. Where appropriate, the committee has considered risk issues arising out of the reports it has scrutinised.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Siobhan Coldwell, MPA Head of Policing Policy, Scrutiny and Oversight, MPA

For information contact:

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

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