Specialist Crime Directorate management information

Report: 5
Date: 17 May 2007
By: Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report gives a summary of Specialist Crime Directorate’s performance against their key objectives from 1 April 2007 to 31 May 2007.

A. Recommendation

That members note the report.

B. Supporting information

1. This report provides management information on Specialist Crime Directorate’s (SCD) performance against its objectives for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 May 2007 inclusive. The data has been reconciled by the Performance Directorate and wherever appropriate should match the information contained in the corporate 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:

Gun-Enabled Crime

Measure	Target	Actual	Status
Reduction of gun enabled crime	- 5%	+21.6%	Significantly below target – down on last reporting period
Gun enabled crime sanction detection rate	25%	17.1%	Significantly below target – improved on last reporting period

4. There has been an increase of 111 or 21.6% in gun-enabled crime offences recorded in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). There were 626 offences compared with 515 for the same period last financial year. SCD had responsibility for the investigation of 167 or almost 27 % of offences committed in this crime category. Lambeth is the borough with most gun enabled crime offences in this reporting period with 62 recorded (Lewisham last year with 39 offences). Havering borough had the least reported with three offences (Kensington & Chelsea last year with four offences). Eleven boroughs account for almost 55% of reported offences. Five boroughs have seen a decrease in the number of offences when compared with last year.

5. Last year there was a weekly average of just under 65 gun enabled crime offences. Currently the weekly average is 72. If this rate continues the end of year forecast is likely to be around 3,744 offences. A projected forecasted increase of 369 or 11%. To achieve the 5% reduction target the remaining weekly average should not exceed 60 offences.

6. The overall MPS gun enabled crime sanction detection rate is 17.1%. The target is 25%. There have been 107 detections. This figure is up when compared with the last financial year (13.6%). SCD has detected 43 or 25.7% of the offences they investigated.

Table 1: Comparison of gun enabled crime offences (see supporting material)

7. The above graph illustrates that compared with last year there has been an increase in gun enabled crime offences. Extending this by another two years shows in comparison there were 55 and 64 fewer offences committed.

8. There were 110 commercial robbery offences with firearms investigated by Serious and Organised Crime OCU. Of these 34 were detected, providing a detection rate of 30.9%. This compares with a detection rate of 21.1% (90 offences/19 detections) for same period last year. Offences have increased by 20 or 18% and detections by 15 or 78%. The borough with the highest number of offences is Croydon with 18 (last year shared between Lambeth and Havering, both with 10). Four boroughs are yet to record this type of offence.

9. The sanction detection is above the MPS target but below their self-generated target of 35%.

10. There were 39 Trident offences during this reporting period. This is an increase of 7 or 21.8% on last year. Fatal shootings have decreased by two, from four down to two. There is currently an overall sanction detection rate of 12.8%. Five offences having been detected. This is down from last year’s figure of 21.9%. The borough with the highest number of reported offences is Lambeth with seven (last year Lewisham nine). Twenty boroughs have not had a Trident related shooting this financial year. In addition, eight of the hotspot boroughs account for 82% of all reported Trident offences.

11. There were 18 Trafalgar related offences. Of these, one has been detected, providing a detection rate of 5.6%. This compares with a detection rate of 53.8% (13 offences/seven detections) for same period last year. Offences have increased by five or 38% and detections decreased by six or 86%. The borough with the highest number of offences is Bromley with four (last year jointly Lewisham, Waltham Forest, Enfield, and Islington with two). There are 23 boroughs that have not had a Trafalgar related shooting this financial year.

12. For Trident and Trafalgar offences this financial year compared with same reporting period of last year, detailed by borough please refer to Appendix 1.

Criminal networks

Measure	Target	Actual	Status
Number of criminal networks disrupted	225	20	Significantly below target – improved on last reporting period
Value of assets identified by court order for seizure	£35m	£2.5m	Significantly below target – improved on last reporting period

13. There have been 20 confirmed disruptions of criminal network financial year-to-date. To achieve the end of year target, an average of nineteen claims need to be approved each month, or just over four per week. Subsequent to the reporting period, there have been three further sittings of the panel. In these, another 33 were approved. This brings us slightly ahead of the expected position FYTD.

14. Of the twenty successful claims, all were submitted by units based in Specialist Crime. The networks were involved in offences such as money laundering, class A drug supply and armed robberies.

15. A panel visit to Central Operations Clubs and Vice Unit is currently being arranged. Also, Specialist Operations tend to submit their claims as a block. This is due to their complexity and sensitivity, requiring a detailed accompanying verbal explanation. A team have devised a presentation on the criminal networks matrix and disruption panel process. They have been visiting a number of units and are trying to schedule a programme to rollout to the relevant Territorial Policing units.

16. The value of assets identified by court order for seizure currently stands at £2.5m. To achieve the end of year target a monthly average of £2.9m needs to be seized. There are a number of high value seizures being processed and this should bring us back on target by the next reporting period.

Child abuse

Measure	Target	Actual	Status
CAIC overall sanction detection rate	20%	23%	On target – down on last reporting period
Sanction detection rate for child rape	35%	51.4%	On target – down on last reporting period

17. Of the 1,350 offences investigated involving intra-familial abuse by the Child Abuse Investigation Command (CAIC), 311 were detected. This provides a sanction detection rate of 23%, which is 6.7 percentage points increase on last year (1,247 offences / 203 detections). Two years ago, the detection rate was 14%. The number of offences being reported has increased by 103, a rise of 8.2%. The boroughs with the joint highest number of offences are Lambeth and Lewisham with 81 (Haringey last year with 79). Hackney has the highest sanction detection rate with 53.7% (58 offences/31 detections); Hillingdon has the lowest with 3.2% (31 offences/one detection).

18. A search of offences recorded on CRIS show 51 entries so far this year at Hillingdon borough. The breakdown is as follows:

• One detection
• Twelve offences classified as actual bodily harm
• Nine offences classified as common assault
• Five offences are child cruelty offences. Because of the processes for multi agency and single agency investigations it is common for these allegations to be referred to Social Services for conclusion once the police investigation has established the background of the allegation and the family involved. These matters are frequently concluded in this manner and no detection will be achieved even though the best outcome for the child has.
• Seven offences are recorded as Crime Related Incidents which are utilised for a variety of reasons where there is CAIT involvement but no specific offence is being investigated by the team
• Three offences have been no crimed
• Eight offences are historic sexual assault allegations. These tend to be some of the most complex offences to investigate and can take a number of months to conclude
• Two are SUDIs – infant deaths which do not result in sanction detections and finally
• Four are police protection which also do not result in a sanction detection

19. There is a strong probability that not all detections during this period have been recorded. This could be attributable to a number of reasons such as housekeeping, staffing levels or volume of work. These issues will be explored and addressed in forthcoming management meetings.

20. There has been a significant reduction in the number of child rape offences. There were 35 offences and of these 18 or 51.4% have been detected. This compares with last year’s figure of 66, a decrease of 21 or 31.8%. There were also 18 detections providing a 27.3% sanction detection rate.

Homicide

Measure	Target	Actual	Status
Overall homicide detection rate	85%	85%	On target – improvement on last reporting period
Reduction in number of homicide offences	-1	-13	On target – improvement on last reporting period

21. The overall homicide detection rate for reporting period is 85%, this compares with the sanction detection rate of 87.5% for last year’s. It currently matches the target of 85%. There were 20 homicide offences with 17 detections. Of these 12 have been detected since the start of financial year (April 2007) and provides an in-year detection rate of 60%. There were five detections of pre-financial year homicides.

22. There have been 13 fewer homicides than compared with same reporting period last financial year. This is equivalent to almost a 40% decrease.

23. The borough with the highest number of homicide offences is Croydon with four (last year Lambeth with five). This accounts for 20% of the MPS total. There are nineteen boroughs that are yet to record a homicide offence this financial year.

24. Trident Major Investigation Teams have had two homicide offences to investigate; one has been detected. A 50% detection rate. It was a pre-financial year detection. That provides an in-year detection rate of 0%. There are two fewer offences and one more detection when compared with last year.

25. At the beginning of this calendar year, there were a number of high-profile shootings involving young men that fell under the Trident remit. There are three investigations and all are ongoing. In the first incident at Streatham Ice Rink, fourteen persons were arrested and seven released with no further action but will be treated as witnesses. There are five suspects who remain on bail, enquiries are ongoing and the plan is to submit a report to the Crown Prosecution Service.

26. The second incident, nine arrests have been made in connection with the murder. In May, two youths were arrested for the murder and held at a South London police station. They were subsequently charged with murder and remanded in custody.

27. The third incident, another home shooting, officers conducted searches at two addresses with the assistance of armed police and specialist search teams. One suspect was arrested on suspicion of the murder. He has been interviewed and released on police bail for eight weeks. This suspect and four others were also arrested for drugs offences and some £27k seized. These suspects too have been bailed for eight weeks.

28. Child Abuse Investigation Command’s Major Investigations Teams have investigated four homicide offences. One has been detected this financial year offering a 25% detection rate. There were three more offences, and one fewer detections when compared with last‘s year reporting period.

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

30. A criminal network responsible for the importation of hundreds of false passports into the UK has been disrupted. The quick action of Operation Maxim, working closely with partner agencies, prevented these fake passports from being distributed across the communities of London and potentially further a field. This investigation demonstrated the importance of working closely with our partners from the Border and Immigration Agency and Her Majesties Revenue and Customs. This sort of collaborative working has a significant impact against those who are involved in organised immigration crime. The case started when a package concealing 80 blank passports and other related items was found. Following a covert operation, officers entered a house in Peckham, where the package had been destined to from Nigeria. Officers found a fake passport factory inside. Three men were arrested and have been subsequently sentenced. Two were found to have entered the United Kingdom illegally.

31. A convicted fraudster and forger has been ordered to pay a confiscation order worth £150k. This followed an investigation by the Financial Investigation Unit of the Economic and Specialist Crime Command. The suspect had a six month suspended sentence for five counts of forgery and one count of deception. He was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and attempted deception and when officers searched his home, they found financial documents in other names. Enquiries revealed that he had opened numerous bank accounts in his mother’s name following her death. He had also purchased bonds and made a number of fraudulent multiple share applications. During the course of the financial investigation, officers discovered that he had transferred the fraudulently obtained shares to his girlfriend whilst on bail.

32. The final defendant pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court to £500k worth of money laundering. Operation Bella Vista involved an international criminal network, which was known as the “Bling Bling Gang” and believed to be one of the most significant international crack cocaine and money laundering criminal networks of its kind. Fifty million pounds worth of drugs were proved at the trial. The cocaine was smuggled in by vulnerable mules in a professionally concealed way, either in specially constructed suitcases or in containers such as vases, rum or perfume bottles. Once the drugs arrived in the UK in their raw form, they were taken to the rented house in Newham, which acted as a 'crack house’. It was here they were manufactured into crack, the highly addictive version of cocaine and was then supplied to dealers UK-wide who then sold it on the streets. The date for the confiscation orders of all the major Bella Vista players will also be set at where between £3-£6 million is expected through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

33. Seven men and a woman have been sentenced for their involvement in what is believed to be the largest organised theft and re-registration of motor vehicles in the UK, in the past decade. The estimated retail value of the vehicles stolen exceeds £4.5m. The group were arrested by the Met's Stolen Vehicle Unit after 190 high value vehicles were stolen. They falsely obtained over 300 vehicle identities from the DVLA, which they linked to stolen cars, in an attempt to try to legitimise the cars' history. The cars were stolen from across London. The methodology used to obtain the stolen vehicles ranged dramatically from theft at gun and knifepoint, stealing keys and burglary - particularly targeting homes where the occupants were in as this would mean car keys were in the house. They would use identity details of scrapped cars in Belgium to claim to the DVLA that they were importing cars from Europe into the UK, when in fact it had been stolen in London and never left. These cars would then be sold on to unknowing members of the public, who would run the risk of having a 'stolen' car taken off them by police and losing their money.

34. The Middle Market Drugs Project seized over £1.1m worth of Class A and C drugs following a raid on a flat in Camberwell. The raid was a pre-planned, intelligence-led operation. At the address, more than 11.5 kilos of cocaine and 105 kilos of cannabis resin were recovered from boxes and holdall bags that were in various rooms. The cocaine has an estimated street value of more than £1m, with the cannabis worth approximately £100k. The search also found approximately £12k in sterling hidden around the property. A 42-year-old man was arrested at on suspicion of supplying drugs and is currently in police custody.

35. Five people were arrested by officers on suspicion of planning a kidnap. They acted after monitoring the activities of a criminal network. It is believed they had been hired to kidnap a man following a disagreement between other criminal networks. One man was arrested following an armed stop on his car. This involved Projects Team, covert policing and CO19 firearms team. A revolver with ammunition was recovered at the scene. A second car was stopped by armed officers near Chelsea Bridge, resulting in one man and one woman being arrested. During both stops, Hatton rounds were fired at the tyres to immobilise the cars. No other weapons were used and no one was injured. Officers arrested two further men, one in Lewisham High Street and one in Shepherd Bush Road. They have all been arrested for conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to possess firearms and money laundering offences.

36. Three men were jailed for their involvement in a cash-in-transit robbery in Enfield. One has been jailed and the two other men are charged with another offence and yet to appear at court. It is believed the men are responsible for thirteen separate cash-in-transit robberies. Officers seized cars used in the robberies from the defendant's addresses and seized over £16k in cash. They were highly organised team and prolific. They used high-powered stolen vehicles to commit offences. Prior to their arrest, they were committing two cash in transit robberies per day, providing a significant risk to cash in transit employees in London and Hertfordshire.

37. A man has been sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment for attempting to meet a child after grooming her on the Internet following an investigation by the MPS Paedophile Unit. The suspect lived in Sussex and found guilty at court of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, making indecent images of children, and possession of indecent images of children. His conviction was the result of an investigation where a man was arrested for making and possessing indecent images of children. During examination of his computer, it became clear that the person arrested had been pretending to be an 11-year-old girl while chatting online. The chat was sexually explicit and usually involved the men, who presumed they were chatting to an 11-year-old, sending 'her' indecent images. Shortly after that arrest, a detective from the Child Abuse Investigation Command assumed the ‘11-year-old girl’s’ online identity and used it to continue to talk online with paedophiles. During the trial, it was revealed that in the online chat he requested they meet up. This was arranged, meeting outside a London tube station, from which he could drive them somewhere quiet. Officers observed a man driving past the station who pulled up nearby and started texting. He was arrested, an examination of his computer found identical correspondence logs as to those on the undercover police officer's. Ten indecent images of young girls aged between 10 and 12 years were recovered and his mobile phone had text messages sent to the 'the girl' were found on it.

38. The following are examples of developmental initiatives and recognition:

39. The MPS Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Advisory Group has held a thematic review of LGBT-related murders. The review had been commissioned in 2002 with a focus on LGBT related murders from the 90s. The review was taken forward in partnership with SCD 1 Homicide Command and sought to identify best practice from an LGBT community perspective with outlined recommendations on LGBT matters in relation to critical incidents and proactive prevention measures. It concentrated on four themes:

• Gender identity, sexual orientation and lifestyle of the victim
• Liaison with victim family and support networks
• Community liaison
• Media relations

40. The Advisory Group also gave recognition that of the 22 recommendations noted, the majority had been implemented by the MPS and this again reflected the organisation’s commitment to being seen as a learning and inclusive organisation.

41. Following the tragic deaths of three teenagers in February, the Met ran a hard-hitting Trident television advertising campaign during the school Easter holidays. Entitled 'Blood on Your Hands’; the advert was shown on music channels and the Internet. It specifically targeted young people and encouraged them to come forward with information about gun crime to the police or Crimestoppers. The advert was originally launched in 2005 and was shown only in cinemas in specific locations. It carries the message: "If you know someone has got a gun but don't report it, you could have blood on your hands”. The ad can also be downloaded from Trident's website.

42. A new online training package to help officers when dealing with domestic and honour-based violence. The Virtual Crime Academy has developed two innovative training courses as part of the MPS’ drive to create greater understanding of the issues often involved in domestic and honour-based violence incidents. Students wanting to take advantage of the modules can access them simply from the corporate system.

43. The modules - initially three for domestic violence, but with a further question and answer modules in development, and one for honour-based violence - are intended to inform students of the key features of these cases, as well as providing guidance on risk identification and management. They also provide an insight into evidential and intelligence opportunities.

44. The Commissioner officially opened the Met’s Intelligence Bureau (MiB) in May. The MiB Project will create a pan-London intelligence unit for the organisation dealing with issues affecting London as a whole and cross-B/OCU and cross-border issues. The project aims to provide:

• A principal point of reception for information
• Improve the process and structure for managing intelligence
• Inform corporate-level tasking and co-ordination process
• Corporate level intelligence and analytical products
• Supports the delivery of information to the right people at the right time in line with the MPS Intelligence Strategy

Some of the intended benefits include:

• Enhanced service for cross-B/OCU and cross-border issues
• Improved deployment of covert and overt resources to address corporate priorities
• Reduced duplication of intelligence services across the MPS
• More efficient and simpler ways of working – e.g. removal of separate business group level intelligence functions

Abbreviations

CAIC

Child Abuse Investigation Command

CAIT

Child Abuse Investigation Team

CRIS

Crime Reporting Information System

FYTD

Financial year-to-date

GEC

Gun enabled crime

GCTDU

Gun Crime Tactical Delivery Unit

MiB

Met Intelligence Bureau

MPA

Metropolitan Police Authority

MPS

Metropolitan Police Service

OCU

Operational Command Unit

SCD

Specialist Crime Directorate

SUDI

Sudden unexpected death in infants

TP

Territorial Policing

UK

United Kingdom

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 author: Raymond Marshall, Specialist Crime Directorate, Performance Improvement Unit, MPS.

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Boroughs	Trident Fatal/Non-Fatal			Trafalgar Non-Fatal
	Offences [1]			Offences
	2006/07	2007/08	Change	2006/07	2007/08	Change
Barking	2	1	-1	0	0	0
Barnet	1	0	-1	0	1	+1
Bexley	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brent	1	3	+2	1	0	-1
Bromley	0	0	0	0	4	+4
Camden	0	0	0	1	0	-1
Croydon	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ealing	0	3	+3	0	2	+2
Enfield	0	2	+2	2	0	-2
Greenwich	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Hackney	6	6	0	1	0	-1
Hammersmith	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Haringey	2	0	-2	1	2	+1
Harrow	0	0	0	0	0	0
Havering	0	0	0	0	1	+1
Hillingdon	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hounslow	0	0	0	0	0	0
Islington	0	3	+3	2	1	-1
Lambeth	0	7	+7	2	0	-2
Lewisham	9	3	-6	0	0	0
Kensington	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kingston	0	0	0	0	0	0
Merton	0	0	0	0	0	0
Newham	0	1	+1	0	1	+1
Redbridge	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richmond	0	0	0	0	0	0
Southwark	7	3	-4	0	3	+3
Sutton	0	0	0	1	0	-1
Tower Hamlets	0	0	0	0	3	+3
Waltham Forest	1	6	+5	2	0	-2
Wandsworth	1	1	0	0	0	0
Westminster	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	32	39	+7	12	18	+6

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