Metropolitan Police Authority – February meeting

13/07
20 February 2007

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 22 February 2007 at 10.00 a.m.

The meeting will focus on the report and recommendations pf the Authority’s year-long programme of community engagement - ‘Counter-Terrorism: The London Debate’ - for Londoners to express their views about counter-terrorism policing. Members of the Authority will debate recommendations for the Met, and advice for other national bodies, intended to improve society’s response to both international and home-grown terrorism.

Len Duvall, chair of the MPA, said:

“Harnessing the expertise of London’s communities and their overriding desire to prevent further atrocities on our streets is the best way we have of defeating terrorism.

“The Metropolitan Police Authority, in recognising the role Londoners have to play in countering the terrorist threat, has consulted over 1,000 London residents and workers through its programme, ‘Counter-Terrorism: The London Debate’.

“This report is the product of that exercise. Two messages stand out amidst all that we heard. Firstly, there is profound support, across all communities, for the police’s counter-terrorist effort. Secondly, there is a real fragility to public trust in the authorities. If the Metropolitan Police Service is to tackle terrorism effectively, it must harness this support and recognise this fragility.

“By fostering a sense of public ownership of the problems and their solutions, and encouraging more open communication from the police, the MPA intends to help generating future community intelligence, and therefore help prevent further terrorist attacks.”

Other items on the agenda include:

• prospective MPA membership of London’s European Office;
• an update on the planning process for objectives, measures and targets for 2007/08;
• the tasking and coordination of Safer Neighbourhoods teams; and
• the MPS equalities scheme.

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

Please note: the Commissioner’s update will take place as near to 12:00 as possible, discussion permitting.

Notes to editors

1. The committee papers for this meeting can be found at:
www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/2007/070222/default.htm

2. More information about ‘Counter-Terrorism: The London Debate’, the MPA's programme of community engagement to counter-terrorism, can be found at:
www.mpa.gov.uk/issues/counterterrorism

3. Confidential anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321

4. Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office

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