Update on the MPS Violent Crime Strategy

Report: 14
Date: 4 October 2007
By: Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This paper focuses on the domestic violence and hate crime elements of the MPS (Draft) Serious Violence Strategy, progress made to date and how these elements of the strategy will be advanced.

Commander Sawyer has submitted a paper to MPA Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board setting out the current position with regard to the MPS (Draft) Serious Violence Strategy in Appendix 1.

A. Recommendations

That members

1. note this report; and
2. note the significant work already underway to address domestic violence and hate crime in London and to comment on the future work proposed in these areas.

B. Supporting information

Brief Overview of the Violent Crime Directorate

1. A full report was submitted to the Co-ordination and Policing Committee on 3 March 2006 setting out the proposals for a new response to violence in London and for the establishment of a MPS Violent Crime Directorate (VCD). The VCD has responsibility for ensuring that resources and expertise from every part of the MPS are brought together to tackle violence in the capital.

2. The VCD main objective is to ensure the MPS works together to reduce the incidence and fear of violence in London and specifically incidences of gun enabled crime, knife enabled crime, personal robbery and alcohol related violence. Increasing confidence, trust and satisfaction among victims of domestic violence and hate crime is also a VCD objective.

3. A year since its establishment, the VCD, in conjunction with colleagues across the MPS, has produced a (Draft) Serious Violence Strategy that has been circulated widely amongst partner agencies for consultation.

Rationale of the MPS Violent Crime Strategy and how this fits in with MPS strategic and operational activities

4. The draft MPS Serious Violence Strategy was presented to full Authority on 26th July 2007. The wider issue of violence and an update on the Youth Violence Strategy was provided by the Commissioner at full Authority on 6th September 2007

5. The draft MPS Serious Violence Strategy has been circulated with external stakeholders by correspondence in August 2007. The return date was set at 16th September and a number of partners have asked for an extension. Those returns will not be evaluated fully until early October 2007.

Relationship between the MPS Violent Crime Strategy and MPS Youth Strategy

6. As stated above.

Relationship between the MPS Violent Crime Strategy and the following:

• Progress made on Project Umbra across the six equality strands
• Project Umbra update

7. A report on Project Umbra was presented to EODB on 16 November 2006 outlining the various strands of work of the project and the MPS involvement and commitment. Since that time there have been a number of developments in relation to Project Umbra alongside a change in leadership of the VCD. A fundamental review of Project Umbra was undertaken by the VCD in April 2007, which examined the structure, processes, resources, achievements, gaps etc of the project.

8. Project Umbra has been beset by difficulties since its inception. Although there was widespread support for the concept of a coordinated and cohesive criminal justice service response to domestic violence the project was perceived by many to be a MPS focused and driven initiative, this perception has been reinforced by the fact that 3 out of the 6 work strands are led by the MPS and the Project Manager is based with the MPS.

9. Project Umbra is not, and has never been solely about the Police response to domestic violence, it is a multi-agency initiative that focuses on the criminal justice response to domestic violence. The MPS does however continue to improve its response to domestic violence in the capital and both quantitative and qualitative measures demonstrate this.

10. A paper has been submitted to Commander Sawyer and to Andrew Morley, Chief Executive of the London Criminal Justice Board, outlining the findings of the review, achievements of Project Umbra to date and recommendations for taking Umbra forward. A further paper to support the review document is being developed by VCD and will be circulated to all partners in the coming weeks. This will form the basis of a consultation on the future of Project Umbra, its delivery and outcomes. This consultation was announced at the last meeting of the GLA Domestic Violence Forum Steering Group (GLADVFSG) that oversees and monitors delivery of the Mayor's Second Domestic Violence Strategy and Project Umbra as the delivery arm of the strategy.

11. The consultation will also address resource implications of the project. The MPA will of course be part of the consultation. Commander VCD will undertake to discuss the proposals in detail with Chair of the MPA DV Board. It is anticipated a final decision on the future of Umbra will be made and announced at the November meeting of the GLA DVFSG and MPA DV Board.

12. It must be stressed that strategic decisions on the future of Project Umbra will not halt work on domestic violence. The work strands are continuing to meet and to work towards the objectives set out in their respective action plans.

13. As for the progress of Project Umbra cross the equality strands this is reflected as far as has been possible in the membership of Project Umbra and its work strands. Each work strand has representation from across the six equality strands (i.e. gender, age, sexual orientation, faith and disability). However, not all strands have representation from across the equalities spectrum. In addition to membership the action plans reflect focused areas of work on specific equalities issues and reflecting the needs of the diverse population of London. These specific areas of work include but are not limited:

14. Research with University of Sunderland on LGBT domestic violence, ensuring that all equalities issues are incorporated within the revised Domestic Violence Standard Operating Procedures.

15. Work with a number of disability groups and adult protection groups to ensure that domestic violence is addressed on standard operating procedures,

16. Further research into domestic violence homicides and ethnicity building on initial work presented to the MPA DV Board in June 2007

17. A raft of measures to address 'honour' based violence in the capital (please see below).

18. Research into male victims of domestic violence following a number of deaths.

19. Funding of a year long piece of work to look at survivor satisfaction and the Police that will incorporate work with specific communities in London.

20. Commissioning of a Problem Profile of Child Protection incidents that come to the notice of police and links to domestic violence.

21. Ensuring links between other strands of work in the MPS (Draft) Serious Violence Strategy and work on domestic violence e.g., youth crime, gun crime etc.

22. An equalities impact assessment of Project Umbra has not yet been undertaken pending the outcome of the review and consultation as detailed above.

Forced marriages and dishonour crimes

23. This area of work continues to be the focus of significant attention. Recent developments include delivery of training to Safer Neighbourhood Teams and PCSOs, revised training for specialist officers, and a menu of tactical options for front line officers is now available on-line. In addition to this ACPO have produced have undertaken a national consultation exercise as part of its development of a national police strategy and action plan to address honour based violence. This paper has been sent to police authorities and discussions have taken place with MPA lead Member for this area of work, Aneeta Prem, and representatives from ACPO Honour based Violence Working Group.

24. The consultation deadline is 8 October 2007 following which a strategy and two-year action plan will be presented to ACPO Cabinet for endorsement.

Domestic Violence

25. Please see response above

26. In addition it must be noted that the MPS (Draft) Serious Violence Strategy will focus on those incidents of domestic violence and hate crime involving serious violence. Incidents of domestic violence and hate crime that do not involve serious violence will continue to be addressed through the work of the CSU Service Delivery Team supporting local CSUs and front-line service delivery.

Hate Crime - race, faith, homophobic and disability targeted hate crime

27. In March 2007 a report was submitted to MPA EODB setting out proposals for an integrated hate crime strategy for London. This area of work began in March 2006 with a proposal put forward to partners and members of the MPS Hate Crimes Working Group proposing a Project Umbra like structure for addressing hate crime in the capital. This was followed by a number of focused consultation events held in summer 2006 in order to gauge the response from partners and support for such an initiative.

28. The past few years have witnessed changes in legislation to improve the response of the criminal justice system to incidents of hate crime through the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which has resulted in enhanced sentencing for race, faith, disability and sexual orientation targeted hate crime and the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill 2006. There has also been much public and political debate about race, racism and community cohesion in the wake of the London bombings and more recent attacks in Glasgow, and following the development and establishment of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) both of which have provided an impetus for open and frank discussions about community cohesion and social exclusion at all levels.

29. The capital has also witnessed the homophobic murder of Jody Dobrowski, the murder of Albert Adams and the desecration of Jewish and Muslim graves. More recently other areas across the country have seen a number of murders where the victim has a disability and/or is a vulnerable adult. This reaffirms the concerns of Police and communities alike of the potential serious and violent nature of some hate crime incidents and the need to ensure a robust and effective multi-agency response.

30. At a strategic level, the Home Office has established a cross-departmental Virtual Hate Crime Steering Group to look at responses to race, faith and homophobic hate crime. A national delivery plan has been developed and published. The MPS has established its Communities Together Strategy and multi-agency partnership, as a mechanism by which the organisation can communicate with London's diverse population and provide reassurance.

31. The MPS is fully committed to improving service delivery to all and this includes to victims of hate crime and the proposal for an integrated approach had endeavoured to achieve this. This is not, however, to suggest a 'one size fits all' approach but a generic, over-arching strategy that incorporates specific, focused responses to specific community issues, recognising the needs of specific victims and communities and taking account of compound discrimination and its impact on victims.

32. As part of a review of the police response to hate crime and in order to develop a strategic framework for taking this area of business forward the MPS undertook a three-month consultation process. Support was sought and secured from a range of partner agencies that participated in the consultation process.

33. The consultation was undertaken in the context of current initiatives, legislative changes and ongoing incidents of hate crime that had resulted in murder. The MPS and its partners were keen to acknowledge the many excellent programmes and initiatives across London involving the CJ agencies and voluntary and community sector agencies and which are contributing positively to improvements in the quality of service given to those affected by hate crime. It is hoped the consultation will be a means to develop an improved multi-agency structure for working across the capital, to co-ordinate activity and to build upon past work.

34. Consultation with key stakeholders took place through a series of specific, focused, one-day events held in May and June culminating in a two-day planning event held in summer 2006.

35. The consultation initially focused on how the MPS as part of the criminal justice system could improve its response to hate crime in the capital. However, this focus was opened up to look at the multi-agency response to hate crime at local and pan-London level. The agenda for each of the five events was set out as follows:

• Quality of service issues - current situation, gaps and/or barriers, moving forward
• Support for victims of hate crime
• Tackling perpetrators of hate crime.

36. Listed below are just some of the points raised by participants in the Consultation. It was stated that an integrated hate crime strategy should:

37. Not be MPS led. The Police should rather work in partnership with a range of agencies and not be the lead agency. A lead agency is yet to be identified.

38. A problem solving and intelligence led approach that addressed prevention, enforcement and diversion was needed as the basis for the strategy. This approach should be NIM (National Intelligence Model) compliant.

39. Identified need for an audit of hate crime in London to inform development of a strategy. This audit should not be based solely on MPS data.

40. Need for an audit of current activity to address hate crime in London.

41. Need for a holistic strategy that incorporates criminal and civil justice measures to hold offenders accountable but also addresses prevention

42. Strategy should address all forms of hate crime taking into account commonalities and specific needs but also avoiding further enforcing a hierarchy of hate crime and/or victims.

43. Training needed for all agencies

44. Need to work with communities and young people,

45. A number of agencies working to tackle hate crime but not always known to statutory agencies.

46. Clarity needed with regard to links between hate crime and other crimes e.g. anti-social behaviour, alcohol related crime etc.

47. Since the consultation there has been significant difficulty in progressing work to develop a pan-London integrated hate crime strategy. The proposals for the strategy made strong references to Project Umbra and supported the development of an Umbra-like structure for hate crime. Project Umbra has been beset by difficulties since its inception and learning from this experience must inform the development of any such similar initiatives.

48. Taking into account the outcome of the consultation and a clear message from partners that this should NOT be a MPS led area of work has also added to delays in progressing this area of work. Partners were clear that the MPS should be a key partner but that a lead agency for hate crime needs to be identified. This has still not been possible.

49. In addition to this changes in the leadership of the VCD and development of the (Draft) Serious Violence Strategy that encompasses a focus on incidents of hate crime that involve serious violence. As with domestic violence, hate crime incidents that do not involve serious violence will be addressed through the work of the CSU Service Delivery Team supporting local CSUs and front-line service delivery.

50. Notwithstanding the difficulties outlined above in developing an integrated strategic approach to hate crime work to address the different areas of hate crime continues. For both faith and race hate crime, the CSU Service Delivery Team continues to monitor reporting and recording of all such incidents (this includes LGBT and disability targeted hate crime too), to quality assure responses to incidents at local level, to support the work of the MPA Race Hate Crime Forum and to engage with partner agencies to develop improved service responses to victims of such crimes.

Homophobic Hate Crime

51. The MPS has undertaken significant work over the past two years to address homophobic hate crime in London. A paper was presented to MPA EODB on 26 April 2007 that set out in detail the MPS' work in this area and the establishment of the Pan-London LGBT Strategic Group. This multi-agency group has responsibility for developing a London wide strategic and operational response to key areas affecting MPS (and criminal justice) service delivery to the LGBT people living, visiting or working in the capital. The Group, chaired by Chief Superintendent Royle, has as its key aims to:

52. Review and develop a corporate MPS strategic and operational response to key areas affecting MPS service delivery to the LGBT community

53. To improve partnership working and performance of the criminal justice service across London to victims of homophobic and transphobic hate crime.

54. The group has established 3 sub-groups reflecting key areas of work and these are public sex environments, LGBT liaison officers and critical incidents. Work is on going as outlined in detail in the report to MPA EODB in April. At this stage there is little further to add.

55. In addition to the strategic work the MPS undertook Operation IDAHO as part of the International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May 2007. This Operation followed the format and structure of Operation Athena days but focused on LGBT issues. 152 arrests resulted from this initiative. The MPS will continue to support such operations with the assistance of multi-agency partners.

Disability motivated hate crime

56. This is a unique area of Hate Crime, which is targeted against some of the most vulnerable members of the community and requires an understanding of the complexities of, and awareness of vulnerabilities versus disabilities. The MPS needs to recognise and disseminate to staff that not every person with a disability considers that they are vulnerable.

57. Crimes of neglect for example are being addressed within the Mental Capacity Act (2005) whereby deliberate and cruel acts towards vulnerable people will be criminally accountable.

58. The MPS faces significant challenges in developing its response to disability targeted hate crime including ensuring support for victims, achieving best evidence, collation and analysis of data and developing and sustaining partnership work with relevant agencies.

59. As with other areas of hate crime there is recognition of under-reporting of such crimes. The CSU Service Delivery Team, Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate and Disability Independent Advisory Group to look at ways of improving reporting of such crimes. The MPS is responding to the challenge of under reporting crimes by working with partner agencies and advisory groups to improve the confidence of the community to come forward and report these crimes to police. This will help identify patterns of crime and apprehend more offenders. Further work is necessary to identify the motivations for this type of hate crime.

60. Recent research undertaken by CSU Service Delivery Team has shown that there is an issue regarding the recording of incidents of disability targeted hate crime. There is now work in progress to address this and ensure there clarity in analysis of data as far as possible between those incidents involving a victim with a disability and hate crime incidents targeted against someone with a disability. Issues of compound discrimination are also being taken forward as part of this work.

61. In respect of vulnerable adults, the MPS has recently set up a Safeguarding Adults Steering Group to review existing MPS Policy dealing with abuse of vulnerable adults and/or the elderly. This Group is looking at different aspects of abuse, including abuse within care homes and links to other areas of hate crime and domestic violence. As a result of work being undertaken by the Group there are proposals being developed for producing Standard Operating Procedures for those in Care Homes. Safeguarding vulnerable adults issues will be mainstreamed into the hate crime and domestic violence Standard Operating Procedures.

62. Other areas that are also being looked at within the review of work in this area include future training. This is being devised and developed in consultation with partner agencies with a view to improving communication between all agencies to enhance the level of service provided to victims and witnesses.

Elder abuse

63. Please see above.

Carer and/or 'intimate' abuse

64. Please see above.

Refugees and asylum seekers

65. Work to address the needs of refugee and asylum seekers in the capital who are victims of domestic violence and/or hate crime is in its early stages and very much under development. Issues that have been identified as possible focus for future work include providing services to those with no recourse to public funds, issues affecting newly arrived communities and enhancing current work with agencies representing refugees and asylum seekers in London.

Operation Athena days

66. A detailed paper outlining the achievements of Operation Athena was submitted to MPA EODB in March 2007. Further Athena events have not been held since that time. The next Athena event is being planned for later this year, details of which will be made available to the MPA in advance.

Performance Management and Monitoring

67. Community Safety Unit (CSU) Delivery Team has strategic/policy lead and overall responsibility for MPS delivery on domestic violence and hate crime performance and compliance, supporting the work of Borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU) CSUs. The framework for this support is provided by MPS' DV Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Hate Crime Standard Operating Procedures written in December 2004. These SOPs will be reviewed by end of 2007.

68. DV Performance across the organisation is measured using a range of statistics. This includes:

• DV sanctioned and non-sanctioned detections
• Power of arrest ratio for all DV incidents and offences
• Percentage of DV CAD calls resulting in CRIS report.
• Repeat Victimisation measures and checks.
• Dip sampling of Risk assessments completed.

6 weekly borough CSU DIs meeting is held centrally to review:

• Performance
• Compliance, minimum investigation standards, use of DV incident reporting book F124D, risk assessment tools,
• Intelligence
• Highlight emerging issuesOn all 32 MPS Boroughs (BOCUs) there is a CSU whose managerial responsibility lies with a borough Crime Manager (DCI).

69. All BOCUs hold daily NIM compliant management meetings looking at DV incidents, ensuring all incidents are correctly flagged on IT systems. This is to ensure accountability and ownership. This is essential as the information informs borough, TP and MPS response to DV. As per NIM process, the review of performance in line with MPS targets is addressed at formal tasking groups, both locally and centrally.

Victim surveys

70. The MPS, as part of Project Umbra, has just commissioned GLDVP to undertake a year-long piece of work to examine victim satisfaction with the police response to domestic violence. This work will involve focused activity with survivors reflecting the diverse communities of London to inform the police response to domestic violence and ensure that survivor experience is fed into future policy and strategy development.

71. A comparable piece of work is yet to be developed and commissioned for hate crime.

C. Race and equality impact

There are no additional implications for equality and diversity beyond those already reflected within this report.

D. Financial implications

None relevant to this paper.

E. Background papers

None.

F. Contact details

Report author: Yasmin Rehman, Director of Partnerships and Diversity, Violent Crime Directorate.

For more information contact:

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

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