Specialist Crime Directorate Management Information

Report: 10
Date: 12 May 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report gives a summary of Specialist Crime Directorate’s performance against their key objectives from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005.

A. Recommendations

That the report be noted.

B. Supporting information

1. This report provides management information on Specialist Crime Directorate’s performance against its objectives for the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 inclusive. The data has been reconciled by the Performance Information Bureau and should match the information contained in the corporate report’s submission.

2. The report gives brief commentary on performance against the Directorate’s key objectives and core performance indicators. It comments on the performance data provided and any difficulties in achieving the agreed targets.

3. A summary of the key points for members are as follows:

• There has been a decrease of 313 or 7.9% in gun enabled crime offences recorded in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). There were 3,653 offences compared with 3,966 for the same period last financial year. Specialist Crime Directorate had responsibility for the investigation of 853 or 23.3% of offences committed in this crime category. Southwark is the Borough with most gun enabled crime offences in this reporting period with 259 recorded (Lambeth last year with 289 offences). Richmond upon Thames had the least reported both this and last year with 20 and 8 respectively. Fifteen of the Boroughs account for 65% of reported offences.
• The overall MPS detection rate is 24%. This is 4% above target. There have been 875 detections in gun enabled crime offences. It is a 5.7% improvement when compared with the last financial year. The Specialist Crime Directorate have detected 299 or 35% of the offences they investigated.
• There was a total of 203 Trident offences for 2004/05. This is an increase of 9 or 4.6% on 2003/04.
• Trident’s non-fatal shootings detection rate is 24.8%. This is above the MPS target of 20%. Of 185 offences 46 have been detected. This compares with a detection rate of 28.5% (182 offences/52 detections) for same period last year. Offences have increased by 3 or 1.6% and detections decreased by 6 or 11%. The rise in offences have occurred since the beginning of the calendar year. In the first week of January there were 16 offences when the weekly average since April 2004 had been three.
• Since Trident’s introduction it has concentrated on specific known targets either Jamaican Nationals or London communities. Whilst the level of Jamaican involvement has declined, many of the London born targets are the same as five years ago. Although many are arrested and charged, considerable numbers (for various reasons e.g. they have served their sentences or the sentence was relatively short) are still around and engaged in gun crime. They are responsible for many of shootings investigated and take up most of Trident’s resources.
• With other agencies, much effort has been placed in youth diversion activity in order to prevent the current 7-12 year olds becoming the gunmen of the future. A forgotten generation emerged who were about 14/15 when Trident started and when they (currently aged 17-19) were engaged in shoplifting and therefore not of interest to Trident. They have become increasingly engaged in criminal activity at a borough level; rapidly moving to gun crime by the time they reach 17/19. Analysis suggests that the 'new' generation have moved from shoplifting to gun crime in just six years. Previously it was taking between 10 and 15 years to move from petty crimes to armed robbery. The other interesting factor is that although the new generation is involved in gun crime, they are not (it seems) so much engaged in armed robbery. The shootings dealt with are almost exclusively drug or disrespect related.
• Trafalgar’s non-fatal shootings detection rate is currently 41%. This is 21% above MPS target. Of 61 offences, 25 have been detected. This compares with a detection rate of 18% (96 offences/17 detections) for 2003/04. Offences have decreased by 35 or 36% and detections increased by 8 or 47%.
• There were 565 commercial robbery offences investigated by The Serious and Organised Crime Operational Command Unit (OCU). Of these, 197 were detected providing a detection rate of 34.8%. This compares with a detection rate of 28.8% (538 offences/155 detections) for the same period last year. Offences have increased by 27 or 5% and detections increased by 42 or 27%.
• There has been a decrease of offences in the three target boroughs for commercial robbery by firearms (identified by Serious and Organised Crime OCU - SCD7). Croydon has seen the biggest reduction with 18 fewer offences; followed by Tower Hamlets with 10 and Lambeth with 2 when compared with same period last year.
• There have been 41 confirmed disruptions of organised criminal networks for the year. These have been the subject of a robust and auditable quality assurance process. The target of 24 has been achieved.
• There were 25 confirmed disruptions to drug trafficking organisation. The target of 12 was exceeded by 13.
• Around £21.4m of criminal assets have been recovered in the reporting period. This is £13.4m more than the full year target. There was an exceptional seizure of £14m in July. MPS wide figures are not yet available due to software problems with the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD). This should be resolved in readiness for the new financial year.
• Losses due to economic crime are believed to amount to a minimum of £28.5 billion in London. This might only be a fraction of the real cost. The figure is based on information from key partners in the economic community, MPS data and open source material. Those losses mainly stem from fraud within the retail and investment banking sectors, credit environment, companies and within the public sector. There are many contributory factors to these losses that include internal fraud, criminal networks linked to specific organised crime groups and enhanced use of the Internet.
• Significant increases in suspicious activity reports from financial transactions mirror the volume of economic crime in London and the amount of criminal funds laundered. Initiatives to combat the threats include:
  • Work with retail banking sector to reduce internal attacks on the UK bank.
    o Enhanced liaison with Companies House, including creation of an intelligence cell and single point of contact.
  • Working in partnership with Inland Revenue to address high level loses attributed to tax credits.
  • Public awareness on consumer related fraud, including fraud pertaining to lotteries and Internet auctions.
• Of the 9,212 offences investigated involving intra-familial abuse by the Child Abuse Investigation Command, 4,724 were detected. This provides a detection rate of 51.3% which is 16% above target. This is an improvement on same reporting period last financial year where there were 1,592 fewer offences and 888 fewer detections (10,804/3,836). That gave a comparative detection rate of 35%.
• The number of subjects arrested after being identified as a threat by the Child Abuse Investigation Command's (CAIC) Intelligence Unit was 42. The target for the financial year was 40.
• The homicide detection rate is 91.8%, this compares with 98% for last year’s reporting period but the target (85%) was achieved. There were 195 homicide offences with 179 detections. Of these 158 have been detected since the start of financial year (April 2004) and provides an in-year detection rate of 81%. There were twenty-one detections of pre-financial year homicides.
• There have been 16 fewer homicides than compared with same reporting period last financial year. This is equivalent to a 7.6% reduction.
• Trident Major Investigation Teams have had 18 homicide offences to investigate. This is an increase on the previous From Year To Date (FYTD) total (12) but is fewer than 2002/03 (24). The detection rate is 55% with 10 homicides detected.
• Child Abuse Investigation Command Major Investigations Teams have investigated six homicide offences. An increase of one on the last financial year total. The detection rate is 67% with 4 offences detected.

4. A selection of significant operational successes are highlighted below. They all have tended to involve working in partnership with either other MPS Units or external agencies.

• Two men pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply 19.5 kilos of amphetamines following a proactive, intelligence-led operation by Middle Market, a unit made up of officers from Specialist Crime Directorate, Customs, City of London Police and the National Criminal Intelligence Service to tackle drug suppliers in London. They also had over £15k in their possession at the time of the arrests.
• During March, a female was viciously attacked inside her home after being approached from behind by a male suspect. He attempted to rape her and the victim sustained a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder in the attack. The scene was examined and finger marks were recovered from an inside surface. These were immediately taken by hand to Forensic Services Fingerprint Bureau, who successfully identified the suspect and his particulars were passed to borough officers that same day. The suspect was caught after subsequent enquiries and a long search. This happened only four days after the initial attack. The suspect has now been arrested and charged and is currently remanded in custody awaiting trail.
• Five men have been jailed following a successful operation by the Kidnap and Specialist Investigations Unit (SCD7). The men, who had all pleaded not guilty to various indictments in relation to kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail, were convicted following a four-week trial, which ended in February. The victim was subjected to a beating and demands were made for £5k for his safe return. The brother of the victim contacted police and an operation was launched with the hostage being safely released by specialist firearms officers.
• A prolific robber who committed a series of armed raids in London and the home counties over a ten-year period has been sentenced. He was arrested following a pro-active operation conducted by the Flying Squad at Barnes, working closely with officers from Thames Valley Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary. He was featured on Scotland Yard’s ‘wanted website’ in August 2003. This is managed by the Directorate.
• A man was jailed for conspiracy to commit forgery. This follows a successful intelligence-led operation conducted by Operation Maxim - the organised immigration task force. A search warrant was executed by Maxim who were supported by officers from the Territorial Support Group. Large quantities of counterfeit documents were recovered including Nigerian passports, UK birth certificates, Nigerian international driving permits, UK indefinite leave to remain vignettes and a counterfeit UK Home Office embossing stamp. Two men were arrested in connection with the operation. One was later deported the second pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forgery and was sentenced.
• Officers from Operation Payback working with the London Borough of Waltham Forest, assisted in the investigation of a man selling counterfeit DVDs. As a result of a joint raid of his premises, a safety deposit box key was identified. In the box was £43k in cash, capsules for smuggling class ‘A’ drugs, false documentation and a quantity of jewellery. The cash was forfeited under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
• The Stolen Vehicle Unit’s (Economic and Specialist Crime OCU – SCD6) focus desk identified the trend of older Mercedes vehicles being stolen on a large scale from across London. Officers from SCD6 executed warrants at a series of salvage yards. They were supported by by auto crime trained officers from boroughs and Traffic OCU, Customs and Excise, The Environment Agency and the Department of Works and Pensions Shadow Economy Team. Eight yards were searched and, over the course of the day, the dismantled remains of 51 stolen vehicles were recovered. Of these vehicles seven had been stolen from Ealing on the same night. A further three containers full of Mercedes parts have been recovered and are awaiting examination. The operation followed the interception of two loaded containers at Tilbury docks, with assistance of the Port of Tilbury Police, from which 40 stolen Mercedes vehicles were recovered. Seventeen suspects were arrested for conspiracy to handle stolen motor vehicles.
• Two men and a woman were arrested and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stolen art and antiques recovered during a major operation by the Art and Antiques Unit, (Economic and Specialist Crime OCU - SCD6). It follows an extensive two-year investigation into the large-scale theft of property from country houses, galleries and private residences across the country. The total value of property stolen in these offences amounts to more than £30 million. An operation was launched to tackle those believed to be laundering the proceeds of high-value burglaries through an organised criminal network operating in south east London.

5. The following are examples of developmental initiatives and recognition

• SCD’s Operation Grafton has been selected as one of the finalists for the Public Servants of the Year awards 2005. Operation Grafton, part of Organised Crime (SCD7) and Covert Policing (SCD10/11) is a MPS’s joint operation with Thames Valley Police, Surrey Police and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise to reduce high value crime in and around Heathrow. This award recognises new and innovative solutions to problems, based upon a customer-focused approach to providing services.
• The Specialist Crime Directorate launched a major new drive in February to combat economic crime in the capital. Codenamed ‘Sterling’, the initiative takes a more proactive partnership approach to combating serious economic crime and aims to dispel the myth that it is victimless. Recent industry research has shown that economic crime costs the UK economy up to £40 billion each year. It is widely acknowledged that up to 70% of this occurs in the capital. This equates to £28 billion, or £1,600 for every household. It provides criminals with the funds to engage in other serious criminality, enabling them to launder their ill-gained profits and to buy the trappings of a lavish lifestyle.
• Our Diversity Forum for 2005 has commenced and attempts to find ways to attract staff from under-represented groups and to encourage people from across the MPS to consider joining the Directorate. Its aims to:
  • Ensure that SCD responds to the Morris Inquiry and Commission for Racial Equality recommendations.
  • Examine the whole issue of flexible working, taking into account the nature of work undertaken by the Directorate and take forward the work carried out by Commander Stephen James’s Modernising the Workforce working group.
  • Examine the findings of the Diversity Forum Questionnaire and take any necessary actions.
• The Serious and Organised Crime OCU (SCD7) celebrated the launch of its Diversity Strategy. Over 130 people attended the event from the MPS and external stakeholder organisations to hear about the steps being taken by the command in its quest to develop a more diverse workforce.
  Under the banner “Uniquely different – equally valued” SCD7 had identified five objectives with which to underpin its Diversity Strategy:
  • to ensure that resources and support are targeted appropriately within crime investigations
  • to ensure that the OCU’s workforce demographics reflect that of MPS policy
  • to ensure the retention of minority staff within the OCU and that there is not unfair disproportionality
  • to provide for diversity training
  • to ensure that all units across the OCU support and promote a fair culture
    The overall aim of the strategy is to provide a first class service to the many diverse communities of London.
• The natural disaster that affected south-east Asia continues to make demands of the Directorate and the Service (Operation Bracknell).

C. Race and equality impact

There are no explicit equalities items addressed. The activities that form this report and the data content are arrived at with a regard to delivering Specialist Crime policing services to an equal standard for all Londoners. The performance report should fully comply with equal opportunities policies and associated MPA/MPS diversity issues.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications as all of the data featured in this report is already produced regularly by the MPS.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report authors: Raymond Marshall, Specialist Crime Directorate, Information and Planning Unit, MPS.

For more information contact:

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

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