HMIC inspection of Greenwich BOCU

Report: 15
Date: 09 January 2003
By: Clerk

Summary

The report of the inspection of Greenwich Borough OCU by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabularies is presented for review.

A. Recommendations

1. That the Committee notes the report and resolves to receive from the MPS, details of action taken to address the recommendations made.

B. Supporting information

1. In respect of Greenwich, HMIC concluded that there were many positive aspects about the BCU. A focussed leadership team was making up on lost ground and had embedded a significant level of partnership. In anticipating coming tensions between demands and resources, HMIC noted that some vital links between aspiration and actuality were missing.

2. It was recommended that:

1. Crime analysts receive corporate training.
   ‘If Intelligence led policing is to be fully effective on the BCU it is of paramount importance that the intelligence unit is resourced with appropriately skilled and trained individuals. A fundamental element of any model is the need for an intelligence structure that will enable you to accurately define your problems, e.g. prominent criminals and crime hotspots. This then allows you to deploy your resources in a targeted way. The BCU provides this via the BIU and the Inspection team interviewed BIU staff and visited the unit. The unit is led by a DI and has three detective sergeants and a number of support staff to assist. Most importantly, there were three crime/intelligence analysts. The unit is structured into focus desks based on the BCU policing priorities. The Inspection team was pleased to note that the SMT had recognised that a gap and lack of focus on ‘quality of life’ issues had emerged and that this was to be addressed in the near future. The lack of a dedicated focus desk for quality of life issues was the subject of adverse comment during sector team focus groups. The BIU had crime mapping, I2 (Analysts Notebook) together with crime recording and Phoenix software applications available. In addition, the aforementioned CDRS Infoshare package was being made available to assist in data sharing across agencies. One area of concern for the Inspection team was the apparent lack of validated corporate training for the analysts. In order to gain maximum benefit it is recommended that all the BIU analysts receive this training.’
2. The management, structure and content of weekly co-ordinating and tasking meetings are re-evaluated.
   ‘The BIU produces information in document format and this is discussed at the weekly tasking and co-ordinating meeting chaired by the DCI. It is the opinion of the Inspection team and is more in accordance with the NIM that the chair should be the Superintendent (Operations) when appointed. Members of sectors, intelligence unit, reactive and proactive CID are represented and the Inspection team also had the opportunity to attend a weekly meeting. The documentation provided was substantial in length and it is felt the presentation would benefit from examination to make the document more user friendly and impactive. At the meeting it was not clear whether the intention had been to discuss the content prior to the meeting in order to improve focus and structure at the actual meeting. The Inspection team believes that such a discussion would have been beneficial. The document was historically based with the emphasis placed on the previous incidents/arrests/crimes that had occurred. The open discussions witnessed were general in nature and may have been influenced by officers' own perceptions of issues or problems and not the available information/intelligence. Overall, there was little discussion of ‘live’ or recent intelligence gained nor crime mapping. The Inspection team was left with the impression that tasking and accountability mechanisms were fuzzy and in follow-up discussions with attendees these impressions were confirmed. There was also little or no evidence of managers and supervisors being held to account for the previous week's actions. The presentation of some of the information using technology and projection onto a large screen was good.’
3. A demand management strategy be developed.
   ‘During 2000/01, the BCU received 24,924 calls from the public requiring an immediate response and attended 18,047 calls (72%) within target time. This was below the BFG2 average of 75.4% but significantly below the England and Wales average of 81.5%. This is illustrated at Appendix ‘M’. In 2001/02, the BCU received 21,066 calls from the public requiring an immediate response and attended 15,866 calls (75.3%) within target time. However, the MPS set a target for 2001/02 of 80%. It is particularly worthy of note that immediate calls from the public reduced by 3858 year on year but when probed the BCU was not able to fully explain how this may have been achieved.
   
   Each of the five relief teams is led by an inspector and has a set establishment of nine sergeants and 47 constables. Response and duties staff informed the Inspection team that the actual constable levels were well below this, at approximately 25 per team, due to the setting-up of numerous units and squads across the BCU. Relief teams provide the 24-hour response to calls from the public, mobile patrol and play a significant role in providing high visibility policing. The Inspection team was told at all relief team focus groups, during reality checks and visits to areas of the BCU that abstractions from the teams is too high and that morale amongst front-line staff is poor. The perception is that relief teams have been unnecessarily depleted to form units across the BCU and that the current five relief team shift pattern which was introduced earlier in 2002 are the main causes. The abstraction for the units is covered elsewhere. The shift pattern was introduced after full consultation with staff and analysis of demand. It provides a basic 8-hour shift for patrol officers but requires officers to perform duty over 8 or 9 days with quick changes between shifts. It does, however, allow for overlapping of relief teams at times of strong demand during the evening and night periods. Although it is still very much in its infancy, evidence from staff suggests the pattern is universally unpopular with both managers and those that have to work it. The relief team inspector is assisted by two dedicated PACE inspectors who manage activities and legislative requirements in the custody suites at Greenwich and Plumstead. The PACE inspectors are in turn assisted by a rota system of the other non-relief BCU inspectors.
   
   A contingency and duty planning unit is led by an inspector and is responsible for formulating relief team duties and managing corporate requests for aid by the corporate centre. The Belmarsh firearms team is led by an inspector and is primarily utilised to provide a specialist firearm resource to Woolwich Crown Court and Belmarsh Magistrates Court. The Inspection team was given evidence that the two court facilities are increasingly being considered by the police service as a national resource and some concern was expressed that requisite funding and resource allocation to the BCU does not reflect this. An example given was a recent high profile terrorist trial throughout April and May 2002 requiring the deployment of 224 BCU police officers. Furthermore, the abstractions to Central London anti-terrorism patrols since 11 September will also have affected BCU patrol visibility and demand management.
   
   The SMT felt that this level of abstraction was partly responsible for the poor crime performance of the BCU in the new 2002/03 policing year. It will doubtless wish to raise the commitment to the courts with the MPS executive in order to be satisfied that the corporate application of the resource allocation formulae for the BCU is correct.
   
   Whilst the work achieved thus far in managing demand is creditable, it is suggested that the BCU would benefit from a more holistic approach and that vital linkages are more transparent. It is recommended that a demand management strategy be produced. The strategy should encompass the potential benefits of the newly created or enhanced BCU units, the relief team shift pattern, public reassurance, deployment, tasking and abstraction of all officers across the BCU.’
4. A review of quality assurance activity is undertaken and related to management processes.
   ‘It was clear to the Inspection team that the SMT is open to advice and suggestions on potential improvements to the workings of the BCU from all members of staff and in fact positively encourages it. The BCU had recently set up a computer-based Q&A forum to enable officers to seek SMT views and opinions. This measure was generally supported in focus groups. The BCU does have a structure for self-review but it was unclear how this fits with the CDRS and BCU policing priorities. Moreover, the qualitative aspects of work undertaken within the BCU are under developed, e.g. are Section 18 PACE searches correctly authorised, recorded and ethical? It is to the credit of the SMT that it has recognised the importance of this area of activity and remedial action is being developed. Some process improvement activity has been undertaken but how the processes identified for review were selected was less clear. It was also less clear how the BCU EFQM process had impacted on the systems and processes.’
5. Further diversity training, with the emphasis on internal influences, is undertaken.
   ‘The BCU outlined that diversity training and awareness was an important element of day-to-day policing activity. The IAG was supportive of the work achieved by the BCU in this area. The Chief Inspector (Partnerships) is very well engaged with external groups covering diversity issues. The Inspection team was particularly pleased to note that the Garnett Foundation, which is supported by the CRE, was looking to carry out diversity work with the BCU in the coming year. Moreover, significant elements of the CDRS and the panel activities specifically embrace diversity issues. The Inspection team therefore saw evidence that diversity was mainstreamed in external policing activity. Evidence was given that all staff had received the MPS corporate 2-day community and race relations (CRR) training. Reality checks with staff demonstrated that they believed CRR was principally applicable to external customers and not necessarily internal staff. The SMT accepts that there are further internal aspects that need addressing. Only one person interviewed was aware of the gender agenda but the potential benefits of minority group staff associations were well known and appreciated. The Inspection team reality checked the latter aspect with constables, sergeants and inspectors and found this to be the case. This is despite the BCU Commander personally writing to female staff in the weeks prior to the Inspection.’

3. A further 27 areas for consideration were also suggested. These are shown at Appendix A

4. A full copy of the report has been forwarded to the Link Member, R David Muir.  A further copy is in the Member Library.

C. Diversity and equality implications

The substantive diversity and equality issues were addressed as part of the HMIC report. The implications for the Authority are to ensure that the BCU responds fully to the recommendation set out at e) above.

D. Financial implications

None.

E. Background papers

HMIC Borough Inspection Report on Greenwich

F. Contact details

Report author: Keith Dickinson, MPA.

For more information contact:

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

Appendix A

Items Suggested for Management Consideration

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