Equality and diversity as a function of Citizen Focus – concurrent report

Report: 08
Date: 5 June 2008
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report responds to the MPS report on the progress made across a range of activities by the Citizen Focus function of the Territorial Policing (TP) Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD). It also considers the implications of the restructuring, mainstreaming and impact of DCFD’s move into TP.

A. Recommendations

1. That members note the content of this report.
2. That members agree to receive at every other EODB reports from Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) on the impact of ‘mainstreaming’ DCFD on Territorial Policing, Human Resources and MPS corporate business.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The Citizen Focus Policing Programme is one of seven strategic priorities and a key programme in the MPS Modernisation Programme (MMP). In order to embed the strategic aims of this programme, three key citizen-focus principles were developed for continuous and systematic application at all levels within the MPS:

• Developing an understanding of citizens and communities, and their needs, expectations and concerns, through engagement appropriate to that community;
• Acting on this to improve continuously the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of service delivery taking clear account of an understanding of the citizen perspective in decision-making, operational practice and the way in which services are designed and delivered; and
• Continuous engagement with individuals and communities over time, to build confidence and trust.

2. In January 2007, EODB received an update of the MPS Citizen Focus Policing Programme. Some of the key activities either planned or undertaken included (but were not limited to):

• The use of call back interviews to provide real-time feedback to staff on levels of customer satisfaction of service;
• ‘Community and Customer Focus behaviour’ is now a compulsory behaviour in all personal development reviews (PDRs) and probationary reports; and
• Development of performance indicators in employment and service delivery that are focused on addressing disproportionality or differential levels of satisfaction, confidence, treatment, etc.

3. In the update, 10 programme outcomes to date were identified. These included (but were not limited to) training for trainers at the Leadership Academy to enable them to include citizen focus in all their training activities; and working with Together to ensure the new MPS Values incorporate citizen focus principles.

4. The update contained eight headline results that would indicate improving service delivery by the MPS, including (but not limited to) greater community confidence in the performance of local teams and more equity in service provision as any differentials in satisfaction levels are reduced.

Progress To Date

5. Whilst there is significant anecdotal and empirical data regarding the success of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs), it is too early in the current financial year to analyse the differentials in service provision across equality groups in 2007 – 2008 as outlined in the Public Attitude Survey (PAS) and Crime Victim Survey (CVS). The survey analyses for the full financial year 2007/8 only became available at the end of May 2008 and there was not enough time for the MPS Research and Survey Unit to break down all data further by demographic group for this committee. A report back to EODB on the outcomes from these surveys is scheduled for autumn 2008.

6. Evidence of the Citizen Focus Policing Programme supporting and intervening in Safer Neighbourhoods, Central Communications Command (as presented to MPA Domestic Violence Board, 4 March 2008) and in local borough policing activities has helped embed the key citizen focus principles into major MPS change initiatives.

7. This work has been augmented by the work across the six equality strands and the support provided by six Equality Advisors. Activities in relation to, for example, Front Counters, Critical and Key Encounters as well as manuals and resource packs have begun the process of ‘…wrapping our [MPS] services around the law-abiding citizen.’ [1]

Strengths, Opportunities, Risks and Threats

8. It is clear that Citizen Focus, supported by other key elements of DCFD, has delivered on a range of programmes; this is to be congratulated. Underpinned by the MPS Equalities Scheme, one of the Directorate’s strengths is that outcomes and achievements in employment, service delivery and community engagement can now be robustly assessed and reviewed.

9. DCFD has now moved into Territorial Police (TP) Business Group – the reality of this being that it has moved from a corporately positioned function to a Directorate within a command. This move presents to DCFD staff and police officers opportunities to deliver and influence day-to-day borough policing, whilst also retaining corporate responsibilities for change programmes such as the MPS Equalities Scheme. Developing and delivering the Citizen’s Promise and the Equalities Framework places the Directorate ‘… in a strong position to provide leadership and influence the development of quality through equality at the closest points of contact and influence with London’s diverse communities.’ [2]

10. However, there are associated risks and threats with such a move. Will DCFD be able to exert its influence on TP day-to-day business, especially borough-based policing? Will the new achievement levels of the Equalities Framework (Emerging, Achieving and Excellent) be robust enough to assess and monitor progress? Will the move into TP be perceived or experienced as a dilution of the equality agenda and/or an abdication by DCFD of its corporate responsibilities? And the ‘mainstreaming’ question: given the differing levels of knowledge, expertise and understanding of equality and diversity across the MPS, is this the right time to be ‘mainstreaming’?

11. Whilst both the Assistant Commissioner and Director of DCFD have liaised with the Chair of EODB and members about these changes, it would be remiss not to record some members’ concern.

Monitoring Progress

12. Over the past two years, EODB has developed a series of critical success factors to enable it to monitor progress against MPS Directorates’ activities. These critical success factors have been devised across employment, service delivery and community engagement. These are:

Employment

1. Critical Success Factor: No significant disparity between the experiences of people based on their identity e.g. ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, or age.
2. Key Outcomes: Managers being trained and able to demonstrate that they manage all their staff fairly and proportionately; equity of treatment between police officers and police staff; police officers and staff clear about objectives, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities which are supported by regular reviews; increased confidence and effectiveness in managing poor performance; increase in levels of complaints; local resolution of disputes; more effective ways in handling and resolving complaints; evidence-led internal investigations; greater transparency in the resolution of disputes; increased levels of timeliness in resolutions of disputes; use of internal data to identify, review, monitor and evaluate areas of improvement; evidence-led internal investigations; evidence that the organisation is learning from its past and actively uses its ‘corporate memory’; timeliness in resolutions of disputes.
3. Effective & Efficient Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence of appropriate and timely consultation with S.A.M.U.R.A.I; increased evidence of learning from outside bodies and agencies, including IAGs; developing a range of engagement models with individuals and staff associations.

Service Delivery

1. Critical Success Factors: No significant disparity in the MPS’ response to the experiences of people based on their identity in relation to a) the incident(s)/crime(s) they have experienced or b) alleged to have committed.
2. Key Outcomes: Clear levels of accountability; increased performance at local Safer Neighbourhood (SN) level; reduction in communities’ fear of crime; increased levels of public when encountering the police; clear evidence of personal diversity objectives linked to performance; use of equality impact assessments to structure the delivery of service.
3. Effective & Efficient Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence of provision of accurate and intelligible information; of providing information in formats relevant to community groups; evidence of using the experiences of victims and witnesses to inform future service provision.

Community Engagement

1. Critical Success Factor: No significant disparity between communities and intra-communities satisfaction of police communication, consultation and participation in the delivery of service.
2. Key Outcomes: Engagement with communities, especially new and emerging communities whose voices may have been overlooked or ignored; increased levels of reporting across a range of crimes; evidence of communities actively contributing to problem-solving; use of the ‘police family’ in addressing key issues of policing.
3. Effective & Efficient Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence of using information from link members, SNs, Community Engagement Groups (CEGs)/Community Police Consultative Groups (CPCGs), Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) to inform service delivery; evidence that engagement is sustainable and uses internal and external specialists as and where appropriate; evidence that equality impact assessments are reviewed regularly; evidence of using the experiences of victims and witnesses to inform future service provision.

13. Members will use these critical success factors to measure, review and monitor the impact of this significant change in programme delivery. To this end, EODB has as its first equality objective for 2008 – 2009:

1. To monitor and review the impact of ‘mainstreaming’ Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) on Territorial Policing, Human Resources, Directorate of Resources and MPS corporate business during 2008 – 2009. This will be done by briefings, report backs from key stakeholders and regular updates at every other EODB. [3]

14. These critical success factors are not new to DCFD; these were first shared with the MPS at EODB in December 2005 at a presentation of the Met Modernisation Programme (MMP). What is different on this occasion is that progress against these critical success factors will be measured by the same evidence-led criteria applied by the MPS in its Equalities Framework: Emerging, Achieving and Excellent. Through its meetings with key stakeholders, members will be able to test whether ‘the citizen experience [is] at the heart of everything we do.’ [4]

15. There are specific initiatives that members will be prioritising in terms of calculating and monitoring the impact of such a move. These include:

• Safer Neighbourhoods: Working with SNTs to ensure greater representation on Safer Neighbourhood Panels. Developing robust systems to accurately record the composition of panels
• Deaf and Deaf and disabled people: Developing and enhancing existing processes and systems to enable active involvement in policy development, implementation and monitoring
• Borough-based policing: Evidence of progress made by boroughs with their Equality Action Plans. Increased levels of public satisfaction about services received with no significant disparity between equality groups
• Front Counters: Monitoring the experiences of front counter encounters across all six equality strands. Providing timely advice regarding access and equality issues to the MPA Estate Strategy [5]
• Police Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme: EODB will still receive six-monthly reports on the progress of this nationally rolled-out initiative

C. Race and equality impact

1. The move by DCFD into TP is a major development and one that could have far-reaching consequences for the MPS – both positive and negative. Aligning its services closer to the ‘citizen experience’ in terms of service delivery, community engagement and customer satisfaction could present DCFD opportunities to shape and influence service provision that narrow the differential perceptions and experiences across London’s diverse communities.

2. These differentials, coupled with ongoing disproportionality issues across specific crimes and communities, pose significant challenges for DCFD. Notwithstanding this challenge, there is also the corporate response to employment issues led by MPS Human Resources. For example: as part of its response to the MPA’s Succession Planning and Talent Management Scrutiny, April 2008’s EODB considered the lack of women, disabled, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) officers at senior ranks within the MPS. Given a number of positive action initiatives originated from what became DCFD, how will the response to employment issues be managed?

3. Finally, there is the maintenance and development of the corporate portfolio, such as the delivery of the MPS Equalities Scheme, the evaluation and support given to Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs), responses to corporate recommendations such as from the Lawrence Report [6] and being the MPS’ ‘early warning system’. Members will be keen to see how this key mainstreaming programme is delivered in the next business cycle.

D. Financial implications

There are none for the purposes of this report. However, officers from EDU, supported by other parts of the MPA Corporate Development and Strategic Oversight Directorate (Oversight and Review, Planning and Performance) will be assisting members fulfil their scrutiny functions in this regard.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Laurence Gouldbourne, Head of Equality and Diversity Unit, MPA

For more information contact:

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

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