Minutes

Minutes of the Planning, Performance & Review Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 10 July 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members:

• Richard Sumray (Chair)
• Reshard Auladin (Deputy Chair)
• Anthony Arbour
• Elizabeth Howlett

MPA Officers:

• David Riddle (Deputy Clerk)
• Claire Lambert (Analyst)
• Elizabeth Turner (Treasury)
• Sally Palmer (Policy Officer, Review)
• Nick Baker (Head of Committee Services)
• Yvonne Peart (Committee Officer)

MPS Officers:

• DAC Richard Bryan
• Cmdr Alan Given (Criminal Justice Department)
• John Zlotnicki (Head of Corporate Planning)
• Carol McDonald Head of Corporate Performance Analysis Unit)

Part 1

1. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Lynne Featherstone.

Members welcomed DAC Bryan to the meeting. Members also congratulated Commander Given on his secondment as Deputy Chief Constable – Cambridgeshire.

2. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

No interests were declared.

3. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved – That the minutes of the Planning, Performance and Review Committee held on 8 May 2003 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

Matters arising

In item 86 of the minutes, the Committee commissioned a further report on organised illegal immigration and human trafficking to be presented to the informal session of the Coordination and Policing Committee (COP). The Chair asked that the report covered current operational issues, involvement of voluntary sectors and victim support in the UK and abroad, with an invitation also extended to the Immigration Service to attend. It was confirmed that the report would be put to COP on 21 July 2003 and that the Immigration Service have been invited.

4. Criminal Justice update

(Agenda item 4)

Members received a report that set out the current work being carried out by the Department of Criminal Justice in order to improve the service the MPS give victims and witnesses and to achieve closer interaction with CPS lawyers.

Members made some detailed comments on the implementation plan and queried why uniformed officers were carrying out quality assurance when civil staff could do this. In response Commander Given said that sergeants currently perform quality assurance but undertook to look at this to see if civil staff could carry out the work.

The Chair said the Committee should have sight of the Criminal Justice Board (CJB) delivery plan. He also said that he was uncertain of the added value of the ministerial meeting held on 2 July 2003 and where this would sit within national criminal justice framework.

The Chair asked for further information to be provided to the Committee on cracked and ineffective trials and the impact on the courts when case papers are not completed. He also requested that the manual for the victims and witness desks be presented to September’s Committee and that an update on the developments in London CJB be presented to a future Committee.

Members were informed that publication of the Green Paper had been delayed. The Home Office are aware of the Committee’s concerns with future structures and have been receptive to arguments being made by the MPS.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted;
2. extension of the roll out to more than the agreed five charging sites within the Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth be agreed;
3. the manual for the victims and witness desks be presented to the October meeting of the Committee; and
4. a report on developments in the London CJB be presented to a future Committee, to include information on cracked and ineffective trials and the impact on the courts when case papers are not completed.

5. 2002/2003 performance report

(Agenda item 5)

A report was received which gave a summary of MPS performance against policing plan objectives for 2002–3.

Members noted that the offence figures for gun crime has increased and that there has been a reduction in youths accused of street crime. Members expressed concern at the sickness levels and the recruitment of visible ethnic minorities but are aware that the Human Resources Committee is monitoring these targets.

Members commented that mobile phone theft is expected to fall with the introduction of new security measures, however the new videophones are still attractive and are being targeted. In response the MPS said that due to advancing technology the recently introduced mobile phone security measures have not been as effective as previously anticipated and that they have now employed new initiatives including test buying.

The Chair said that the end of year performance had seen a considerable improvement on last year and that this achievement was the result of a huge amount of effort. He asked for further information on how concentrating resources impact on other areas. He noted that figures for total notifiable offences had actually decreased and that the increase shown is due to the changes in the national crime recording standard. He also asked whether that the figures shown for the national firearms amnesty related to last year’s or this year’s event.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

6. Audit of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS)

(Agenda item 6)

The Committee received a report that informed them of the results of the Audit Commission inspection of the MPS compliance with NCRS, together with the MPS’s proposed response.

Members were informed that an action plan has been prepared and that there had been further work implemented on analysis. Training issues have been identified around categories of crime and awareness of NCR. It has also been identified that the processes in some boroughs need to be overhauled.

Members expressed deep concern with the findings of the Audit Commission and considered that the systems for reporting crime are not user friendly and possibly contribute to increasing fear of crime.

The Chair asked to receive feedback on the implementation of the action plan and to be updated on the progress being made in each area and the key training issues being addressed.

Resolved – That

1. the concepts proposed for the 2004/05 planning process be noted; and
2. an update on the implementation of the action plan be presented to a future Committee.

7. Audit Commission review of crime recording in the MPS–MPA action plan

(Agenda item 7)

The Committee received a report that set out the MPA action plan in response to the Audit Commission report of the MPS compliance with NCRS, together with recommendations relating to the Audit Commission review of crime recording in the MPS.

Members were informed that the Audit Commission have made four recommendations to the Authority. The Authority’s and the MPS’s action plan will be included in the Audit Commission’s national report.

The Chair offered to be the Authority’s champion for NCRS matters.

Resolved – That

1. the recommendations made by the Audit Commission be agreed;
2. the Committee consider how the MPA will take forward these recommendations, to feed in the Audit Commission’s action plan; and
3. the Committee monitor the MPS progress against their recommendations at six monthly intervals.

8. May 2003 performance report

(Agenda item 8)

Members considered a report that summarised the MPS performance against policing plan objectives for 2002-3.

Members expressed concern with the figures for recruitment processing and noted that the drop out rate due to the delay had not been reported and felt that it was a very important issue that needed to be followed up. They asked that it be referred to the Human Resources Committee, if they do not already monitor this issue.

The Chair reported that further discussions would be required before the next meeting on borough performance monitoring and requested information on the problems experienced and areas of both good and poor practice. He also requested further information on the impact of mobile phone theft on street crime and a future report that addresses the public’s perception of crime.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted;
2. a report on the impact of mobile phone theft and also the public’s perception of crime be presented to a future meeting of this Committee;
3. a report on borough performance monitoring be put to the Committee identifying problems and areas of both good and poor practice; and
4. the drop out figures due to the delay in recruitment processing be referred to the Human Resources Committee for discussion.

9. PPRC annual report

(Agenda item 9)

Members considered the annual report for the Planning, Performance and Review Committee for the year July 2002 to June 2003.

Resolved – That the report be agreed for presentation to Full Authority.

10. Autocrime performance

(Agenda item 10)

The Committee received a report that examined MPS performance in relation to autocrime, considering the number of offences and judicial disposals.

Members discussed the report and asked the MPS for details of the resources that would be put into Operation Safer Vehicles (OSV) and highlighted that the report did not identify the good practices employed by other agencies.

In responding, the MPS said that there are no additional ring fenced resources for OSV.

The Chair said, as autocrime is an MPS priority, a better understanding of autocrime is required and there is a need for more clarity around current performance and sustainability. He also asked for information on the linkages between similar offences.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. a further report be received at a future meeting of the Committee to cover current performance, sustainability and linkages between offences.

11. Specialist crime and specialist operations management information

(Agenda item 11)

The Committee received a report that provided a summary of Specialist Crime Directorate and Specialist Operations Department performance against their key objectives from April to May 2003.

Members requested a detailed discussion on what is happening on the gun crime scene with an examination of the trends. They highlighted that gun crime has an important impact on how the community perceive levels of crime.

With regard to Specialist Operations (SO), the MPS informed members that an information management project has been implemented to develop a system of identifying issues that are feasible and appropriate to be put to the Authority.

Members were also informed that there has been an increase in mobile response by the Diplomatic Protection Group due to the current situation at the French Embassy, resources deployed at Heathrow and a large increase in the number of calls received. Work is being undertaken to ensure that MPS officers are aware how SO resources are deployed to boroughs in order that this can be communicated local authorities and the public.

The Chair requested that future reports include more data, particularly on gun crime, human trafficking and drugs and that the gaps in the table be completed to enable the Committee to monitor progress.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. a further report be presented to a future Committee with additional data.

12. BBC ‘Hitting Home’ domestic violence survey

(Agenda item 12)

The Committee received a report on the domestic violence survey ‘Hitting Home’ carried out on behalf of the BBC, and how it has affected how the MPS investigates such crimes.

It was reported that the survey by the BBC was insufficient in a number of ways and that the questions were asked inappropriately.

Members suggested that this report should be passed to the BBC to put forward the MPS view on this survey and requested that a more significant report on Domestic Violence be presented to a future Committee.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. a further report be presented to a future Committee.

13. Bureaucracy Taskforce report implementation

(Agenda item 13)

Members considered a report that outlined the progress of the Bureaucracy Taskforce Implementation.

Members noted that the timescales for the Taskforce delivery vary considerably and that the MPA Lead Member is monitoring the Taskforce proposals.

The Chair requested that the MPS report back to this Committee twice yearly.

Resolved – That

1. the progress made with the MPS on the Taskforce recommendations be noted; and
2. the responsibility for driving/monitoring progress be jointly carried out by PPRC as a whole, in addition to a force nominee coming from the Policing Bureaucracy Change proposals.
3. a twice yearly report be presented to this Committee.

14. Membership of the Planning Panel

(Agenda item 14)

A report was considered that sought to appoint the Chair, Deputy Chair and membership of the Planning Panel.

Members discussed the report and decided members of the Planning, Performance and Review Committee (PPRC) should sit on the Planning Panel. The Chair also requested that an invitation be sent to non-members of PPRC to sit on the Planning Panel.

Resolved – That

1. the Chair and the Deputy Chair of the Planning Panel be appointed.
2. the members of the Planning Panel be appointed.
3. an invitation to sit on the Planning Panel be sent to non-members of the PPRC.

15. Policing plan and strategy plan for 2004/05

(Agenda item 15)

The committee considered a report that gave a high level overview of the planning timeframe for the production of 2004/05 policing plan.

Members were informed that steps in the process included extra activities such as engaging the business community and strategic assessments. The MPS requested that the Planning Panel meet after consultation and before the Commissioner’s Conference on 11 September 2003.

Members noted the timelines and the need to have meetings to respond to them.

Resolved – That the high level timeframe proposed for the 2004/05 planning process be noted.

16. Operational Support Policing Service Improvement Review

(Agenda item 16)

A report was considered that outlined the Project Initiation Document (PID) for the Operational Support Policing Service Improvement Review.

Members noted that a transparent process would encourage greater support for the release of manpower to specialist units.

Resolved – That the Project Initiation Document for the Operational Support Policing Service Improvement Review be approved.

17. Lead member roles 2003/04

(Agenda item 17)

A report was considered that asked the Committee to decide which lead member roles they require for the current year.

The Chair and Deputy Chair indicated that they were happy to continue in their respective lead member roles. Lynne Featherstone would also continue to lead on response times.

The meeting ended at 4.10 p.m.

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