Crime and Disorder Partnerships

Report: 9
Date: 19 December 2000
By: Clerk

Summary

This report is presented to inform members of the CDO Committee of the developments that are underway on Crime and Disorder Partnerships and to seek members' endorsement for the proposals outlined in the recommendations.

A. Supporting information

1. One of the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is to require local authorities and the police, with other key agencies and the community, to work together at the local level to develop and implement strategies for reducing crime and disorder in their area.

2. There is a legal obligation upon police authorities, probation committees and health authorities to co-operate fully in this work. Other people and organisations are also to be invited by the ‘responsible authorities’ to contribute to the process, including voluntary organisations, local businesses and minority groups and organisations.

3. The Guidelines to the 1998 Act state that the police authority’s role is at the ‘very heart of the local efforts to tackle crime and disorder.’ This raises a number of issues, which MPA members have been considering, in order to arrive at a decision about the type and level of their involvement in local crime and disorder partnerships at the Pan London as well as the local level.

Crime and disorder interface with other MPA committees

4. Although the CDO Committee has primary responsibility for progressing the Authority’s work on in Crime and Disorder issues, members from other Committees such as the Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring (PSPM) and the Finance, Planning and Best Value (FPBV) Committees also have a strong interest in the matters addressed in this area.

5. At the recent Crime and Disorder Workshop (11 December) members in attendance ranged across all committees, signifying their general interest, particularly given their ‘Link member’ role. In view of this, the Committee may wish to ensure that other members of the authority are given the opportunity to be fully consulted on all matters relating to crime and disorder, through the establishment of a small working group, chaired by the Chair or one of the Deputy Chairs of the CDO Committee.

6. The remit of such a group could include setting the strategic direction and framework for the Authority in matters of Crime and Disorder; directly interfacing with key partners, including, for example, the GLA (see Committee report 11) consulting with lead ‘drivers’ on Crime and Disorder in London (such as Pan London Partnership Trusts, Health Authorities, Youth Offending Teams, Drug Action Teams), as well as giving officers direction on implementation matters.

Issues for CDO consideration

7. There are a number of issues that need to be considered by the CDO Committee, for which the proposed working group (paragraph 8) could be the best forum to take forward. These include:

1. Defining the remit of the MPA. The Authority is a ‘co-operating body’ in the Crime and Disorder Act. Discussions are continuing to resolve this area, and the proposals below go some way towards addressing these.
2. The role of the MPA. The MPS Joint Steering Group on Crime and Disorder, which is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, is a London officer led group. The JSG met on Friday 15 December and the Chair of CDO and the Clerk were invited to attend, but were unable to do so because of the short notice given. In view of the cross Authority interest in these areas, it is probably wise to continue to have two representatives, one from the CDO Committee and the Clerk, to represent other committee interests covering planning and performance monitoring.
3. Review of current strategies. Although the crime and disorder strategies cover a three-year period from April 1999, each strategy must be kept under review. Members will need to come to a view about whether it has a role in such reviews, and if so, how it may wish to engage in these. The recent workshop proposed that the MPA’s role in these reviews may best be served through the receipt of regular borough by borough monitoring information on the local crime and disorder strategies. This action is likely to have resource implications for the MPS, and detailed discussions will need to be held to agree this proposed action.
4. Preparation for 2001 Crime and Disorder audits. The MPA will need to prepare for involvement in the initial stage of the audit process commencing in summer 2001. In order to influence these audits, the Authority will need to work closely with the Crime Reduction Director, ALG, GLA and others who have an established stake in this field of work. There is also an urgent need to ensure that the MPA is fully engaged, especially in setting the performance monitoring targets and indicators that will need to be achieved by the Borough OCUs.
5. Information and Monitoring. It was proposed that the MPA should seek information from the MPS on how the crime and disorder partnerships are undertaking their work at a local level, and to be informed about the monitoring processes that are in place to ensure that these achieve their objectives. Such information should contribute significantly in assisting the MPA in the evaluation of the current strategies, and influencing the audits for 2001.
6. Member Links with Partnerships. The workshop on 11 December proposed that the MPA should seek to exert its influence on crime and disorder partnerships at a strategic London level. Link members should be encouraged to take an interest in and be fully briefed on local partnerships. Officers have been remitted the responsibility for developing protocols for this role, and a draft will be circulated to all MPA members for comments.
7. APA Policy Group. The APA has recently invited the MPA to respond to a questionnaire on its involvement in local partnerships. Officers have responded to this questionnaire. Members will want to feed into the Association’s research in this area.

Future proposed actions

8. The following future actions are proposed for members' approval. Many of these arose from the 11 December workshop.

• The MPA to write to all local authorities and Borough OCUs in order to identify the principal decision-making committees.
• Officers undertake work to identify the key ‘drivers’ in crime and disorder in London;
• MPS provide details of the Terms of Reference of the JSG; outcomes of the meeting on Friday 15 December and previous minutes;
• The MPA requests regular borough-by-borough monitoring information on the local crime and disorder strategies from the MPS.

B. Recommendations

1. That Members note the recommendation proposed in paragraph 5 for the involvement of other Committee members in a small working group to give direction to this area of work.
2. Subject to the approval of the above recommendation that the working group’s membership and its terms of reference are presented to the next meeting of the Chairs Coordination and Urgency Committee
3. That members endorse the actions proposed in paragraph 7 of the report and any subsequent actions that are required to progress these
4. That members approve the further actions arising out of the workshop of 11 December.

C. Financial implications

There may be financial implications associated with this report, however, this will not be known until further more detailed work is done on the role and remit that the Authority will at a Pan London as well as a local level on Crime and Disorder Partnerships.

D. Review arrangements

Decisions will need to be made on approaches for reviewing the current Crime and Disorder Audits, in preparation for engaging in the planning for the 2001 strategise which will begin in July 2001. Should the Committee approval recommendation One, it is proposed that this group takes the decision on the review mechanisms of its own work as well as agree the processes that will be required for reviewing the partnerships.

E. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officer listed above or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

• Crime and Disorder Act 1988
• Mayor’s Crime and Community Safety consultation paper November 2000
• Calling Time on Crime - A Thematic Inspection on Crime and Disorder conducted by HMIC, Home Office in collaboration with Audit Commission, Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) and the Social Service Inspectorate (SSI)

F. Contact details

The author of this report is Julia Smith.

For information contact:

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

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