MPA Direct - May 2009

Issue 6

This issue of MPA Direct is available as PDF document. Or alternatively a summary version is available below.

Full Authority 28 May

Mayor Boris Johnson chaired the Authority and began by congratulating Chris Allison, appointed Assistant Commissioner Central Operations and Stuart Osborne appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner Senior National Co-ordinator Counter-terrorism.

He also congratulated the Commissioner and all the officers involved in the policing of the Tamil protests in Parliament Square, remembering that this achievement is a very difficult balance of two competing concerns - the right to protest and the right of Londoners to go about their day to day business.

He discussed the serious issues around 'abstraction' - taking officers from boroughs to police Parliament Square.

Catherine Crawford, Chief Executive, responded to two questions from members of the public, the full text of the questions and her responses can be found with the agenda.

In his report the Commissioner also discussed the problems of abstraction of police from the boroughs to the centre to police the Tamil protest, saying that this had made a big impact on boroughs and potentially on Londoners' experience of crime.

The Tamil protests were further complicated by the fact that there seemed to be no central leader and hence no overall control of the protestors’ movements and intentions. The total costs for policing the protest currently stand at £9.3 million, £4.7million of which was overtime and the rest 'opportunity' costs. International events had a direct impact on policing in the square making overtime necessary in order to keep officers on the boroughs.

Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison confirmed that despite liaising with all possible parties, the hunger strike carried out by a Tamil protestor was beyond the control of the Met.

The other problem that emerged was that whilst the Tamil protested in Parliament Square no other group was able to do so - for example the Ghurkas. Members agreed that no one group should be allowed to continue protesting at such an iconic site to the detriment of other protestors, and discussions will continue at a very high level as to how this situation can be resolved in future.

Ultimately it is a decision for government as to the rights of protestors in Parliament Square and the Met will obey and carry out those decisions. The debate concluded with all present expressing their condolences to the Tamil community who have lost members of their family and friends.

Other issues discussed by members and the Commissioner included the Met’s use and current review of form 696, efficiency savings for next year and the impact on borough policing, and the new MPA Civil Liberties Panel.

Don't forget - the full Authority can be viewed on the archived webcasts at www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/webcasts

Met Forward: Civil Liberties Panel

This new work programme from the MPA’s strategy for the MPS, ‘Met Forward’, was hotly debated at the full Authority on 28 May 2009. Kit Malthouse started the discussion by saying he believed the MPA was the first Authority to have such a panel and he was sure that it would be constantly busy.

Its status and operating procedures are still to be formalised, but Kit sees the panel presenting reports to the Authority from which members will make recommendations to the Met. Crucial to the development of the panel is whether its decisions will in fact be able to influence the Met. Boris Johnson Chair of the MPA acknowledged that the Met is responsible for operational deployment. Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson joined the debate to confirm that the Met will give the panel all due attention wherever possible, but each party would always have to remember, and be subject to, their separate legal processes.

Other issues raised by members about the panel included whether meetings would be held in public. Although the consensus is that they should be, there may be times, due to the issues being discussed, it may have to meet in camera.

The arrangements that the Met would be able to put in place to service the panel, for example making papers and reports available to panel members, were also discussed. Kit Malthouse confirmed that the issues referred to the panel would be on a priority basis as agreed by the Authority. But the big issue was which members will sit on the panel and although Kit Malthouse has suggested there should be six, members agreed this figure was too small.

Consultation will continue with a further paper coming to the July full Authority.

Kit Chat

Kit Malthouse was interviewed by ‘Police Review’ in the 15 May 2009 edition.

Unfortunately this is not online but issues covered in the interview included:

• single point of entry for officers
• G20 protests
• the media and public order policing
• stop and search
• making the Met more publicly accountable
• politics seeping into policing
• MPA Race and Faith Inquiry

In October 2008 Chair of the MPA, Boris Johnson, asked Cindy Butts, member of the MPA to chair an inquiry into race and faith issues in the Met. A report will be brought back to the MPA in July 2009. In his interview Kit Malthouse spoke about the need to come up with constructive and practical steps on progression and retention issues within the Met. As well as inviting a wide range of officers to contribute their views to the inquiry, he confirmed that the Inquiry has studied commercial organisations’ advancement programmes for under-represented groups.

MPA Senior Officer appointments

The MPA is responsible for the appointment of senior Met officers including the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and all other Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) ranks. This month the MPA has appointed seven new commanders to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), equivalent to assistant chief constables in other forces.

All the successful candidates are existing MPS officers. They are:

• Detective Chief Superintendent Nicholas Bracken, Borough Commander Newham;
• Chief Superintendent Anthony Eastaugh, Borough Commander Barking and Dagenham;
• Chief Superintendent Mark Gore, Borough Commander Croydon;
• Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Hewitt, OCU Commander, Met Intelligence Bureau;
• Chief Superintendent Stephen Kavanagh, Borough Commander Barnet;
• Chief Superintendent Michael Wood, OCU Commander Central Communications Command; and
• Detective Chief Superintendent David Zinzan, OCU Commander Serious and Organised Crime

A panel of MPA members interviewed the candidates. Tim Godwin, the Temporary Deputy Commissioner, acted as police adviser, and Jane Harwood, Assistant Chief Executive to the Authority, also advised the panel.

On 8 May the MPA appointed Commander Stuart Osborne to the new role of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Senior National Coordinator, Counter-Terrorism.

In this new role Commander Osborne, currently Deputy National Coordinator of Terrorist Investigations, will develop oversight over the newly established Police National CT Network and will be responsible for
leading the operational and professional development of the CT network. This role is in addition to and complements the role of the
existing Senior National Co-ordinator, Counter Terrorism.

Commander Osborne was interviewed by a panel of three MPA members, Vice Chair Kit Malthouse, Reshard Auladin and Toby Harris. Catherine Crawford, MPA Chief Executive, was also in attendance.

MPA Vice Chair, Kit Malthouse, said:

"The Metropolitan Police Authority congratulates the successful candidates, each of whom impressed the appointment panels with his strategic and tactical knowledge and policing experience. While all applicants were of a high calibre, we believe we have chosen the most skilled to join the Met's strategic command.

“We expect the Met’s new appointees to use their skills, expertise and professionalism to deliver efficient and effective policing for the people of London."

Also on 8 May Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison was appointed as the Met’s Assistant Commissioner Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Central Operations. Mayor of London and Chair of the MPA Boris Johnson said:

"I am delighted to congratulate Chris Allison. This is a unique role and undoubtedly one of the toughest policing jobs in UK policing. And he will have a central part to play in working with all our partners in London to deliver a
successful Olympics and Paralympics in 2012.”

The interviews were conducted by a panel of MPA members: Vice Chair Kit Malthouse, Jennette Arnold, Reshard Auladin, Chris Boothman, Dee Doocey, Toby Harris, Graham Speed and Richard Tracey.

HMCIC Denis O’Connor, Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, Ann Gill (independent adviser) and Catherine Crawford Chief Executive of the MPA acted as advisors.

MPA fully endorses Met's stop and search Section 44 review

MPA Members at the Strategic and Operational Policing committee on 7 May 2009 fully endorsed the Met’s tactical review of the use of stop and search under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act (2000).Reshard Auladin, Chair of the committee, said:

“In 2007 the MPA inquiry ’Counter-Terrorism: The London debate’ found that anti-terrorism stop and search causes untold damage to the confidence certain communities have in the police, and Londoners seriously questioned its effectiveness in countering terrorism.

“The MPA inquiry therefore recommended that the Met urgently reviewed its use of Section 44 stop and search powers and, if its effectiveness in countering terrorism was not found to outweigh the damage it does to community relations, the Met should stop using it.

“The Authority is gratified that the Met’s tactical review has been concluded and is now recommending blanket use of this power should be stopped. We also note their consultation process “confirmed suggestions that the power is seen as controversial and has the potential to have a negative impact, particularly on minority communities.

“The use of Section 44 stop and search has always been controversial.  But the significant increase of 303% in one year, with a total of 101,751 stops by the Met for the year 2007/08 compared to 25,255 in 2006/07, has highlighted our grave concerns. We believe it is vital that the tactical review proposed by the Met also includes an effective monitoring and evaluation system.

“We will, however, continue to use stop and search under the very different regulations of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) as part of the Blunt 2 strategy which has been so successful in limiting knives being carried on our streets and consequently reducing youth violence and stabbings.

“’Counter- Terrorism: The London Debate’ found that there is profound support, across all communities, for the police’s counter-terrorist effort. If the Met is to tackle terrorism effectively, it must harness this support. We must work together with all our partners and communities if we are to detect terrorist activity, and find a way to fight terrorism more effectively, if we are not to alienate our diverse communities.“

Report of the Intelligence and Security Committee Review - London terrorist attacks 7/7

The findings concluded that: “Having taken everything into account, and having looked at all the evidence in considerable detail, we cannot criticise the judgements made by MI5 and the police based on the information that they had and their priorities at the time. Even considering material that was discovered after 7/7, and that which arose from the CREVICE trial, we believe that the decisions made in 2004 and 2005 were understandable and reasonable.”

The committee point to three key constraints for MI5 and the police prior to 7/7: MI5 resourcing, legal constraints of intelligence and the nature of intelligence. However, the committee does note the improvements made by agencies to address these constraints since 7/7, particularly the improved working relationships and resources for MI5, Special Branches, Counter Terrorist Units and Counter Terrorist Intelligence Units.

Keep right up to date:

Sign up to our News Feeds to be alerted when a new committee agenda or press release is added to the MPA website: www.mpa.gov.uk/news/rss.htm

We hope you will have had a chance to view the revamped MPA website and agree with us that it is more customer focussed and enjoyable to use. We would appreciate your feedback. Please contact us by email at communications@mpa.gov.uk or telephone 020 7202 0217/18.

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback