Diversity issues within the Transport Operational Command Unit (CO17)

Report: 7
Date: 20 July 2006
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report outlines the work of the Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU), provides details of its demographics and of work in progress to ensure equal opportunity and address under representation. It also describes how TOCU manages enforcement activity in relation to disproportionality, particularly where young people are involved, and informs of its community engagement activity.

A. Recommendations

That Members:

1. Note the contents of this report.

B. Supporting information

Role of the Transport OCU

1. A Special Service Agreement (SSA) between the Metropolitan Police Service and Transport for London established the TOCU in 2002. It is totally funded by Transport for London.

2. The Transport OCU sits within Central Operations and is part of the Roads Policing Team that includes the Transport, Traffic and Traffic Criminal Justice OCUs. TOCU is a Pan-London OCU with a budgeted workforce target of 1317 staff. This is made up of 419 police officers, 471 transport police community support officers (TPCSO), 316 traffic wardens and 111 police staff based at 26 sites across London.

3. The strategic objectives of the TOCU are:

• To make bus passengers and staff feel safe
• To ensure buses move efficiently along corridors
• To enforce the law in relation to the taxi trade and private hire vehicles
• To deal with traffic congestion in the worst pinch points
• To enforce parking controls on the TfL road network

4. The TOCU is a patrol service intended to make public transport safe and to keep traffic moving, particularly on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN). Our red route enforcement is carried out pan London, as is the work of our congestion team. The main focus of our bus work is on our 22 corridors although where there is credible intelligence we will deploy elsewhere. Our intelligence tells us that 80% of reported indecent assaults relating to cabs have a journey start point in the City of Westminster and as a result our work on cabs is focused in Westminster.

How we make bus passengers and staff feel safe

5. We are a highly visible uniform presence along our corridors providing reassurance both on the buses and at bus stops. Our police officers and TPCSOs are encouraged to “bus hop” and interact with the travelling public and bus staff. In addition to making the public feel safe we also benefit from the information they share with us as we work towards being a 100% intelligence tasked unit. We are a patrol unit and good intelligence allows us to direct our staff to patrol where they can make the most positive impact on our objectives.

6. We carry out many planned, high profile operations, often in support of the TfL revenue protection inspectors. These operations make it clear that unacceptable behaviour will be challenged and offenders will be brought to justice. By discouraging offenders from our routes we improve the travelling experience of others.

7. Operation “Bustag” deals with criminal damage to buses where the incident has been captured on CCTV. The work of this small team of officers has led to the arrest of over 700 people who graffiti or otherwise damage buses. Currently the Bustag detection rate stands at 32%. Again the principle of challenging offenders and discouraging such anti social behaviour on our routes works towards improving the travelling environment.

How we ensure buses move efficiently along corridors, deal with congestion at pinch points and enforce parking controls on the TfL road network.

8. We work with the 10 stakeholders that make up the TfL Pinch Point Working Group and through their surveys we understand the needs of the travelling public. We direct our enforcement activity in reducing congestion to meet the performance information of this working group.

9. We work in partnership with Transport for London so that we can efficiently manage incidents of live congestion. At present we are running a pilot scheme that extends our role to include the free removal of vehicles that have been immobilised after an accident and that are affecting traffic flow.

10. Our Red Route Enforcement Team leads on the enforcement of parking controls on the TfL road network. This team is a combination of Traffic Wardens and TPCSOs. We are currently developing the use of intelligence to target our enforcement activity to areas where infringements cause the most disruption to the travelling public. We work with TfL and their consultative group of external stakeholders (the Red Route Stakeholder Forum) to define the overall approach to parking enforcement on the red route network.

11. We are now identifying individuals who are persistent offenders along the red routes and they will be targeted through a series of enforcement operations.

How we enforce the law in relation to the taxi trade and private hire vehicles.

12. Taxi touting is rife and presents dangers to the travelling public. Although taxi touting is a low level offence we are driven by the Mayor’s desire to make private hire vehicles safe. This is done through the prosecution of taxi touts and reducing the number of uninsured vehicles. This makes an important contribution to the overall GLA Safe Travel at Night (STAN) initiative. By dealing with these issues we anticipate a further reduction in the number of cab related sexual offences that are carried out on women.

13. From January 2006 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) removed our power of arrest for taxi touting offences, except in exceptional circumstances. As a result we have had to re-structure our operations to maintain efficiency while proceeding with the cases by way of summons. We are focused on ensuring that a DNA sample is obtained after conviction in all cases to support speculative searches and improve our intelligence. It is through this intelligence that we target sexual predators who pose as Black Cab or Private Hire Drivers thereby enhancing the safety of people who visit London.

TOCU performance summary

14. In the 12 months to the end of March 2006 TOCU officers have:

• Arrested 9738 people a 32% increase on the previous year.
• Issued 202,230 red route tickets a 30% increase on the previous year.

A comparison of the results from customer satisfaction surveys carried out along TfL bus network from June 2002 till December 2005 shows:

• Safety and security on TOCU routes has improved by 6% (3.5% on whole network)
• Safety/security at bus stops on TOCU routes has improved by 11% (2.5% on whole network)
• Perception of reliability on TOCU routes has improved 16% (4.5% on whole network)
• Perception of journey time on TOCU routes has improved 11% (2.5% on whole network)
• Since 2002 Excess Waiting Time (measure of delay above timetable) on TOCU routes has reduced from 2.24 minutes to 1.08 minutes (52%).

The final quarter results for these surveys have dipped sharply. We are currently investigating the causes for the downturn in customer satisfaction. One area of this investigation will examine the possibility of a link with the commencement of the free travel for the under sixteen scheme.

Profile of TOCU’s Staff

15. Table 1 (Appendix 1) is a breakdown of TOCU staff by age group and role. The TOCU is made up of staff with ages ranging from 19 years to 66 years of age. The average age of TOCU police officers at 37 years exactly matches that of the MPS as a whole while the average age of our TPCSOs at 38 years is slightly higher than the MPS figure of 33years. The average age of our Traffic wardens is 44 years and of our police staff is 41years. As a whole TOCU has 176 staff aged 50 or over and an average age of 40 years.

16. TOCU staff is 33% female although there is a wide variance between disciplines. Our police staff is 59% female and our traffic wardens are 57% female. This drops to 31% for TPCSO and to 9% for police officers. The figure for police officers is the only one that is significantly different from the MPS as a whole where 19% of police officers are female.

17. There is a historical aspect to why our figure for female police officers is low in that when the TOCU was set up in 2002 the MPS was made up of only 15% female officers. Many officers were compulsorily transferred into the TOCU and other OCUs were reluctant to reduce their percentage of female staff. Once recruited the officers were given a 2-year tenure, which resulted in there being little turn over of staff in the early days.

18. The MPS is now recruiting higher numbers of female police officers but because TOCU does not have the capacity to support probationer training or give the range of duties to develop the individuals very few probationary officers are posted to non-borough OCUs like Transport. As a result of these issues we are not benefiting from this increase in the short term.

19. Some of the difficulties in developing probationers include not being able to provide them with the necessary attachments to CID offices, custody offices, youth offender teams or criminal justice units without being away from their line managers for protracted periods of time. There is also a financial issue as our probationers would be paid for by TfL and would, for long periods, be supporting borough units with their core police duties. This would not be within the terms of the SSA.

20. There are other challenges in recruiting the desired number of female police officers. These are largely corporate issues associated with being a pan-London unit. For example our officers do not have the benefit of handing their prisoners over to a prisoner processing team as happens on BOCUs. As a result they can be engaged in enquiries for many hours at short notice. This makes getting home at a predicted time impossible for all TOCU officers but because women are often the primary child care in a family we can be an unattractive prospect for working parents and other groups.

21. We are active on the Central Operations (CO) Diversity Board where we press our case for appropriate staff. There is also fierce competition with other OCUs.

22. In order to address this issue we have commissioned an advertising campaign by TMP advertising. This includes the creation of boards and flyers that highlight the opportunities available to females within TOCU. These are presented at work fairs and open days by our staff. In particular we promote our flexible working policy and we now have 88 members of staff working flexible hours of which 80 are female.

23. Table 2 (Appendix 1) is a breakdown of TOCU staff by role and by BME or Non-BME. Within the TOCU as a whole 24% of our workforce is from a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) background. In real numbers that is 301 BME and 964 Non-BME. The only significant variation between TOCU and the MPS as a whole is that our TPCSO strength is 45% BME while the MPS figure is 36%. The TOCU recruitment campaign has a clear statement that welcomes applications from BME staff and we amplified this by ensuring our advertising literature contained photographs of staff from many ethnic backgrounds.

24. While faith and disability can be recorded on our HR records it is not a mandatory field and many people do not give this information. As a result we have no reliable data on the subject although we are taking steps to address this (details in Equality Development Action Plan section).

25. The sexuality of our staff is not currently recorded but we have appointed an LGBT liaison officer to add value to our diversity strategy.

Community Engagement

26. The SSA has created the Combined Advisory Committee through which TfL and the MPS manage the OCU. The Transport Policing Enforcement Directorate is the main interface for exchanging information.

27. We have broken down our corridors by BOCU and are in liaison with the boroughs around issues like dealing with equality and community impact assessments or independent advisory groups (IAG) prior to any operations or other activity we may be involved in. We have not developed our own separate IAG because it is more relevant to consult with local people about local issues and problems on buses are local issues.

28. Our briefings, deployments and problem profiles are published on Metbats, the MPS corporate briefing site, so that BOCUs can be aware of our activity.

29. Our senior managers are in the process of visiting every BOCU in the MPS to highlight to managers at all levels the work of the Transport OCU, what we do and how we support them. These presentations include raising awareness of our Metbats site.

30. We have identified that the average age of the people who criminally damage buses is fourteen and a half. Our response is robust and we engage the community in identifying those we have captured on CCTV. We do this through school liaison and use of the local media.

31. We are also aware that some of the young people involved have no criminal history and are attracted to the perceived status that graffiti gives them. We have produced a DVD that points out the reality and implications of causing such damage. This is presented to groups of young people through the Safer Neighbourhood Teams to discourage such activity and to keep them out of the criminal justice system.

32. TOCU has also been involved with the GLA Safer Travel At Night initiative. We have been highlighting to young people, females in particular, through a series of presentations, the dangers of using illegal mini cabs.

33. TOCU is involved extensively in partnership activity. We have significant relationships with TfL, National Car Parks, the Public Carriage Office, British Transport Police (BTP), Met Police Borough OCUs (particularly Safer Neighbourhood Teams) Special Operations Removals, MPS Traffic OCU.

34. We have established intelligence sharing protocols with these partners:

• BTP - The TOCU Intelligence Unit employs an officer in the role of BTP Liaison. He works full-time, in partnership, with a BTP officer. Their role is to ensure that the intelligence cycle between the two forces is stimulated. The officers also attend both BTP and TOCU Tactical Tasking and Co-ordination meetings to ensure any opportunities for joint working are identified and addressed. BTP Crime data is also held on the 'SMART CAT' database, which is accessible by TOCU crime analysts.
• TfL - As would be expected there is an enormous amount of Intel sharing between TOCU and TfL for which data sharing protocols are in place. TFL are invited to, and actively participate in all relevant TOCU intelligence meetings, which encourages the sharing of intelligence and data. All analytical products completed within our intelligence unit are produced using both TfL and MPS data.
• BOCUs - Each TOCU area desk has a single point of contact with each of the 32 borough intelligence units. This is at sergeant, field intelligence officer and analyst level. Almost on a daily basis contact is made and intelligence is shared to meet joint objectives.
• City of London Police - This is an area of an identified gap in our intelligence process that we are currently addressing. There is no intelligence sharing protocols/procedures in place at present. At a recent meeting between TOCU and City of London Police we identified common problems that will be addressed using a joined up approach.

Equality Development Action Plan

35. The TOCU has developed an Equality Development Action Plan (EDAP) for 2006/7 with a member of the senior management team being nominated as lead for each of the action areas. Table 3 (Appendix 1) shows which manager leads on which action area.

36. Late in 2005 the TOCU held a series of meetings with representatives from each of the diversity strands. At these meeting diversity issues were discussed and a “champion” was nominated from each strand. These champions meet regularly with the OCU commander and the HR manager as a Diversity Focus Group where they can present issues and concerns directly with all actions being recorded in the minutes for follow up.

37. This focus group has already had an impact, for example two of the champions are to be trained on selection interview techniques and will sit in as observers in future interviews. We have decided to extend this interview training to our inspectors so that they are more aware of the process and better able to assess the implications of fairness at work policies to selection procedures.

38. The focus group has been instrumental in the development of our locally created diversity training pack that is to be delivered from August 2006. It has also identified improvements to certain items of female uniform that are in need of change. These changes relate to uniform trousers their sizing and how they are cut.

39. The diversity training pack mentioned above has been subject to an equality impact assessment (EIA). This is the first time we have applied the EIA model but it will be part of any process of policy creation or change that takes place on TOCU in the future.

40. Our diversity group are now consulted regarding the incorporation of specific issues on training days and on the process that covers the allocation of training courses.

41. We have created a diversity questionnaire (Appendix 2) that will be sent to all staff so that that they can feedback anonymously to us any diversity issues they perceive. This feedback will be used as our baseline assessment of staff perception of equal opportunity and diversity issues on TOCU. It will also inform our senior managers and the diversity focus group and where appropriate will be the catalyst for change on the OCU. The questionnaire is currently subject to a consultation process with the unions and police federation prior to being sent out.

42. Although the completion of the questionnaire is voluntary we hope it will help us to measure more accurately the faith and sexuality of our workforce, which as mentioned above we are currently unclear on.

Stop and Search/Account

43. We have developed a comprehensive process that enables us to monitor our stop and search activity. As a Pan-London OCU that stops more than 10,000 people a year we have invested heavily to ensure we can report comprehensively and with confidence on stop and search and how it is used. This ranges from regular reporting on some key issues to having the capacity to create ad-hoc reports right down to individual officer as required.

44. We have already delivered local training, (in addition to the MPS package), to our officers and are currently researching the next phase of training which will focus on the personal interaction aspect of stopping people.

45. We have introduced a schedule of self-inspections to ensure that the officers carrying out the stops are acting on appropriate grounds and are recording the incident correctly. This will give us not only an insight into how we are performing in relation to stop and search but will allow us to assess the impact of the local training package that has been delivered.

46. We produce monthly performance information to ensure we are aware of why we stop people and how many of these stops end in a search and/or arrest.

47. We also measure the ethnic breakdown of the people we stop/stop and search although we do face a challenge in dealing with disproportionality as the ethnic breakdown of those who use the buses is not clear. Table 4 (Appendix 1) is a breakdown of the total number of people stopped and searched by TOCU officers. It gives the number of those stopped and searched and the number of those searches that result in arrest. This breakdown is by Self Defined Ethnic group. The table shows that 24% (885) stop slips have not had this field completed and this is an area of concern that will be investigated.

48. TOCU have been using the Home Office codes to define ethnicity. These are the officer’s perception of the ethnicity of the person being stopped and this field is well completed. From these Home Office codes we know that 50.7% of our stops are on white people, 32.7% on black people and 11.5% on Asian people. While we search 58% of white people we stop the search rates for black and Asian people are 69% and 67% respectively. Of the searches we carry out on black people 15.4% result in arrest, for white people this figure is 13.4% and for asian people 10.9%. Overall our arrest rate is 14.3%.

49. Our work on management information on stop and search is focused on improving the quality of our whole stops process. We need to reduce the number of stops we carry out and the number of positive outcomes we have needs to increase.

50. We are aware that while the under 25 age group represent 30% of the “bus population” they also represent 64% of our stops. We search about 65% of the under 25 year olds we stop but our managers are currently promoting the value of enhanced communication with the person being stopped with a view to accounting for the activity that gave grounds to search thereby negating the need to search.

51. Table 5 (Appendix 1) is a breakdown of TOCU stops by age group. As stated above 64% of our stops are carried out on people less than 25 years of age. The 18-25 year old age group are the most likely to be searched with 71% of stops on that age group resulting in a search. This figure is 61% for the 26-45 year old age group and 58% for the 10-17 year old group. Arrest rates as a result of being searched are 18% for the 26-45 age group, 14% for the 18-25 age group and 10% for the 10-17 age group.

52. When we examined the number of complaints against police that were related to people being stopped it was found that less than one half of one percent of those stopped complained (36 allegations). Although this is a small number it is an increase on last year and we will be monitoring the situation.

53. We are to be a pilot site for the “Key Encounter Model” which supports current recommendations (set out in the new National Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme) that in future all police race and diversity learning and development will need to be relevant to an individuals' role, rank or grade and consider the 'context' within which they work. In addition to the officer training that has been created in partnership with the diversity directorate we have developed a local package for supervisors to ensure quality.

54. Although we have had a number of successes in relation to equality and diversity as discussed throughout this report we have identified that much of what we have done, in particular by way of reasonable adjustments for individuals is unrecorded. We are investigating how we can better archive these cases as a good practice guide for managers in the future.

Impact on young people as a result of free travel

55. There is evidence that suggest there is a correlation between the introduction of free travel for those under 16 years of age (September 2005) and an increase in the number of suspects described as being under 18 years of age. This is true across a range of offences but particularly so in relation to robbery and criminal damage offences. Until the hypothesis is tested with further analysis we cannot be sure what difference the introduction of free travel for under 16’s has actually made to crime trends.

56. Analysis of the age of robbery victims shows that from September 2005 to March 2006 there has been a substantial increase in the number of victims that are under 18 years of age. This could be an example of the potential impact of free travel on the age of victims, as there appears to be a correlation between the start of free travel for under 16’s and this increase. Again the hypothesis must be tested with further analysis before any conclusions are drawn on the impact of free travel on young victims.

57. We are at an initial findings stage, which without further detailed analysis on the intelligence gaps cannot stand alone as a definitive document on ‘youth related crime’. The potential effect the introduction of free travel for under 16s has had on crime and disorder within our business has yet to be defined. There is evidence to suggest, in relation to the age of suspects for all crime, a substantial increase in the number of suspects who are under 18 years of age. The analysis in relation to the relationship between free travel and increased crime continues.

Counter Terrorist Activity

58. TOCU intelligence unit has a counter-terrorist desk that embraces the MPS Counter-Terrorism and Extremism Plan. TOCU is working together with MPS Boroughs to engender trust and confidence in all communities. This will assist in providing the opportunities to create environments that are hostile to terrorists and violent extremists, thereby increasing the instances of information, particularly counter terrorist related, being received from communities. Following the terror attacks in London last summer, the TOCU maintains close co-operation, when responding to real or perceived terrorist threats, with other statutory partnership agencies, whilst supporting business partners to return to normal activities at the earliest opportunity.

59. TOCU is examining ways to ensure that police officers and the extended police family obtain, record, grade and disseminate information as required by CRIMINT data standards. TOCU is delivering effective and dynamic briefings on current terrorism issues by use of Operation Rainbow bulletins and other appropriate counter terrorist material. We will support the three Specialist Operations high-level Counter Terrorism operational objectives to:

• Create a safer environment in London Boroughs through security, protection and counter terrorism work.
• Increase advance identification of threats from, and opportunities for, countering terrorism.
• Enhance the security of key locations and protected persons.

Abbreviations

BME

Black and Minority Ethnic

BOCU

Borough Operational Command Unit

BTP

British Transport Police

CCTV

Close Circuit Television

CO

Central Operations

CRIMINT

Criminal Intelligence System

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid

EDAP

Equality Development Action Plan

EIA

Equality Impact Assessment

GLA

Greater London Authority

HR

Human Resources

IAG

Independent Advisory Group

LGBT

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

Pinch Point

Areas of high traffic density

SOCPA

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act

SSA

Special Service Agreement

STAN

Safe Travel at Night (GLA)

TfL

Transport for London

TLRN

Transport for London Road Network

TOCU

Transport Operational Command Unit

TMP advertising

A recruitment-advertising agency

TPCSO

Traffic Police Community Support Officers

Operations

Bustag

Identifying those responsible for committing acts of criminal damage on-board buses

Rainbow

Is set up to inform members of the MPS on terrorism  matters

C. Race and equality impact

Equality and diversity is the subject of this report. A coherent strategy is a cornerstone of the TOCU Race and Diversity Agenda. This report sets out that TOCU are active in the implementation of policies aimed at driving positive activity across the six diversity strands. This report in itself however has no equalities implications.

D. Financial implications

All the equal opportunities and diversity activity described in this report are incorporated in our day-to-day operations, as a result there are no financial implications from this report.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Michael Humphrey OBE, Chief Superintendent, MPS

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Table 1 – Breakdown of TOCU staff by age

Table 2 – Breakdown of TOCU staff BME/Non-BME

Table 3 – Action Areas for our EDAP with lead managers

Table 4 – Breakdown of Stop and searches and arrests October 2005 till March 2006 by Self Defined Ethnicity Code

Table 5 – Breakdown of Stops, searches and arrests October 2005 till March 2006 by Age Group

Appendix 2

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