Minutes

Minutes of the Co-ordination and Policing Committee held on 2 December 2005 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Len Duvall (Chair)
• Reshard Auladin (Deputy Chair)
• Cindy Butts (Deputy Chair)
• Richard Barnes
• Toby Harris
• Kirsten Hearn
• Karim Murji
• Richard Sumray
• Rachel Whittaker

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive and Clerk)
• David Riddle (Deputy Chief Executive, and Solicitor to the Authority)
• Ken Hunt (Treasurer)
• Nick Baker (Head of Committee Services)

MPS officers

• Paul Stephenson (Deputy Commissioner)
• Commander Shabbir Hussain
• Alisa Beaton (Director of Information).

22. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Jennette Arnold.

23. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

No interests were declared.

24. Minutes – 4 November 2005

(Agenda item 3)

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2005.

Resolved - That the minutes (Part 1), of the meeting held on 4 November 2005, be agreed and signed as a correct record.

25. Operation Safeguard

(Agenda item 4)

The Committee received a report that outlined details of Operation Safeguard, under which Home Office prisoners were liable to be accommodated in police cells, and associated prison lockouts. Members welcomed the report but expressed serious reservations and concerns about the implications of the introduction the operation.

In particular, members discussed the health and safety implications of holding prisoners in police cells and question if appropriate facilities would be in place for detainees. Members also highlighted the need for suitable training for police staff, a clear understanding of the methodology of deciding which cells are to be used during the operation and ensuring that venerable people or high risk prisoners were not held in police cells. Members also suggested that there was a need for further work on the prevention of deaths in police custody should the operation be invoked. Members requested that detailed financial implications of the implementation of the operation were made available.

The Committee suggested that the implications of the operation should be discussed at the London Criminal Justice Board and possibly at a national CJB level. In relation to lockouts, members felt there should be further discussion with the Home Office/Prison Service about the time that prisons stop the intake of prisoners. Further discussions should also take place on using alternative facilities, other than police cells, such as cells in courthouses, which could reduce the need to invoke Operation Safeguard.

The Deputy Commissioner confirmed that the MPS also had serious concerns about the introduction of Operation Safeguard and agreed to share with the MPA legal advice taken in respect of its possible introduction.

Whilst acknowledging that in cases of extreme urgency there might be a need to invoke Operation Safeguard, the Committee felt that there was a need further discussion on the practicalities of the operation and requested they be kept informed.

Resolved – That an up date report on Operation Safeguard be presented to a future meeting of the Committee.

26. Automatic number plate recognition

(Agenda item 5)

Following a discussion at the full Authority meeting on the 28 April 2005, the Committee received a report on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) activity carried out by the Traffic Operational Command Unit.

In considering the report, members sought clarification on the ethnicity figures of stops by police as a consequence of ANPR which it was felt could be misleading. The MPS confirmed that the figures related to the demography of certain areas as the ANPR vehicle had to be used in an area that was appropriate i.e. in a road that could accommodate the ANPR vehicle and where and where cars could be safety stopped. The ANPR vehicle was often deployed in areas of high crime.

It agreed was that further information, including annual figures on the use of ANPR should be circulated to members in future via the Planning, Performance and Review Committee and by a briefing note.

Resolved – That the report be received.

27. C3i/Airwave update

(Agenda item 6)

The Committee received a summary of the progress on the C3i/Airwave programme.

It was noted that the tranche 1 of the C3i transition plan had been successfully concluded with the move from Sutton to Lambeth. The phase 1 Integrated Command and Control System and Closed Circuit Television installation had been also completed and pre-system acceptance testing and SAT were on schedule. Members were informed that there had been a difference in the build configuration at Bow, however, the necessary rectification by Frequentis had now taken place.

Members also received further details in relation to communications for MPS officers/staff on the deep tunnel London Underground. It was noted that interim measures were in place until full delivery of Airwave can be made and that additional plans were in place over the Christmas period due to heightened security levels.

Resolved – That the report be received.

28. Any urgent business

(Agenda item 7)

There were no urgent items.

29. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 8)

A resolution was put to exclude the press and public from the meeting during an item 12, as it was likely to disclose exempt information as described in Schedule 12(a) (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Resolved – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of item 9

Summary of exempt items

30. Application for funding for legal representation

(Agenda item 9)

The Committee considered a request for funding for legal representation at a forthcoming Inquest.

The meeting closed at 12.25 p.m.

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