Update Report By The Mps Anti-Bureaucracy Team

Report: 7
Date:12 July 2004
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides a progress report on the MPS Anti-Bureaucracy Team.

A. Recommendations

Members note the progress made within the MPS on reducing the burden of bureaucracy.

B. Supporting information

1. This is an exception report. Listed below are the major changes that have occurred since the last update in December 2003.

National Issues

2. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC) baseline assessment - The HMIC national baseline assessment on police reform progress gave anti-bureaucracy in the MPS a green light. Forces have seen the most significant gains in relation to the introduction of technology, such as video identity parades, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), Airwave and National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) Case and Custody applications. Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) were also seen as having delivered significant benefits. Most forces had identified bureaucracy champions and set up bureaucracy working groups. The MPS is the only force in the country with a permanent anti-bureaucracy team.

3. Bureaucracy Taskforce Recommendations – It is now 18 months since the publication of the 51 change proposals, following the report by Sir O’Dowd. Many of the changes have been achieved and the national steering group that meets monthly under a joint Home Office and Chief Constable chair now consider issues wider than the original Bureaucracy Taskforce recommendations. The original recommendations have been streamlined, by using a traffic light system, using yellow and green. Those in green have been considered to be delivered, while those in yellow are now being addressed. Those in white are not being pursued nationally. In addition, there are additional items the steering group will consider that have been identified as issues. They are attached as at Appendix 1 for your information. The steering group will concentrate on the following priorities to reduce bureaucracy:

1. Crime reporting, including NCRS and administrative detections
2. Alternative disposals, including PNDs and street bail
3. Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)
4. Criminal justice issues, including arrest to court process
5. Workforce modernisation
6. Frontline policing measure
7. Mobile data and telephony

The MPS maintains a permanent presence on the steering group.

4. Policing Bureaucracy Gateway – Following a review the Police Forms Editorial Board has been re-launched as the Policing Bureaucracy Gateway. Its terms of reference include identifying, challenging and influencing new policies, legislation and procedure from the Home Office and Association Chief Police Officers (ACPO); provide guidance in relation to the design, development and review of non-prosecution forms and to develop an effective communication strategy to demonstrate the commitment to tackle bureaucracy. The MPS, through the Policy Clearing House and its Strategic Committees already has such a force process already in place. The MPS maintains a permanent presence on the Policing Gateway Board.

5. Gershon Efficiency Review – Sir Peter Gershon was asked by the Prime Minister and Chancellor to lead a review of efficiency across the public sector. The review collected evidence to support six themes for increasing efficiency:

1. Procurement-related savings
2. Increasing the efficiency of finance, personnel and similar functions
3. Increasing front line productivity in policing, health and education
4. Reducing the cost of citizen-state transactions
5. Streamlining public sector policy, funding and regulation and
6. Streamlining policy, funding and regulation.

The most likely effect on policing would be in procurement, back office functions and productive time. Best practice will be fed into the police service for implementation.

6. National Bureaucracy Advisor – The Home Office appointed an Acting Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) for six months to help relieve front line officers of excessive paperwork and bureaucratic burdens. ACC Marshall has visited many forces in the country, including the MPS. Emerging key issues include methods of reporting crime; poor understanding of the rules for detecting crime; frustration with National Crime Reporting Standards (NCRS); RIPA bureaucracy; inefficient custody and prisoner handling procedures; case preparation and file building and a culture of incident driven rather than citizen focussed and intelligence led policing caused by the prevailing culture and inefficient demand management. Positive findings included PNDs; video ID; Airwave; mobile data; Livescan, custody assistants; street bail and IT solutions. Proposed solutions include introducing best practice for crime recording; clear guidance on NCRS and detections; urgent work on simplifying RIPA; produce a working model for custody and prisoner handling; extend use of PNDs and street bail and cite best practice on demand management. ACC Marshall is to produce a report for the Home Secretary on his findings.

7. Building Safer Communities – The MPS response said “The introduction of local accountability mechanisms also provides a timely opportunity to reduce the bureaucracy and costs associated with less community-focussed audit and inspection regimes”.

MPS Macro Issues

8. C3i – The MetCall Operational Command Unit (OCU) has been established and Stage 1 roll out planned for October 2004. The Hendon centre has been handed over and Lambeth and Bow centres are in the process of fitting out.

9. Modernising Operations – Incorporates three elements, Integrated borough operations (IBOs), Airwave and MetDuties. IBOs have been driven by the thirty identified tasks that will remain on borough with the removal of control rooms; the need for boroughs to create an effective process to interface with the public; the need to manage intelligence and monitoring of resources; implement the national Briefing Model, National Intelligence Model and manage demand. IBOs will roll out on boroughs from late 2004. Airwave is due to roll out in the MPS during 2005. MetDuties are due to begin Phase 1 pilots in the near future.

10. National Intelligence Module (NIM) – The MPS is now fully NIM compliant and business groups are developing their skills in producing strategic and tactical assessments. This has led to an increase in intelligence led policing.

11. Criminal Justice – Case progression units and victim and witness support units will be established in all boroughs by July 2004. All boroughs have Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Lawyers at the point of charge. NPSIS Case and Custody has begun with a pilot at Newham.

12. Safer Neighbourhoods – From April 2004 each borough began to receive three neighbourhood teams of one sergeant, two constables and three Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The roll out will continue until 2007/08.

13. Mobile Data – The pilot of an IT based approach to Recommendation 61 commenced operationally at the end of November 2003 and concluded on 20 April 2004. The output is now being analysed. 10 hand held units remain at the trial site (Tower Hamlets) for mobile stops. Mobile data terminals have now been fitted to over 400 vehicles in 14 boroughs and the roll out across the MPS continues.

MPS Micro Issues

14. Forms – Since January 2004, 28 sets of forms have been reviewed and 42 forms abolished as a result of regular monthly reviews by the Forms Unit. In addition, in March 2004 a police notice was published, identifying 149 more forms for abolition. 13 new forms have been introduced since April 2004. There is a continuing drive to streamline the number of forms and to ensure that all forms in existence are ”fit for purpose”.

15. Service Suggestion Scheme – Following a review by Internal Consultancy Group implementation of a new scheme awaits Management Board approval. In the interim an ad-hoc scheme has been run by the Anti-Bureaucracy Unit. Since January there have been 62 enquiries, with 92 suggestions, 18 of which have been implemented. Recent examples include: texting of 999 calls; automatic updating of officers/staff contact telephone numbers and locations via the Aware password reset scheme; an Internet café and Aware terminals in the canteen at New Scotland Yard; a combined Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme form with a HO/RT 1 form; an evidence and actions book which replaces the current Incident Report Book (IRB) and Process books; increased advice for recruits on receiving their warrant cards for the first time; a victims national DNA database and automatic arrest/summons numbers via NPSIS Case and Custody system.

16. Street Bail – In January 2004 street bail came into force in the MPS. This was one of the recommendations of the Bureaucracy Task Force.

17. Cannabis – There are 23,000 arrests for possession of cannabis in the MPS yearly. Following parliamentary approval in January 2004 cannabis was reclassified as a Class C drug with the presumption against arrest unless aggravating factors apply. This will lead to a significant reduction in police time spent on possession offences.

18. Penalty Notices for Disorder – Now in place throughout the MPS. There has been a mixed take up, but definite increase across the board. Monitoring commenced by Central Ticket Office. Operation Emerald (the joint enterprise between the MPS and CPS to Narrow the Justice gap) is lobbying for extension of the scheme to cover shoplifting and possession of cannabis.

19. Officers/staff consultation – All MPS Quality Assurance Officers (QAOs) have been sent anti bureaucracy posters; the unit website and Special Interest Group (SIG) site are continually updated with news and information and presentations have been made to Superintendents in Westminster and SE London along with QAOs in the same boroughs so they can hold focus groups with frontline officers and staff. Feedback to date has been positive.

20. Policing bureaucracy awards scheme – Two MPS officers have just won second prizes of £500 in this scheme. Their suggestion covered the bar coding of prisoners property and will now be piloted by Warwickshire Constabulary.

21. Sharing best practice – A visit has been made to Greater Manchester Police to investigate their suggestion scheme and contact has been made with Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Cumbria and the Police Service in Northern Ireland on MPS practice, particularly in regard to the MPS Bureaucracy Scrutiny Framework.

Policing Bureaucracy Implementation Steering Group (PBISG)

22. Since January 2004 there have been three meetings of the PBISG. Points from the meetings are outlined below:

• Mobile data – Discussion on the various bearer systems, the preferred one being Airwave.
• Gershon Efficiency Review – Reported on above.
• Administrative detections – Agreement on their value but some discussion on what should be counted and by what method.
• Police Forms Editorial Board – Concerned with the re-launch, following the Symbia report, and establishing terms of reference and working practices.
• National Bureaucracy Advisor – Reported on above.
• O’Dowd Recommendations – Agreed to reduce them to a traffic light simplified system with PBISG concentrating a smaller number of items.
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act – This has now become a significant bureaucratic burden on officers. It was agreed to look at amending the forms, meet with the Surveillance Commissioners and support any change to legislation.
• Frontline Policing Measure – Home Office in process of establishing a baseline figure from activity based costing. Improving that would, de facto, reduce bureaucracy. It was felt that the optimum time spent on frontline duty was 76%-81%. Current baseline is about 61%
• Workforce modernisation – 10 nationwide pilots to test out new roles for police staff, thus releasing police officers for other duties.
• Criminal Justice – Reported on above
• HMIC baseline assessment – Reported on above.

C. Race and equality impact

This is an update paper and there are no new equality or diversity implications at this time.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications contained in this paper.

E. Background papers

1. Recommendations of the Policing Bureaucracy Taskforce.

F. Contact details

Report author: Chief Inspector Keith Lunson
For more information contact:

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

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