Central Operations Directorate management information

Report: 11
Date: 17 May 2007
By: AC Central Operations on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report is a summary of Central Operations (CO) performance, against targets from 1 April 2006 to 28 February 2007, including commentary and examples of operational success (Appendix 3). As requested, a focus on CO20 Territorial Support Group performance development issues is also provided (Appendix 4). In addition, detail is provided on developments in the Central Operations target setting and performance management regime.

A. Recommendation

That

1. members note current operational performance within Central Operations; and
2. note development of the Central Operations Performance Framework and changes to the business group structure.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. This report on Central Operations performance is structured to highlight:

• The arrangements in place to enable performance management
• Current developments in the Central Operations business group
• Contribution to national and corporate performance measures
• Performance against Central operations business group targets
• Significant operations within the Central operations Operational Command Units
• Central Operations Performance Management Framework
• Central Operations operates a tiered approach to performance accountability. Assistant Commissioner Central Operations is accountable to MPS Performance Board for Capital City Policing and contribution to strategic outcomes. Performance in these areas is reported at the monthly CO performance meeting and the key strategic issues are escalated to CO command team. This monthly meeting is chaired by DAC with portfolio responsibility for performance and is attended by Commanders and OCU Commanders.

2. A process diagram of the CO performance framework diagram is included at Appendix 1.

3. The performance framework encapsulates Capital City Policing, how Central Operations meets the demands placed upon it, how we deal with spontaneous incidents, how we deal with planned events, the support we provide to other MPS Directorates, BOCUs and OCUs, integrated operations against demand, incidents and crime problems, customer and stakeholder satisfaction and how we manage our business (people and finance).

4. A range of measures has been developed to support this framework and it is against these that Commanders and OCU Commanders are held accountable, both at the business group and OCU levels.

5. Aligned to this year’s corporate planning cycle Central Operations is developing its performance framework to link planning with performance, thus ensuring that our efforts are directed toward priority activities. Corporate objectives are linked through to OCU plans, which in turn will be reflected in the business group objectives in a top down/bottom up approach. At the OCU level, personal objectives are linked to business group and corporate priorities through the PDR process as individual objectives for officers.

6. A further recent development has been an attempt to combine the business planning and performance elements with co-ordination and tasking, with the benefits of delivering fully coordinated and integrated policing to support a hugely diverse population the size of London. It is the ability to effectively meet these demanding policing requirements linked to the unique challenges that defines Capital City Policing. Therefore, key performance areas will be mapped against the performance framework and a series of key performance indicators will be developed in support of this framework.

Development of Central Operations Business Group

7. Central Operations continues to plan for the delivery of high quality, citizen focused policing services. Development of the Central Operations vision and future direction can be found in “Blue Print”, a document which provides the strategic framework for the Business Group operating profile to deliver Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur’s vision of the future to focus on ‘Capital City Policing’ – putting the needs of individuals and communities first. It gives clarity around the expectations, roles and responsibilities of the Command Team, how we will treat each other and how we will all engage with the MPS Values.

8. This document clearly defines our standards both internally and externally and focuses on our Communities with a specific community pledge – We will build trust by listening and responding.

9. The over arching aims and objectives of Central Operations is to be accessible and approachable; to build relationships; encourage others to challenge and get involved whilst supporting the wider MPS values and priorities; work together to make London safer for all our communities and will focus on delivering the highest quality of service to our customers and citizens. To these ends we have made our pledge to all those living, working, visiting or travelling through our Capital, based on:

• Citizen Focus
• Community Engagement
• Customer Services

10. The Blue Print will be personally issued to all supervisors and managers within the Business Group. To support its launch it will be supported by a series of presentations across CO by the Modernisation Change Team to all staff. Further more it will be circulated to our key stakeholders and other Business Groups within the MPS to build upon the framework of co-operation and support through the tasking and co-ordinating process, both at a corporate level but also at the Business Group level (Central Operations Co-ordinating and Tasking Office).

11. The Blue Print also clearly defines the future direction.

12. As Olympic Security Director, the Assistant Commissioner has been tasked with identifying our security approach to the 2012 London Olympics and communicating this to Londoners. The Olympic Games provides the opportunity to try out new ways of working, as well as showing all that is good about CO and the MPS. The Assistant Commissioner wants to encourage everyone to eventually participate in the development of our approach, in order to ensure that the vast wealth of specialist knowledge in CO and the MPS is effectively utilised.

The next steps

13. This process is progressive and the next steps will therefore be the subject of an extensive consultation process. However, the overall direction will be moving towards a position where the key programmes and projects are in place, and the key milestones have been established.

14. The overarching process of modernisation is not fixed, but will grow and develop to support the ethos of ‘Continuous Improvement’. This programme will support the wider issues of Met Modernisation, Transforming HR and the increased focus on Police productivity, efficiency and economy.

15. From the beginning of April, the shape of the CO business group has changed. Metcall and Disclosure Service OCUs are now no longer part of CO, but on 2 April 2007 Diplomatic Protection, Palace of Westminster and Aviation Security commands transferred from Specialist Operations to Central Operations:

• CO6 Diplomatic Protection Group provides protection for foreign missions in London, such as embassies, high commissions, consular sections and official residences, in accordance with Article 22 of the Vienna Convention 1961
• CO7 Palace of Westminster is responsible for ensuring a safe and secure environment for peers, members, employees and the public by preventing, disrupting and responding to suspected or actual terrorist activity; preventing and detecting other crimes; maintaining public order; and preventing or responding to fire.
• CO18 Aviation Security – operating within the MPS corporate priorities and aims to support public and staff expectations that London Heathrow and City airports are safe and secure.
• This transfer has occurred with little impact on the officers and staff, after full consultation with stakeholders and with minimum disruption to normal business. The addition of these units to Central Operations will enable us to provide a more integrated and effective response to our Capital City policing role, working in a more joined up and collaborative way, across a range of activities including transport, operations and security.

Central Operations current operational performance summary

16. For the purposes of this report performance will be discussed in the key areas of:

• performance against national and corporate targets
• performance against CO Business Group objectives.

Performance against national and corporate targets

17. Central Operations is accountable for delivering against one objective at a national level – to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) in road accidents by 50% by the year 2010, compared with the average for 1994/98. To achieve this target the MPS must reduce KSIs to no more than 277 per month by 2010 or 3,324 annually. It should be recognised that due to the lag times in investigating KSI road traffic accident and processing the subsequent data, management information runs some three months in arrears. The latest available KSI data is for December 2006.

18. The current average monthly performance for the twelve months ending December 2006 is 323 per month, 46 above the target level. This compares favourably with previous years and is the second lowest monthly average in the last four years. Based on 2006 average performance the number of KSI casualties will need to be reduced by 1.2 per month until March 2010 in order for the target to be met. This in itself is realistically achievable although it should be noted that not all factors contributing to KSI casualties are fully within the control of roads policing.

19. The KSI trend has fallen significantly since 2003 as chart 1 below illustrates:

Chart 1: Monthly total KSI casualties – MPD (see supporting material)

There is evidence of an increase in 2006 and this in part may be attributed to increases in all casualty classes and in particular pedestrians and to a lesser degree powered two wheeled vehicles (P2Ws, which includes motor cycles and scooters). October 2006 was the highest month for pedestrian KSIs (197 casualties) in the last four years.

20. A rolling twelve-month measure of KSI performance is a more reliable indicator of performance against the target as it levels out seasonality and exceptions. Chart 2 below clearly shows declining KSI casualty numbers. The numbers fell at a rate faster than expected from September 2004 to June of 2005 and stabilised just above target levels before rising in the autumn of 2005. It has not been possible to fully explain the exceptional performance during this period although anecdotal evidence suggests that factors outwith the control of Traffic OCU almost certainly played a part.

21. Since the beginning of 2006, KSI casualty numbers have returned to expected levels. There are fluctuations on a monthly basis and this is normal. As has been previously mentioned October, November and December of 2006 (the latest months for which data are available) have shown successive rises and in all likelihood this is a partial seasonal effect as it has happened in two of the last four years. The expectation is that numbers will begin to decline naturally in January and rise again in March.

22. Chart 2 also shows the performance trajectory required in order to meet the PSA target and it can be seen that there is a degree of comfort given the time remaining to meet this objective. However, a watchful eye should be placed over KSI casualty numbers over the next month or two to guard against any emerging upward trend. The rolling twelve-month total needs to be reduced by around 14 casualties per month in order for the target to be met. Another way of looking at the KSI casualty numbers shows that they have been reduced by 42% (baseline = 6,636 against current 12 months = 3,875) since the target was introduced and we are almost exactly half way through the target period.

Chart 2: Rolling twelve month total KSI casualties – MPD (see supporting material)

Performance against CO targets

23. The Central Operations monthly performance report for February 2007 is attached at Appendix 2 and provides comprehensive coverage of performance against Central Operations objectives.

24. Supporting priority crime reduction is a main concern for Central Operations and is a significant contributor to these corporate objectives. Areas where Central Operations inputs have made an impact include joint operations against street crime with CO OCUs such as the Territorial Support Group (CO20), Traffic (CO15) and Transport (CO17), as well as specialist units such as Dogs, Marine and Air Support Units providing the necessary skills and tactics to disrupt and reduce crime; provision of armed support through the Specialist Firearms Command (CO19) to tackle gun crime, assisted by CO14 Clubs and Vice; and tackling violent crime.

25. Across London, there is a consistent demand for Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs). There have been 1,997 deployments this year to date, an average of 182 a month. This has been supplemented by a further 101 pre-planned ARV operations, 417 operations by teams of Specialist Firearms Officers and 257 by Tactical Support Teams who have also made 76 arrests. 1,051 firearms have been recovered in the eleven months to February 2007, slightly fewer than last year. Almost one quarter of these (260) were lethal.

26. Around the night-time economy, Clubs and Vice OCU has introduced measures to help reduce the incidence of gun crime and violent crime in and around nightclubs. This includes undertaking both overt and covert visits, ensuring that clubs complete risk assessments prior to proposed events and advising on certain aspects of safety and security of people within premises. To date there has been a small percentage decline in the number of such incidents that have occurred within clubs.

27. A significant proportion of Central Operations resource has been used to assist borough policing in the reduction of priority crime. This is usually achieved through co-ordinated deployments through the corporate tasking process and most often involves a combination of Central operations units working together with BOCU counterparts on intelligence-led activities against, for example, street crime.

28. This year the TSG has made 519 street crime arrests, 250 burglary arrests and 1,020 arrests for possession of an offensive weapon. In total TSG has made 15,138 arrests in support of borough performance objectives.

29. As the stature of London as world city continues to grow we see an increase in the number of high profile events that come to the capital in addition to the existing ceremonial, football, security/military and public order events already policed. One such example this summer being the Tour de France which will have a special stage in London requiring considerable large event management commitment. Combined with the opening of the new Wembley stadium and the build up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games this means an increased demand for events policing, another key area of specialism residing within Central Operations. Wembley alone is likely to generate at least thirty additional large events every year. The challenge is to deploy appropriate numbers of officers with the requisite public order and events policing skills whilst at the same time allowing events to proceed in a democratic, safe and secure way, preserving the enjoyment of the participating public. The bulk of officers performing this role are drawn from boroughs through the Aid process (officers temporarily leave their borough, police the event usually under the supervision of CO11 Public Order Branch, and then return to their borough to perform their regular duty) and it is a further challenge to ensure both the resilience of borough policing and that the distribution of Aid is equitable across all boroughs.

30. For the year to date Public Order Branch has successfully managed to reduce the borough Aid commitment by seventeen per cent against an increase in the number of events (up 5% to 6,252). The reality is that one hundred and sixty thousand staff days will be spent on events policing this year.

31. Together Traffic (CO15) and Transport (CO17) OCUs are responsible for safety and security of integrated transport networks. Traffic OCU is charged with reducing road casualties and denying criminals the use of the roads, whilst Transport OCU work with Transport for London to ensure crime and congestion on designated bus routes is kept to a minimum.

32. Killed and seriously injured performance has been discussed previously so this section of the report will largely focus on Traffic OCU’s work in support of casualty reduction and on roads crime, and the performance of Transport OCU.

33. A key element of casualty reduction has been the Think! Campaign, established to raise driver awareness of the factors that contribute significantly to collisions and to target these types of driver behaviour. To date over twenty thousand fixed penalty notices have been issued against the Think! Campaign themes (driving with excess speed, not wearing a seatbelt and use of mobile phone whilst driving/not in control of vehicle), an increase of 22% on the previous year. This year’s target to raise enforcement activity by six per cent is very likely to be exceeded. Additionally, there have been 1,373 arrests for drink driving, up 29% on the same period last year.

34. Intelligence shows that those people who choose not to tax and insure their vehicles are more likely to also be involved in crime in some way and that their vehicles are integral to their criminal enterprise. Legislation allows the police to seize vehicles that are untaxed and whose drivers are unlicensed and uninsured. Traffic OCU has seized 8,551 vehicles this year, against a target of 4,000.

35. ANPR activity has generated 3,562 arrests this year so far, of which 34 were for robbery, 38 for burglary, over 300 for vehicle crime and around 400 each for drugs and theft offences.

36. The work of Transport OCU (CO17) focuses on designated bus routes with an emphasis on making them at least as safe and secure as the non-designated routes and to reduce congestion and disruption to service. Passenger perceptions of safety and security on buses and at bus stops/shelters are a key indicator of how well CO17 is managing to achieve improvements. Latest data for the quarter ending December 2007 shows those perceptions of safety and security at bus stops and shelters has improved by two percentage points on the previous quarter to 79%. The biggest improvement has been in perceptions of safety and security on buses, up five percentage on the previous quarter to 83%. Both measures fall short of the network average by just one percentage point.

37. Satisfaction with bus reliability has risen three percentage points to 74%, the highest level in the last eighteen months and is two percentage points above the network average. Satisfaction with journey times has improved by four percentage points to eighty per cent. This is two percentage points below the network average.

38. Arrests and process performance has shown a small improvement from last year, with 9,249 for the year to date. Cab Enforcement Team has contributed 2,200 arrests and processes of which 1,862 were for taxi touting offences. This is a significant improvement on last year.

39. The Red Route and Congestion teams are responsible for ensuring traffic on TOCU routes flows freely. This is achieved by Red Route and parking enforcement through the issue of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs). Overall, issue numbers are up by 20%.

40. The Central Operations Performance Unit is currently in the process of developing output measures of satisfaction for public facing activities undertaken by the business group. These will relate to improving the satisfaction level of victims in the contact they have with Central Operations. We will also seek to develop measures of satisfaction of customers and stakeholders in the service they receive from Central Operations both with the level and quality of resources provided to them.

Olympics update

41. The Olympic Security Directorate continues to advance preparations in line with the programme strands: Capacity and capability building; Legacy; Operational readiness; Target hardening; Human security; Exercise and scenario testing; Finance; Staffing and resources.

42. Significant recent developments include: submission of the Olympic Park planning application (to which a response is required; visit to Beijing by MPS Olympic Security Directorate (OSD); the OSD intelligence function is due to become National Intelligence Model compliant in the next four weeks; and sign off of the staff induction programme. In the current quarter (April to June) will see the launch of the Olympic Security Directorate.

C. Race and equality impact

1. This report highlights how the work in progress to develop CO's performance framework will enable CO to effectively capture the impact of its operations on London’s diverse communities, including where our operations have a differential impact. Some communities may be more likely to come into contact with CO officers, Community and Equality Impact Assessments are therefore conducted for all CO’s operations to ensure they are intelligence led.

2. This information will inform CO’s community engagement strategy and is relevant to community and equality impact assessments and proactive and preventative work undertaken by CO for example around Road Safety. In addition, gaining a greater understanding of CO’s impact on communities, this assist in developing CO’s tactical advice and support concerning local community engagement when CO is deployed within the MPS.

3. This report also highlights the challenges CO faces in becoming more representative of London’s diverse communities. Accordingly, CO is enhancing its performance framework to monitor progress in achieving a more representative workforce profile at all levels. This will allow CO to monitor the impact individual OCUs' positive action programs, as set out in their Equality Development Action Plans, which are reviewed regularly.

D. Financial implications

No finance or resource implications are raised as a consequence of the information contained in this paper. It is forecast that Central Operations business group will record a small under spend (within 1% of budget) this year and it is within the context of this rigorous approach to financial management that these results should be viewed.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Graeme Keeling, Central Operations, MPS.

For more information contact:

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

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback