MPA response to white paper

Report: 4
Date: 10 January 2002
By: Clerk

Summary

This report sets out the proposed MPA response to government proposals on police reform.

A. Recommendation

That Members are invited to endorse the following as the MPA response to police reform proposals.

B. Supporting information

1. The Metropolitan Police Authority welcomes the proposals for the reform of the police service set out in the Government's White Paper. The Authority will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure the greatest possible benefits are derived from opportunities that are presented in the forthcoming legislation and related forms.

2. In this response, the Authority has concentrated on those proposals, which are central to the Authority's own duties and responsibilities. This recognises the importance of the constitutional arrangements whereby each of the parties in policing have their own particular responsibilities to discharge. The balance between the overarching framework to be set by Government, the operational and direction and control responsibilities of the chief constable and the Authority's responsibilities in respect of budgetary control, best value and the provision of transparent accountability for local concerns is not one to be lightly swept aside.

Standards unit

3. The Authority has already demonstrated since its inception its commitment to improving the delivery of policing at a local level. The work it undertakes in monitoring performance borough by borough will be an important starting point for the work of the Standards Unit. If that unit is to provide a useful contribution to ever increasing levels of success its approach should be that of an adviser rather than an enforcer. This is particularly true in relation to "failing" BCUs where policing priorities are strongly influenced by local, rather than national considerations. By analogy, the Standards Unit should consult with the police authority when designating priority policing areas. If police authority members are doing their jobs properly – and Metropolitan Police Authority members are certainly doing that – their knowledge of local priorities and needs will be invaluable to decisions that are taken about where to apply centrally funded effort to best effect.

4. There needs to be a mechanism whereby a police authority can invite the Standards Unit to assist a BCU. If, however, the Standards Unit does seek to intervene in a failing BCU this should only be done after consultation with the chief officer and the police authority.

5. The respective roles of the Standards Unit, District Audit, HMIC and police authorities would benefit from greater clarification. The Authority would welcome the opportunity to be involved in discussions paving the way for such clarification.

Community safety officers

6. The MPA welcomes the Government's proposals to pass enabling legislation to allow authorities and chief officers to tailor the provision of Community Safety Officers as best fits their circumstances. Having said this, the Authority does recognise that there is a danger of public confusion in a proliferation of schemes each with their own unique functions and powers. A power to detain will be essential to the success of most, though not all, CSO schemes. Such a power brings with it serious implications for training, stop and search, health and safety, vicarious liability and organisational/cultural considerations – all of which may adversely impact on the trust and confidence the public have in the police service. For this reason CSO schemes and their associated powers should be subject to public consultation and police authority approval.

7. The Authority would be looking for central government funding for the initial provision of CSO schemes. If no such funding is forthcoming CSOs would have to replace rather than supplement police constables. The quality of policing locally will inevitably be affected deleteriously.

8. The White Paper is silent on the employment status of CSOs. It would be helpful to have confirmation that they will be civilian employees of the police authority, under the direction and control of the chief officer within the meaning of s.15 of the Police Act 1996.

Accreditation

9. Similarly, the Authority welcomes the enabling powers to allow for the dual key accreditation of organisations allied to the extended police family. The system of accreditation must be subject to guidelines that are approved at national and police authority level.

Crime and disorder partnerships

10. Police authorities have a significant role to play in facilitating partnerships at borough command level. Presently, the police authority relationship to crime and disorder reduction partnerships is ambiguous. As the democratic voice of policing the MPA feels that police authorities should have a statutory right to play a full role in tackling problems at a local level. It follows that the Authority would welcome an amendment to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to place police authorities as one of the statutory partners, alongside the chief officer and the local authority.

National Policing Plan

11. The MPA has already experienced, at a pan-London level, the difficulties that arise in resolving and reconciling strategic level priorities and objectives with those that arise at a local level. A national policing plan is bound to encounter the same tensions. It is most important that any such plan should not stifle local policing priorities or the deployment of resources to them. It also gives an opportunity to rationalise the planning cycles. The present system of setting ministerial objectives very late in the calendar year, or early in the subsequent calendar year, is unhelpful in the budget setting process and the timetable for the three-year audits under the Crime and Disorder Act does not fit comfortably with the timetable for the Annual Policing Plan.

National Policing Forum

12. The national functions undertaken by the MPS, the implications of capital city status and the size of the MPS in terms of staffing and budget, all indicate that the MPA should have a statutory right to representation on the National Policing Forum, alongside colleagues from the Association of Police Authorities.

PNB

13. All of the proposals which bring flexibility, modernisation and professionalisation to the employment framework are welcomed. However, we are concerned that the reduction of the number of increments in the pay scale to compensate for the reduction in overtime rates may have a detrimental effect on a significant number of officers, resulting in an adverse impact on recruitment and retention. This particularly true for Metropolitan Police officers who are required to work a greater amount of overtime than their provincial colleagues; the position may become acute in specialised operational squads where the necessity for overtime is at its greatest.

14. Though the benefits of a scheme to retain officers beyond 30 years are obvious, initial indications to the MPA suggest the cost will be prohibitive. The position would be exacerbated if the scheme applied to all officers as of right, as opposed to a scheme at the discretion of the police authority according to organisational need. Ultimately the benefits associated with retention must not be outweighed by the cost. In the absence of any detailed financial projections, our view is that the MPA would find it difficult to fund a discretionary scheme and impossible to finance a scheme that allowed officers to stay as of right.

15. Target pay for special priority posts is another welcome tool to address specific skill shortages. However, the identification of priorities and shortages is a not a national issue for the Home Secretary but a local problem to be resolved jointly by the chief officer and the police authority.

ACPO ranks

16. Finally the Authority would want to take this opportunity to press for an amendment to the regulations governing the eligibility rules for promotion to the ranks of assistant chief constable, deputy chief constable and chief constable (commander, deputy assistant commissioner and assistant commissioner in London). The requirement that an officer must spend two years in a different force before being eligible for promotion discriminates significantly against London. London offers a diversity of opportunity within its boundary, which is greater than between two neighbouring county forces. While the Authority recognises that it is desirable to have a range of experience it foresees significant operational difficulties if this is to remain a binding requirement. Although such a relaxation does not require primary legislation the Authority would press for an amendment to this Police Regulation as part of the overall package of reform.

17. Conversely, the Authority is not persuaded that the existing powers to require a chief constable to resign are inadequate and consequently does not support the extension of those powers as proposed in paragraph 6.8.3 – 6.8.8 of the White Paper. Regulations exist to take action against chief officers whose performance is inadequate. It is unfortunate that the Home Office has not produced guidelines on the operation of those Regulations. Nonetheless, since adequate powers already exist, what is required is a more robust operation of those powers by the police authorities, which are the appropriate bodies to take such steps.

C. Financial implications

None at this stage.

D. Background papers

Policing a New Century: A Blueprint for Reform

E. Contact details

Report author: Keith Dickinson, MPA.

For information contact:

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

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