Metropolitan Police Service race equality scheme 2005-2008

Report: 06
Date: 7 July 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an update on the preparation and future development of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Race Equality Scheme (RES) 2005-2008.

A. Recommendations

That members to note the report.

B. Supporting information

Key issues and learning

1. All public authorities were required to review their list of functions and policies for relevance to the general duty of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act by 31 May 2005. In addition, there was an expectation that each police authority and force would publish a new RES by this date.

2. There were a number of key issues to be faced in preparing the RES 2005-2008. The RES 2002-2005 had been published on 31 May 2002 but was subsequently declared non-compliant by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in June 2004 as part of its Formal Investigation into the Police Service. As a consequence, that particular scheme was rewritten and published on 30 September 2004.

3. As part of the investigation, which examined the initial MPS RES, three areas were identified as non-compliant. The threat of compliance action was therefore a key issue. The three non-compliant areas have been addressed within the 2005-08 scheme, namely:

• The requirement to state those functions and policies that are relevant to the general duty of Race Relations (Amendment) Act (RR(A)A).
• The absence of specific training for all MPS staff on the requirements of the RR(A)A. This was included within separate reports on diversity training submitted to the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB) on 10 January 2005 and 19 May 2005.
• The requirement to monitor all aspects of the employment duty. The MPS was already monitoring most aspects, but had not at that stage put in place arrangements for monitoring:
  • Applications for training
  • Benefit or detriment resulting from Performance Development Reviews.

Taking the RES forward

4. It is accepted that the RES is a ‘living document’ continually being progressed and consulted upon. The MPA Race and Diversity Unit submitted various comments about the RES. The general comment from the unit was that the RES was too inward-looking and lacked sufficient ownership by senior leaders and operational arms of the MPS, together with links to, for example, the new Confidence and Equality (Diversity) Strategy.

5. A strategy for taking the RES forward is being put into place and includes the following activities:

• The authority levels and terms of reference for all the supervisory bodies that have oversight for race and diversity delivery are to be reviewed. A report is being submitted to the Diversity Board outlining the governance arrangements under which the RES and all aspects of diversity will be actively and effectively monitored. This is to ensure that the ability to scrutinise other parts of the organisation is enhanced. For example, holding Territorial Policing and the Specialist Crime Directorate to account for their contribution to race equality.
• The RES 2005-08 action plan consists of 58 separate actions, broadly grouped into the subject areas covered by the RR(A)A specific duties. Currently, the RR(A)A Steering Committee monitors the implementation of the scheme, holding department managers to account for their unit’s progress. With the publication of the new up-to-date scheme, this accountability will concentrate more on the monitoring of the 58 individual actions.
• The RES will be further taken forward by broadening the impact assessment process, so that the promotion of the general duty will be included not only within policy, but also within operational policing plans, strategic planning and business risk assessments. Moreover, work to design a single corporate impact assessment model has been instigated. Its aim is to streamline existing methods of impact assessment to deliver a mainstreamed model, which can be broadly applied at tactical and strategic levels. Internal consultation has been undertaken and a redraft is underway prior to the external consultation process. It is proposed that the model will be published in September 2005.
• Delivering the ‘Together’ approach, citizen-focused policing and the Service Review will also take race equality and diversity forward. The new diversity strategy, in accord with the corporate strategy, will have an accountability framework and a requirement for action plans from each Operational Command Unit. These will be monitored locally and also corporately by the Diversity Directorate. Under the new governance arrangements, it is proposed that this information goes to the relevant body for executive action. This will have a significant impact on progressing race equality down to the individual service delivery level. A glossary of MPS approaches is included at Appendix 1.
• The construction of the RES will be reviewed and progressed further within the commissioning of an expanded equality scheme covering six diversity strands. A scoping paper for such a proposal will be submitted by 31 July 2005. To ensure that all strands, including race, are sufficiently outward-focused, the Diversity Directorate will work closely with the MPA Race and Diversity Unit in this process.

Consultation

6. A strength of the consultation process was the partnership approach with the Race and Diversity Unit of the MPA. Both the MPS and MPA circulated their draft schemes together, thereby utilising the comprehensive consultation lists of both organisations. In addition, this allowed a direct examination and comparison of the complementary organisations’ schemes. Examples of those with whom we have consulted are included within the RES. The feedback from participants ranged from a single written sentence to a 2-hour long individual discussion.

7. A weakness of our joint approach was a reliance on E-mail. Some individuals and communities do not have the equipment or wish to communicate in this way. Telephone responses were readily accepted by the MPS. Disappointingly, none of the London Race Equality Councils provided feedback on the draft scheme. The use of existing groups to engender discussion, for example within the RR(A)A Steering Committee and the Diversity Strategy Coordination Forum, though of value, were limited by the small number of external participants who took part. The MPA/MPS RES External Reference Group, previously the source of additional consultation, was disbanded in December 2004 due to the lack of participants.

8. Further consultation methods are or will be employed to both promote and seek advice regarding race equality at the front line level. The output from this consultation will inform work around the development of future equality schemes. Consultation methods do or will include:

• A proposed annual MPA/MPS conference to provide a new and large-scale forum for broadening consultation.
• The employment of Citizen Focus Teams and Diversity Directorate Impact Consultants, who will have extensive consultation remits at borough level.
• Borough commanders have increasingly broad local contacts, for example Community Police Consultative Groups, Independent Advisory Groups and networks accessed by Borough Liaison Officers.

Review of functions and policies

9. Policies have been listed according to a high, medium or low prioritisation. This list has been reviewed for the 2005-2008 scheme. A questionnaire was devised for policy managers to consider during the review process, which also involved internal and external consultation. Details of the process, questionnaire and consultation are included within the RES.

10. The MPS is one of only a few police forces to have impact assessed all of its policies. The impact assessment policy workbook requires detail of how each policy will evidence achievement of its claimed benefits and its continued fitness for purpose. This informs the policy review process, which must take place at least every three years, and the level of scrutiny to which a policy is subject.

11. The priority given to each policy determines the level and frequency of assessment, consultation, monitoring and review. Priority now will be given to further development of monitoring arrangements, in particular for critical policies and those policies identified as having a high relevance to race equality.

12. MPS Management Board has bi-monthly oversight of the most critical policies, commencing in August 2005. Management Board has to be satisfied that sufficient control measures are in place to ensure that each of these policies is delivering effectively against its stated benefits, that these benefits continue to be appropriate and that they are having a positive impact on, amongst other issues, race equality.

Review of RES 2002-05 action plan

13. A review of the (September 2004) RES 2002-05 action plan reveals the following achievements:

• The development of a process and template for impact assessing policies, together with the required training.
• The implementation of employment duty monitoring on the new MetHR computerised system, enabling a consistent, comprehensive and easily published response, together with the required training.
• Publishing of a comprehensive Employment Duty Annual Report by October of each year, together with monthly Human Resources (HR) Headline Scorecard and the monthly Workforce Data Report.
• Promoting race equality through the published procurement strategy.

Outstanding actions dealing with, for example, training are included within the RES 2005-08 action plan.

C. Race and equality impact

There are significant diversity implications arising from this report. The progress made in promoting race equality can and does lead to positive outcomes within all areas of diversity.

D. Financial implications

There are currently no financial implications arising form this report. However, the service review and the changing focus of the Diversity Directorate may lead to financial demands or realignments. The future financial implications are as yet unquantifiable. The implications of not delivering race equality could be financially significant in terms of, for example, employment tribunals, complaints, recruitment opportunities and staff satisfaction.

E. Background papers

• Race Equality Scheme 2005-08

F. Contact details

Report author: Colin White, Diversity Directorate, MPS.

For more information contact:

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

List of abbreviations

MPS

Metropolitan Police Service

RES

Race Equality Scheme

CRE

Commission for Racial Equality

RR(A)A

Race Relations Amendment Act

MPA 

Metropolitan Police Authority

EODB

Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board

HR

Human Resources

CFP

Citizen Focus Policing

Appendix 1: Glossary of MPS Approaches

1. Together Approach

Together is an approach, a way of working which will enable us to be the most effective organisation we can possibly be. The Commissioner has made it clear that the MPS needs to reshape through a Service Review in order to make it fit to meet the challenges of the future.

Challenges facing the MPS include:

1. Widening mission: Organised crime, Terrorism, need to support reassurance policing.
2. Delivering Citizen-Focused Policing: Accountability, Responsiveness, Media.
3. Challenging targets: Increase in sanction detection rates of nearly 100% against current performance over three years; qualitative targets in addition to quantitative targets.
4. Ensure and demonstrate efficiency: Need to build the case for additional resources, but cannot do so if we are viewed as inefficient. Avoid duplication, critical review of how we work.
5. Internal environment: Need to create change within the internal environment to allow staff to work to their best effect; implementing Morris Inquiry. Changing structure of the workforce, police family/safer neighbourhoods.

2. Service Review

Is a comprehensive, structured review of the Metropolitan Police Service that will better organise the MPS to support front line Service delivery to colleagues and the public. It will examine the functions, activities and processes of the MPS and make recommendations to Management Board in the autumn. The review is necessary because the mission of the MPS is widening and this changing mission will directly affect all MPS staff. The Service must re-shape and re-invest in itself in order to support its people in delivering this widening mission. The Service Review is not about saving money; it is about reorganising the MPS so it can work smarter to effectively meet the challenges ahead.

3. Citizen Focus Policing

This approach is currently the subject of wide consultation. Generally, those who have contributed thus far, all agreed that Citizen Focus Policing (CFP) must provide a service that meets the needs of all client bases and that its philosophy is the same as the ethos of the diversity directorate, i.e. "by taking resources and wrapping it around the needs of the citizen both internal and external of the organisation".

All consulted to date felt that the MPS had not reached a clear nor corporate strategic definition of what CFP means to the Service. There was also a strong view that this had in turn led to a cadre of individual groups working on organisational improvement programmes without a holistic approach or strategic corporate linkage to accurately monitor all levels of intended delivery.

The proposal to widen the mission of the Diversity Directorate to embrace all CFP programmes was welcomed and this was perceived as the most logical route to create strategically mirrored programmes of improvement and ensure successful delivery to all audience levels. In short, this is work under progress now linked explicitly to the other approaches listed here.

4. The Confidence and Equality (Diversity) Strategy

The purpose of this strategy, which is currently in draft format, is to support the provision of a citizen-focused (see above) police service that responds to the needs of communities and individuals, especially victims and witnesses, and inspires public confidence in the police. In particular, it is intended the strategy will assist the MPS as it seeks to develop safer communities, securing the Capital against terrorism, revitalise the Criminal Justice System, develop a professional and effective workforce and reform the delivery of policing services (the Service Review). Key to delivering what the strategy sets out to achieve will be: integration with the approaches listed above and locally owned and corporately monitored action plans, which detail progress and achievement.

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