Annual Report 2004-2005

Report: 15
Date: 7 July 2005
By: Chief Executive and Clerk

Summary

The report provides a brief resume of the work of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board during 2004/5. Members are invited to endorse the report.

A. Recommendations

That Members endorse the report at Appendix.

B. Supporting information

1. The draft annual report is attached as Appendix 1.

C. Race and equality impact

The appendix is a factual report on the work of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board.

D. Financial implications

None

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Laurence Gouldbourne, Race and Diversity

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board Annual Report 2004-2005

Foreword by the Chair

This Annual Report is merely a snapshot of all the hard work carried out by members of Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB). Supported by staff in the Race & Diversity Unit and the MPA, this has truly been a team effort and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their time and commitment in delivering work on behalf of the Authority.

First of all: thanks to Cecile Wright, the first Chair of EODB – and a hard act to follow. I am honoured to have the leadership of such an important committee at this exciting time in the life of the MPS - what with the appointment of a new diversity director at a more senior level about to happen and the refining and retargeting of diversity work, there is much for EODB to do to continue the transformation of MPS into an organisation which delivers policing fairly to all and is representative of all diverse communities in London.

I'd like to thank my wonderfully energetic and dynamic deputy chair John Roberts for his support and enthusiasm over so much: his sterling work as Chair of the Recommendation 61 Implementation & Rollout Group and his active membership of the Stop & Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel.

I'd like to thank all the members who have served on the Board: Cindy Butts, Damian Hockney and Aneeta Prem. Thanks also to Peter Herbert for his continued focused leadership of the London-wide Race Hate Crimes Forum. I would also like to thank Lee Jasper of the Greater London Authority for his participation at EODB as a co-opted member. Finally, I would to thank Lynne Featherstone for her powerful leadership of Stop and Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel. Lynne is now a Member of Parliament and we wish her continued success.

EODB's purpose is to act as critical friend, a mirror, a rotweiler and a cheerleader to the MPS in delivery of policing services to meet the needs of London's diverse community. My vision for success is a police service, which reflects the community, which knows the community and which treats the community fairly whether encountering them as victims, witnesses or suspects/perpetrators of crime. The EODB agenda has reflected all these issues in the past year.

As Chair, I believe in the importance of challenging hierarchies of oppression and ensuring that we ensure a fair police service to the many who belong to more than one discriminated against group. If we achieve for one section of the community, this will benefit all other communities. This is not about the diminution of one strand of equality at the cost of another; it is, however, about being more ‘joined-up’ in our thinking and approach: understanding the multi-layered nature and compound effect of discrimination; identifying and challenging the barriers to effective employment, service delivery and community engagement practices; and recognising and celebrating the rich inclusiveness of diversity.

Finally, thanks to the staff of the Race & Diversity Unit who are a marvellous lot! It's been a difficult year in staffing terms: in the absence of a formal Head of the Unit until April this year, Hamida Ali, Doug Lewins and Bennett Obong skilfully led the team, ably supported by Cynthia Coleman, Karina Horsham-Maynard, Ricardo Roca, Michael Wadham and Kim Webster. All have been fabulous throughout the difficult times and now are fast becoming a tight knit and very effective team under the leadership of Laurence Gouldbourne.

Kirsten Hearn
Chair of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board
July 2005

Introduction

1. The MPA Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB) was set up in 2002 directly in response to the new statutory requirements placed on the MPA by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, and the other legislative, statutory and regulatory obligations.

2. This report summarises the key achievements and areas of work that have been progressed by EODB during the last 12 months. This report is designed against the backdrop of a range of significant ‘drivers’ that have impacted on both the MPA and the MPS. These include (but are not limited to):

• The appointment of a new Police Commissioner for London, Sir Ian Blair and his deputy, Paul Stephenson;
• The Morris Inquiry;
• The CRE Formal Investigation into the Police Service in England and Wales;
• The Taylor Report;
• The reorganisation of the Diversity Directorate; and
• The expansion of the Safer Neighbourhood programme.

Significant achievements

3. One of the major events for EODB was the appointment of a new chair, Kirsten Hearn, supported by John Roberts as Deputy Chair. Following discussion with EODB members, the committee significantly changed how it went about its business: firstly, EODB had themed meetings on equality strands such as disability, faith and issues faced by lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Secondly, the committee agreed to suspend its standing orders for the first part of the meeting, to allow members of London’s diverse communities to speak directly to police officers and MPA members on matters of concern related to the themed discussion.

4. Organising committee business in this way has proved popular with members of the public; not only have these meetings been well attended with often over 20 people present, but it has attracted a level of questioning, engagement and dynamism with police officers.

5. This model of good practice has been positively commented upon by other parts of the Authority and other committees are considering using this approach strategically as a way of engaging with Londoners.

6. EODB members have also regularly contributed to the Morris Steering Group. On 15 December 2004, EODB hosted a seminar for Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs), thereby establishing a dialogue with the Authority – and creating a safe space for IAGs to speak with each other. On 9 June 2005, EODB and HR Committee jointly facilitated a SAMURAI (Staff Associations Meeting Up Regularly And Interacting) meeting, to discuss issues of importance to MPS staff associations.

Equality strands

7. Over the past business year, EODB has discussed as themed items disabled people and the police, gender-based violence, sexual orientation and religion and belief equality. Out of these discussions, several key projects and initiatives have emerged:

a) Disabled people and the police: the MPA, via EODB, commissioned the Greater London Action on Disability (GLAD) to produce a background paper on policing issues facing disabled people. The key findings and action areas formed the basis of discussion at a community conference organised by GLAD on behalf of the MPA on 7 October 2004. The GLAD Report made 12 recommendations all of which were accepted by EODB. The MPS will report back on progress made on the MPA ‘Disability Agenda’ at EODB in December 2005 (see also paragraph 9.1).

b) Gender-based violence: commissioned by the London Criminal Justice Board, Project Umbra’s vision is to stop domestic violence and hold offenders to account whilst its aims are to improve service delivery across sectors involved in domestic violence by co-ordinating a range of options available to both victims and offenders. One of the key projects emerging from this area of work is the development of the MPA Domestic Violence Forum – analogous in its proposed delivery to the London-wide Race Hate Crime Forum. Members will consider the rollout of this Forum in October 2005.

c) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues in the MPS: several issues were considered at this meeting, including the training of police officers on LGBT issues in relation to staff and service delivery and the role and function of LGBT Liaison Officers. It was also reported that the LGBT Advisory Group had provided considerable support to the MPS on a variety of issues since its inception.

d) Religion and belief equality: the MPS outlined its strategy towards religion and belief equality. A lively discussion ensued on faith monitoring in both service delivery and employment.

EODB Sub-groups

8. Over the year, EODB has been supported by three sub-groups:

• the Disability Oversight Group;
• the Recommendation 61 Implementation & Rollout Group; and
• the Stop & Search Scrutiny & Implementation Panel

9. The Disability Oversight Group is charged with overseeing progression towards the 12 recommendations of the MPA Disability Agenda and its 48 key action points. Led by EODB’s Chair and supported by the APA Spokesperson on diversity, this sub-group meets regularly to monitor MPS progress on the GLAD report. As stated earlier in paragraph 7a, the MPS will report back to EODB in December 2005.

10 Recommendation 61 Implementation & Rollout Group and the Stop & Search Scrutiny & Implementation Panel: Recommendation 61 (R61) stipulated that in addition to stops and searches, stops must also be recorded by police officers. The record should include the reason, outcome and self-defined ethnicity of the person stopped and a copy should be given to the individual.

11. During the summer of 2004, the MPA worked proactively to inform people in the capital about the London-wide launch of R61 in November. A committee was established which included stakeholders, partners, police and community representatives to ensure that the Authority’s approach was appropriate and inclusive.

12 An external marketing campaign centred on an advertising trailer branded with national 'R61 Know Your Rights' imagery from the Association of Police Authorities (APA). Community events and suitable venues were identified by the MPA at which the trailer appeared, staffed by MPA members – including the Deputy Chair of EODB – and MPA employees who briefed the public and handed out APA information leaflets. The trailer was also sited outside New Scotland Yard, during a conference about R61 for MPS borough commanders, to encourage its use on the boroughs. The outstanding success of the trailer led to British Transport Police using it at several rail and tube stations throughout London and additionally it was taken by the Authority to the APA annual conference in Brighton to encourage use by other police constabularies when R61 was rolled-out nationwide in April 2005.

13 APA leaflets and accompanying posters were distributed to all 364 local libraries in London and other community organisations, while the MPS Directorate of Public Affairs devised a London-specific campaign and disseminated these posters and postcards to clubs and social venues. The Authority also dedicated a specific page to R61, its implications for Londoners and our communities, on its website.

14 R61 was launched across all London boroughs in November 2004, six months before any other police service. A film made by Lambeth Youth Council, which featured young people talking about police stops, was shown at the launch. Other constabularies, to launch R61 nationally, used this film. Over 17,000 MPS police officers, Special Constables and Police Community Support Officers completed the nationally developed R61 - Stop and Account computer-based training.

15 The MPA recommended that a local monitoring group (LMG) be established on each borough, comprising community representatives and the local MPS lead officer, to scrutinise use of stop and account and stop and search. At the same time a panel of MPA members continues to review the implementation of the recommendations of the Authority’s Scrutiny of MPS Stop and Search Practice.

16 In short, the work around Recommendation 61 was the first time ever that the MPA, the MPS, London’s diverse communities and key partners have worked together to achieve a successful rollout. As a result of these activities, the Recommendation 61 Implementation & Rollout Group, effectively chaired by John Roberts, has now disbanded; however, the work of the Stop & Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel continues.

The Morris Inquiry

17. Over the past year, the MPA and the MPS has had to respond to a number of key documents including (but not limited to):

• The Morris Inquiry
• AC Ghaffur’s Thematic Inspection on Race & Diversity
• CRE Formal Investigation Into The Police Service in England & Wales; and
• The Taylor Review of Police Disciplinary Arrangements

18 Responding to these recommendations has been testing for MPA members and the MPS. The four reports contain 210 recommendations (CRE [125], Ghaffur [42], Morris [37], Taylor [6]). Such a surfeit of recommendations has been challenging for Members to successfully discharge their governance, accountability and scrutiny role.

19 Given the plethora of recommendations, the Morris Steering Group has agreed to consider one key strategic recommendation per strategic theme. These recommendations can be seen as a ‘portal’, through which improvements within other areas of MPS’ strategically themed work would occur.

20 Focusing on these recommendations will provide a strategic steer to the delivery of these outcomes and complement the work being carried out in EODB and other Committees. The recommendations from Morris will be considered at each EODB meeting.

Race Equality Scheme

21. The 31 May 2005 saw the end of the first three year MPA and MPS Race Equality Schemes and the beginning of the schemes that will guide both organisations, until 2008, along the path of eliminating unlawful racial discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and promoting good relations between persons of different racial groups, as set out in the duty in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 [RR(A)A 2000]. The final review of the 2002 – 2005 schemes showed much progress in that timeframe.

22 On 14 June 2004, the CRE submitted an interim report on their Formal Investigation of the Police Service in England and Wales’. This report highlighted that 43 Race Equality Schemes (RESs) had been submitted by Police Forces and Authority’s to the CRE. Of those, 15 had been sampled, only one of which had been found to be fully compliant. The MPS’ Scheme was one of those that fell short of the standard.

23 Over the following months, the MPS, supported by the MPA, worked hard to produce a Scheme that was compliant. By 30 September 2004, the MPS’ RES was deemed satisfactory by the CRE, though there were still further areas for improvement identified.

24 Notable among the MPA successes in this area of work:

• The commitment, in November 2004, of the MPA to a comprehensive equality and diversity policy, bringing to all areas of equality the good practice flowing from the RR(A)A.
• The review and revision of guidance and forms for Equality Impact Assessment (EIA), along with specific training for members and staff. EIA is the essential tool for ensuring that all of our policies accord with our duty under the RR(A)A, as extended to all areas of equality.
• A comprehensive review of the management and delivery of the Independent Custody Visitor Scheme, leading to a reform programme that will ensure good equalities performance in the operation of the scheme.

25 Notable among the MPS successes in the last year are:

• The ongoing development of a thorough process and template for impact assessing all MPS policies, together with the required training. This has amalgamated the 2,700 instructions into 139 policies, impact assessed for all strands of diversity.
• 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 HR Headline Scorecard and the monthly Workforce Data Report.
• Promoting race equality through the published procurement strategy.

26. As well as the successes both individual schemes have generated, the MPA & MPS also had success in working together to support each other in meeting the general duty of the RR(A)A 2000. This was demonstrated in the support that the MPA has given to MPS colleagues to improve their practice of equality impact assessment and to work towards a common system of assessment across the whole MPS organisation. That work, and MPA support, is ongoing.

Race Hate Crime Forum

27. The London wide Race Hate Crime Forum is making a significant and proactive contribution in making London safer for all its diverse residents, visitors and commuters, by reducing hate motivated crime and the fear of hate crime.

28 Over the past year, 2004-2005, the Forum, with its member organisations, has engaged in a series of high profile meetings with Borough Commanders and Chief Executives and representatives, prioritising the London boroughs that have the highest levels of recorded race hate crimes. The purpose of these meetings is to scrutinise their practices, procedures and local policies in order to ascertain whether these processes are effective in dealing with incidents of racial harassment. Some of the key achievements of the Forum include:

• Engagement with 6 of the 8 ‘priority’ boroughs through the formal Forum process
• Interventions made in relation to, and contribution, to the development of the MPS Hate Crime Standard Operational Procedures
• Positive impact on long standing cases of racial harassment

29 The MPS has recognised the importance and the impact that racial harassment, in its many forms, can inflict on individuals and the wider community. As such, the MPS has placed a higher level of importance on investigating and charging those that commit racially motivated offences and increased targets for dealing with those who perpetuate such crimes.

30 The Forum wishes to express its thanks and gratitude to all those who have worked with it and hopes this positive process continues through the coming year.

Corporate Equality Objectives

31 Circumstances have impacted on progress towards meeting the original 10 Corporate Equality Objectives. An agenda item on these objectives has been submitted to EODB in July 2005. Progress against these objectives will be reported to EODB in December 2005.

Other Areas of Work

32 EODB members were also involved in other activities including the MPA sponsoring Pride for the first time, involvement in the area of forced marriages and supporting disability issues, in conjunction with staff from Community Engagement unit.

Conclusion

33 There are challenges ahead for EODB and the MPA as a whole. At the time of writing this report, it was still unclear as to the outcomes of the Service Review and how this was going to impact on the MPS. Furthermore, the Together programme has yet to be clearly defined and there are some further structural leadership changes being undertaken by the Diversity Directorate. Mini-scrutinies of Project Umbra and the Specialist Crime Directorate will form an important part of the business year.

34 Through its themed discussion items, EODB will continue to provide a platform for London’s diverse communities to speak directly to police officers on key policing matters. EODB will also continue to nurture a positive relationship of constructive support, innovation and scrutiny with the MPS.

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