Update on ‘Towards the Safest City’

Report: 8
Date: 19 September 2002
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report describes the current position and future progression of the strategic framework ‘Towards the Safest City’. The document was launched externally at an event marking the second anniversary of the MPA on 16 September and will be promoted internally at the Commissioner’s re-launch of Mission, Vision and Values on the 10 October. The goals and aims of the framework have been integrated into the annual planning process.

A. Recommendations

1. Members note the launch arrangements of ‘Towards the Safest City’; and
2. Members agree the process for further development of ‘Towards The Safest City’ into the three-year strategy plan required under the Police Reform Act.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The strategic framework ‘Towards the Safest City’ provides direction for the MPS during the next three years. Rightly, our stakeholders have high expectations of us delivering better policing services and ‘Towards the Safest City’ provides a clear framework to help co-ordinate planning and decision making across the whole of the service. It will play a key role in formulating the police authority’s ‘Strategy Plan’ by April 2003 (as required under the Police Reform Act).

2. The Commissioner and his management board have developed and refined, in line with the MPS vision, their expectations for the way in which the service must go. These messages, endorsed by the MPA, have evolved into high level statements of the key issues facing the MPS in the future. The five goals, namely:

• Developing safer communities
• Securing the capital against terrorism
• Revitalising the criminal justice system
• Developing a professional and effective workforce and
• Reforming delivery of policing services

Each goal contains a number of aims which will deliver against a stated outcome. The outcomes have been framed in such a way to enable performance indicators to be developed from them, thus enabling ‘success’ to be measured and monitored. ‘Towards the Safest City’ also acknowledges that a number of strategic initiatives such as diversity, C3i, airwave, resource management and managing growth in staff numbers, will also have a wide ranging effect on policing in the coming years.

Launch/use arrangements

3. ‘Towards the Safest City’ was launched externally at an event marking the second anniversary of the MPA on 16 September 2002. This event approximately 250 invited guests including London Borough Chief Executives, GLA managers, CPCG chairs, chairs of Independent Custody Visiting panels and Home Office representatives. MPS invitees included Management Board members, DACs, Borough Commanders and a number of senior civil staff. In their speeches, both Lord Harris and Sir John Stevens welcomed the direction set by the framework.

4. The longer-term goals were used at the planning seminar on 17 September as a factor to consider during selection of 2003/04 priorities. Their integration into the annual planning process will be re-inforced when planning templates are sent out to (B)OCUs and support departments in November.

5. The document will also be the central feature of the Commissioner’s re-launch of Mission, Vision and Values on the 10 October. This event, held at Central Hall Westminster, will promote ‘Towards the Safest City’ to an internal audience. The format will be based on the Commissioner’s previous Mission, Vision and Values briefings and will feature a new video portraying ‘Towards the Safest City’ as the means of moving the MPS forward towards its ultimate vision of making London the safest major city in the world. The audience will consist of 1200 staff, comprising Management Board members, (B)OCU Commanders and a mixture of civil staff bands and uniform ranks. Lord Harris and all MPA members have been invited to attend.

Process for further development of ‘Towards the Safest City’

6. Appendix 1 summarises the next steps and how ‘Towards the Safest City’ will be developed into the three-year strategy plan required under the Police Reform Act. The development process of the strategic framework is being evaluated to learn lessons for its progression into the strategy plan.

7. As the framework has been developed from the results of extensive internal and external consultation, at this stage it is not proposed to carry out any additional consultation but to build on the results from existing processes. However, the letter accompanying hard copies sent to approximately 2000 stakeholders has invited feedback. Any received will be analysed and used to inform development of the three-year strategy plan. At this early stage, the degree of prescription that the government will impose on the form and content of the strategy plan is unknown. For this reason it is considered that specific, targeted consultation may not provide any meaningful result now. However, this approach will be reviewed upon release of government guidelines (expected November 2002).

Implementation

8. Strategic committees have already been set up to direct, control and co-ordinate the commissioning, formulation, publication, approval, implementation, review of and compliance with policy and strategy relating to a specific area of work. Each strategic committee will take responsibility and be accountable for delivery of a specific aim. It is recognised that some of the aims overlap the remit of more than one committee. Nevertheless, it will be the responsibility of the designated committee to commission the necessary work from any other.

9. The summary areas of responsibility are:

• Strategic committees - Responsible for delivering the aims
• Performance Review Committee - Responsible for ensuring the goals are progressed
• Management Board - Responsible for delivering the overall framework ·

Appendix 2 shows the logistics of implementation.

C. Equality and diversity implications

In developing ‘Towards the Safest City’, consideration has been given to equality and diversity impact. Under the goal ‘Developing a Professional and Effective Workforce’, two different aims replicate the service’s desire to reflect London’s diverse communities. Feedback during the development of draft documents has been sought externally from Independent Advisory Group members and internally, from various staff associations (e.g. Black Police Association). An insert will also be included in copies of the document that may be seen by an external audience, offering a translation into Braille or audiotape and nine ethnic minority languages. Equality considerations have therefore been addressed during the production and distribution of ‘Towards the Safest City’.

D. Financial implications

The cost of implementing the strategic framework will be assessed through costing the range of projects being set up, as part of subsequent years’ annual plans.

E. Background papers

• Update on MPA/MPS strategic framework (Planning, Performance and Review Committee 22 July 2002 – paper 9)
• MPA/MPS strategic framework (Full Authority meeting 25 July 2002 – paper 10)

F. Contact details

Report author: John Zlotnicki

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Development of MPA/MPS 3 – year strategy plan

Appendix 2

Roles in implementation of ‘Towards the Safest City’

The logistics of implementation will be as follows:

Corporate programme office will collect, co-ordinate and analyse the list of projects for each aim submitted from each department, (B)OCU and business unit. It will map their contribution to the aim, thus identifying any possible overlaps or gaps. This analysis will be submitted to the strategic committees for consideration of whether the projects will indeed be sufficient to achieve the aim. If not, the committee can commission any necessary extra work (or, if appropriate, decommission any overlapping projects).

The roles for each committee (as relating to implementation of the strategic framework) are:

Strategic committees

1. Review the projects from each department/(B)OCU/business unit identified as contributing to the aim for which they are responsible. Adjust as necessary to set up a cost-effective programme of work for aim delivery.
2. Manage the programme.
3. Propose the Performance Indicators that will be used to monitor their contribution towards the Performance Indicators set for the overall goals. NB. Performance Indicators and targets will not be set for the goals and aims in 'Towards the Safest City' until we know the PIs that the government is setting as part of their 'domain' work, and which are likely to be included in the 3-year strategy plan required under the reform act.
4. Monitor progress towards delivery of the aim (by exception reporting from the project managers). Report on progress to the Performance Review Committee.
5. Propose priorities for projects' funding, based on a cost: benefit analysis of the projects' contribution to the aim.

Performance Review committee

1. Reviews the individual Performance Indicators proposed for each aim by the strategic committees to reassure itself that the basket of aim PIs will enable it to monitor progress towards achievement of the goal PI.
2. Exception reports progress towards achievement of the goals to Management Board and the MPA.
3. Identifies any issues that need to be resolved at Management Board level and brings it to their attention. Such issues may be, for example, inadequate progress towards meeting the goals, which can only be addressed through a significant shift in resources.

Management Board

1. Is ultimately accountable for delivery of the goals and overall strategy formed from the strategic framework.
2. Allocates resources in accordance with goal delivery (taking advice as necessary from the Resource Allocation Committee).
3. Agrees the Performance Indicators that will be used to track progress towards goal delivery.
4. Regularly reviews progress towards goal delivery.
5. Resolves any issues identified by Performance Review Committee as requiring their attention.
6. Reviews the overall strategy annually to (i) check its continuing relevance to a changing environment (ii) propose which aims or goals will form the objectives for the annual policing and performance plan.

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