MPA Direct - October 2009

Issue 10

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

Full Authority: 29 October 2009

Chair Boris Johnson welcomed MPA members and the public to the Authority meeting. He began by congratulating two officers from the Met’s armed unit CO19, Sergeants Paul Young and
Michael Atkinson, who received the Jane’s Diversity in Action Award 2009 for their inspiring work educating young people about the dangers of guns, gangs and serious violence. He also welcomed the appointment of the new Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing, Ian McPherson, currently Chief Constable of Norfolk.

The Chair then handed over to the Commissioner who gave his report on policing issues over the past month, starting with the welcome statistic that crime is now at its lowest level for ten years in London. Operation Blunt 2 has seen a steady reduction in youth violence, knife crime and homicide and the Commissioner praised the partnership working that has led to 2,393 arrests since Operation Blunt 2 started in May 2008.

He also stressed that homicide is at its lowest level for ten years too – with two homicides per 100,000 people in London compared to six or seven per 100,000 in New York and 35 per 100,000 in Baltimore.

The Commissioner then outlined Operation ‘Autumn Nights’, which will be carried out over Halloween and is aimed at the seasonal robbery, assaults and anti-social behaviour that Londoners endure over this festivity.

Sir Paul also highlighted the successful publicity campaigns for ‘Bumblebee’, the anti-burglary strategy launched in October, and the Trident campaign aimed at young females who are increasingly involved in gun and gang violence.

He then spoke about the growing concerns over the escalation in homophobic crime, and detailed the measures the Met are taking to tackle this. These include increasing staff awareness, encouraging victims to report hate crime, common assault and harassment as well as high end violence such as GBH, and encouraging partnership working particularly with LGBT press and media. Increased reporting of homophobic crime may be in part due to increased confidence of victim to report such crimes and Sir Paul stressed that there are currently 200 LGBT liaison staff working in specialist units on boroughs, albeit on a mostly part time basis. Contrary to recent press reports the Met is not looking to remove this liaison role but to develop and improve it.

Sir Paul Stephenson then moved onto the alleged deployment of armed patrols (CO19) on London’s streets, a subject which several members had already voiced serious concerns about. He re-iterated firmly that he had no intention at all of introducing routine armed patrols on London’s streets and there will be no change to the Met’s current strategy. He also insisted that any such change in strategy would necessitate consultation with the Authority and the Mayor, as well as London’s communities.

However in response to serious gang related gun violence in certain areas over recent months, CO19 had supported local uniformed officers in eight pre-planned, intelligence-led operations on five boroughs. These were carried out with the support of the local communities involved and authorised by senior officers on boroughs.

The Commissioner very much regretted that the communication of these events had in fact led to the wrong impression being given to press and public. Added to this, officers responsible for authorising these operations had not ‘escalated’ their plans straightaway to the Met’s senior management team and had not foreseen the impact this would have. When Deputy Commissioner Tim Godwin became aware he immediately issued a statement denying that armed patrols were to be ‘routinely’ used on London’s streets. The Commissioner confirmed there had been 1,500 planned authorised armed operations this year to support uniformed colleagues, and that in some locations, such as airports, armed patrols are of course routine. Sir Paul is proud that the Met is one of a handful of police services around the world which remains routinely unarmed, he supports wholeheartedly officers remaining  unarmed and would never consider changing this strategy ‘by stealth’.

In general members welcomed the Commissioner’s statement and agreed overall that CO19 provides an excellent service. But several link members, including Joanne McCartney, Jenny Jones and Jennette Arnold, reported that their communities had been alarmed by press reports and angered there had been no consultation on the alleged change of strategy.

Another issue that concerned members was that such operations could be put in place, resourced and publicised without the Commissioner and his deputy being made aware. Reshard Auladin raised the issue of organisational learning – much of the of this series of events related to a failure in communications and a lack of central control, both of which had been highlighted in the Stockwell Report nearly two years ago. James Cleverly echoed this approach by praising the speedy and effective channels for consultation established on boroughs between police and their communities, and recommended that similar channels of communication should be established centrally with specialist units too.

Steve O’Connell thanked the Commissioner for the assurances he had given members about the processes involved in using armed patrols for pre-planned operations and asked that, where appropriate, such patrols should continue.

He sought to balance the debate by saying that there is a ‘silent majority out there’ who feel that the appropriate use of armed patrols in pre-planned intelligence led operations gave assurance to their communities. He hoped the Commissioner would continue to instruct his officers to use armed response on our streets in an appropriate way, and that they would not be unduly influenced by the current incident of moving away from using these tactics.

Toby Harris pointed out that had the MPA link member been consulted initially by the Met when these pre-planned armed patrols had been deployed on five boroughs, the resulting ‘debacle’ may never have occurred at all. He also identified the conundrum for senior management which the discussion had highlighted: how to empower relatively junior officers to be innovative while maintaining control of risk and avoiding the creation of a blame culture.

The Authority concluded by considering Jenny Jones’ motion calling for the Met’s Human Trafficking Unit to be maintained. The Commissioner has undertaken to bring back to Authority the results of the Met’s senior management team discussions about this issue for further debate with members in the context of the business planning and budget decision making process.

MPA Directorate of Audit Risk and Assurance: DARA

The MPA’s Julie Norgrove has been appointed as Director of Audit, Risk and Assurance - formerly Directorate of Internal Audit – taking over from Peter Tickner. Changing the name of the Directorate was one of the first things that Julie did on her appointment.

The following is a brief overview of her planned strategy:

• Taking the lead on risk management and developing a risk based approach for audit reviews, with more emphasis placed on reviewing risks to achieving strategic priorities and corporate objectives. This will take approx. three years to fully embed as the approach depends on the level of maturity within the risk management process in the MPS which continues to develop.
• A greater level of consultation and engagement with the MPS with the emphasis on early involvement in programmes for change and projects.
• More focus on specialist reviews of high cost/high risk areas e.g. IS/IT and Procurement.
• Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs): Human Resources and Finance and Resources Management re-structuring is having an impact on the way BOCUs will be audited. DARA will promote risk and control awareness and build upon the positive relationships already in place with BOCU Commanders.
• Counter Fraud: DARA will continue to lead for the MPA on counter fraud activity with an appropriate balance between prevention and detection and promoting organisational learning.
• Increased proactive analysis of financial systems.
• Met Standards and Compliance: Mapping and evaluating the review activities and assurance processes already in existence to determine how much reliance can be placed on the work undertaken by the MPS in this area.
• Supporting the promulgation of Professional Standards and supporting the MPS in promoting accountability, transparency and integrity.
• Maintaining the high standards of professionalism already in place in Internal Audit, as evidenced by reviews conducted by external review bodies, e.g. Audit Commission.
• Increased collaboration with other parts of the MPA.
• Be able to demonstrate that we have influenced change for the better.

DARA staff are enthusiastic and positive about the proposed changes, and are keen to take the strategy forward.

Policing Plans

The policing and performance plans describe our arrangements for policing London over the year and give details of our priorities and objectives, past performance and future performance targets, funding and use of resources and work to support continuous improvement.

Have YOUR say on policing in London Public consultation plays an important part in setting the policing priorities for London. The MPA is considering the priorities for 2011/12 and would like to know what you think the police in London should be focusing on.

Have your say on policing in London by taking part in this year’s consultation questionnaire, by:

• completing an online questionnaire at: www.mpa.gov.uk/publications/policingplans
•  or calling 020 7202 0063 / 020 7202 0173 (minicom)
  to leave your contact details for a paper copy to be posted to you for completion;
• or leave your contact details and we can call you back to conduct the survey over the telephone.

The closing date for consultation is 30 November 2009

October statements and press releases from the MPA

Statement

MPA response to HMIC Policing Pledge inspection results

9 October 2009

The MPA is pleased that the HMIC inspectors have recognised the positive strides the MPS has made in delivering the Policing Pledge imitative. Despite this, we are disappointed that the Met's promises to the public have yet to impact significantly on the user experience across London and we recognise there is still a lot of work to do. The MPA will work alongside the Met to ensure significant service improvements over the months ahead.

Press releases

MPA Civil Liberties Panel: 5 November open meeting

65/09: 21 October 2009

Come and have your say! Public meeting: 5 November 2009

As part of our review of the events surrounding the G20 demonstrations we are holding an open meeting from 09.30–12.30 on 5 November in London’s Living Room, City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London, SE1 2AA.

We are keen to engage with as many individuals and groups as possible who would like to comment on the events which took place on 1 and 2 April 2009. We would particularly welcome firsthand accounts from those who were actually there.

To cover the range of topics we plan to group the morning into three broad areas for discussion as detailed in the agenda (below).

Our aim is to gather as much information as possible from the maximum number of people, and to do this in the time available we need to limit submissions to a maximum of three minutes each. Topics will also be grouped together to avoid repetition.

If you would like to be involved, please complete the registration form and return it to ppo@mpa.gov.uk  by email or by hand (to avoid the problems with the postal strike) to: MPA Scrutiny and Oversight, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY.

If you are unable to attend, we will be happy to receive written submissions. These should again be emailed or delivered to the MPA and ideally should be no more than two pages.

Comments, submissions received and points raised in discussion will be used to inform the report of the Civil Liberties Panel in the New Year.

The report will be widely circulated within the MPS, the Mayor's office, HMIC and other bodies concerned with civil liberties.

The session will be recorded and the webcast will be available after the meeting.

Agenda: 5 November

08:45 Doors open at City Hall. Please allow time to get through security

09:00-09:25 Refreshments available

09:30–09:35 Welcome

9:35-10:15 Planning for the Event
This will cover pre-event planning between
organisers, the police, the public, the local businesses, and the media

10:15-11:15 Policing on the day (various marches/demonstrations)
This will cover the various events and demonstrations that took place, and how they were policed

11:15-11:30 Refreshments

11:30-12:15 Communications (before, during and after G20)Communications prior to, during and after the event from the public, police, organisers, media and local businesses perspective.

12:15-12:25 Summation of the key points raised.

12:30 Close

MPA appoints new Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing in the Met

67/09: 28 October 2009

The Metropolitan Police Authority has appointed Ian McPherson, currently Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary, as the Metropolitan Police Service’s new Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing.

Ian McPherson will be responsible for the delivery of borough policing across London, and as a member of the MPS management board will help formulate the strategic direction of the Met.

The interviews were conducted by a panel of four MPA members, with Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Denis O’Connor, acting as police advisers. Catherine Crawford, MPA Chief Executive, was also in attendance.

Commenting on the appointment, Kit Malthouse, vice chair of the MPA, said:

“Many congratulations to Ian McPherson on his appointment as Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing. We wanted someone who could really deliver for our customers – the people of London – and in Ian I know we have found someone who firmly puts the public first.

“His appointment completes a refreshed top team at Scotland Yard under the new Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, and we look forward now to a new era at the Met with a reinvigorated focus on fighting crime.

“Our thanks go to the other candidates in the selection, who were of a very high quality, and we congratulate their respective forces on selecting and developing officers of such proven ability.”

The Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, said:

"I am very pleased that Ian McPherson has been appointed as the Met's Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing.

“Ian is an outstanding officer who has an established record of success and has contributed much to the police service nationally - especially in relation to neighbourhood policing strategy, and the issue of young people and the misuse of drugs.

“He will use his extensive experience to take on direct oversight of over 30,000 police officers and staff, and I am sure that this will be an incredibly challenging and rewarding role for him."

Territorial Policing

Territorial Policing is responsible for the delivery of borough policing across London, including response, patrol and neighbourhood policing, the reduction of volume and violent crime, transport policing, diversity and citizen focus, criminal justice policy and the central communications command. There are approximately 20,300 police officers, 4,000 police staff, 3,700 PCSOs and 2,600 special constables employed in Territorial Policing across London’s 32 boroughs.

The appointment to Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing is for a five year fixed term period at an annual starting salary of £176,943.

MPA: Determination to tackle homophobic crime

68/09 30 October 2009

The MPA has sought re-assurance from the Commissioner that, given the recent rise in homophobic attacks in the capital, all is being done to tackle this heinous hate crime.

Mayor Boris Johnson, Chair of the MPA said: “Londoners have become increasingly concerned about the number of homophobic attacks and the recent death of Ian Baynham was particularly appalling. My thoughts are with his friends, family and everyone affected by hate crime.

“London is known around the world as a place where people can be who they want to be. Homophobic attacks and other hate crimes must not be tolerated and we are committed to working with the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure that they are dealt with rigour. We must keep hate crime high on the agenda across London if we are to ensure perpetrators are held to account and reduce the risk of it happening in the first place. So I would urge anyone affected by, or witnessing a hate crime, to report it.”

MPA Vice Chair Kit Malthouse said:“I am extremely concerned over the recent incidents of homophobic attacks and fully support the measures the Met are putting in place to tackle this. It is essential that the LGBT community are encouraged  to report crimes perpetrated against them. The MPA are working closely with the Met to increase  LGBT community confidence in London’s police and put out the message of re-assurance that our police do take seriously this evil hate crime.“

Kirsten Hearn, Chair of the MPA’s Equality and Diversity Sub-committee will be attending the vigil to be held in Trafalgar Square on Friday 30 October 2009.

MPS Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, said: "We have seen an increase in reported homophobic crime and that clearly is of concern to us. This is attributed in some ways as a result of increased confidence by the community, there is still significant under reporting of this crime which we wish to address. The Met is committed to continuing its awareness raising of this type of crime both inside the organisation, and within communities. Working with partners, we have been able to set up third party reporting protocols, engage through local safer neighbourhood teams and continue to support the use of LGBT liaison officers in London boroughs. While this has seen our detection rates in relation to this type of crime increase, there is always more to be done." 

MPA congratulates Commissioner on lowest number of people killed for 10 years

69/09 30 October 2009

Responding to the Commissioner’s report at the monthly full Authority meeting on 29 October 2009, Kit Malthouse, Vice Chair of the MPA said:

“This is a brilliant performance by the Met. The number of people killed in London has fallen sharply over the last six months compared to the same time last year, with 30 fewer people killed than in 2008. All deaths are regrettable of course, but this is a significant reduction in numbers and shows real progress.

“To put these figures in context, compared to other major cities, London has two people killed per 100,000 people, with six or seven per 100,000 in New York and 35 per 100,000
in Baltimore.

“We agree with the Commissioner that even two people killed is two too many, but these figures are very encouraging and we commend Sir Paul and his officers for their fantastic work.”

Murder rates per 100,000 population

• 133 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
• 130 in Caracas, Venezuela
• 67 in New Orleans, USA
• 62 in Cape Town, South Africa
• 35 in Baltimore, USA
• 6 in New York, USA
• 2 in London

Source: Foreign Policy Magazine

Bumblebee: round 2

As the days have grown continually shorter, London has experienced a traditional rise in burglary. On Monday 19 October the Mayor joined the Commissioner at New Scotland Yard to launch the Met’s latest anti-burglary campaign, Operation Bumblebee, which ran previously in the early 1990s and proved very popular.

The basic message is 'Think Like a Burglar': anticipate the weak points in your home’s defences and secure them. The campaign will run on radio, bus stop and tube card advertising.

A Bumblebee Task Force, comprising two teams of eighty officers, will enhance the borough response to targeting the most prolific burglars. The MPS has also been deploying the new proceeds of crime act legislation to repossess stolen money and other assets from people convicted of burglary.

The Mayor said:

‘I applaud the Met for responding quickly to the recent rise in residential burglaries in the capital and re-launching the Operation Bumblebee campaign. Operations like this deliver the common sense policing that people want, raise confidence in the police service and send a clear message to the burglars that they will be caught and punished.’

And finally...

A Local Policing Summary for every London borough, outlining police performance over the past year and priorities for the next year in your area, is published on the MPA website at www.mpa.gov.uk/partnerships/lps

As ever, we would appreciate your feedback. Please contact us by email at communictions@mpa.gov.uk or telephone by telephone on 020 7202 0217/8.

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback