MPA - October meeting

68/06
24 October 2006

A meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) will be held in meeting room 1 (ground floor), 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1 on Thursday 26 October 2006 at 10.00 a.m.

MPA Members will be asked to consider and approve the MPA/MPS Estates Strategic Plan. A Consultation and Communication Strategy has also been drawn up to inform Londoners about estate developments that may effect their local policing.

Len Duvall, chair of the MPA, said:

"The operational requirements of the MPS have to be fully supported by the infrastructure and assets of the MPA estate.

“The MPA estate includes over 600 operational buildings totalling 6.4 million square feet with a value of £1.7bn. This includes a wide variety of properties ranging from offices, police stations, training facilities, warehouses, forensic facilities, car pounds, retail units (used as front offices) and 180 Safer Neighbourhood bases.

“But with 35% of the estate pre-dating 1935, many buildings are no longer fit for use. Many do not provide suitable accessibility, some no longer meet operational needs, while other buildings are inefficient to run.

“By replacing old or ineffective buildings we have can rejuvenate the estate and infrastructure which will result in significant benefits to our staff and the communities they serve.

“The MPA/MPS estates strategy is also intrinsically linked to the Met Modernisation Programme. Many modernisation strands have a direct dependency on the estates strategy, such as Safer Neighbourhoods, C3i, the new Command and Control facility and public assistance call management system, and the extension of current custody facilities in order to support the wider role to investigate crime and deal with offenders.

“To ensure this work is both efficient and effective we have formulated, with the MPS, an estates strategic plan, which will be presented to the Authority on a regular basis for support and approval. We will also ensure that all possible community concerns, particularly where issues impact on local policing, are addressed through consultation.”

Other items on the agenda include:

• Violent Crime Directorate – update;
• Specialist Crime Directorate – update;
• review of public order tactics;
• knife crime;
• electoral offences in London following the local elections of May 2006; and
• MPS Olympics Programme.

Commissioner Sir Ian Blair will give an update on operational policing issues in London and present a written performance report.

The Authority will hear a question from Mr Paul Webbewood concerning Greenwich Police Community Consultative Group, which was suspended in 2002. The MPA commissioned Professor Mike Hough of Kings College London in 2005 to review the position and make recommendations. Mr. Paul Webbewood is now awaiting a formal update from the Authority on the current situation. Catherine Crawford, Chief Executive and Clerk to the MPA will give the Authority’s response at the meeting.

Notes to editors

1.The committee papers for this meeting can be found at:
www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/2006/061026/default.htm

2. Confidential anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321

3. Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office

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