Communicating Met Forward: keeping Londoners informed of police improvements

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24 August 2010 

Met Forward is the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) three year strategic mission to guide the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in tackling the issues that matter most to Londoners: fighting crime and reducing criminality; increasing confidence in policing; and giving us better value for money.

The MPA will regularly update Londoners about the progress of Met Forward.

Kit Malthouse, MPA chair and Deputy Mayor for Policing, said:

“The aim of Met Forward is to improve policing services across London to ensure everything we do will contribute to tackling crime and reducing criminality. Met Forward also supports our oversight and scrutiny functions of London’s police and ensures that key priorities are delivered. We are committed to keeping London and its communities informed about the delivery and benefits of Met Forward projects and key developments.

“By keeping people informed we can demonstrate progress and help increase public confidence in the police and the work they do to protect London’s communities and bring criminals to justice.”

To ensure Londoners are kept informed about progress the MPA will publish monthly progress bulletins. These, together with the complete Met Forward document and much more information about important projects, can be accessed on the MPA website at: www.mpa.gov.uk/publications/metforward

The way the MPA communicates with Londoners about the progress of Met Forward is important. We are keen to hear from as many people as possible on how we can improve the delivery of Met Forward and how useful the information provided is. You can help us by taking part in a short survey at: www.mpa.gov.uk/publications/metforward/telluswhatyouthink

Met Forward highlights for July 2010 include:

London Crime Reduction Board
There are many organisations, statutory and voluntary, involved in crime and community safety which can lead to confusion. The MPA has set out its intention to establish and lead a single London Crime Reduction Board to bring clarity and ensure delivery. Initial stakeholder consultation meetings have now been completed and a report has been produced and positively received by key stakeholders including London Councils, the MPS and the London Probation service.

The Board will be chaired by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and its first meeting is due to take place in September.

MPS Special constables 
‘Specials’ play a crucial role in the policing of our streets and strengthening the relationship between the police and the public. Met Forward supports the Mayor’s commitment to increasing the number of Specials. In June 2010, 3,125 Specials provided an additional 11,300 hours of visible patrolling every week. With a further 516 officers in training, and approximately 900 applications received each month, we are confident the number of warranted officers patrolling our streets will continue to increase steadily.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams
Since their introduction six years ago Safer Neighbourhood Teams have been hugely beneficial at reducing crime while also increasing community confidence and satisfaction in policing. The Met Streets strand of Met Forward outlines the Authority’s intention to make sure that resources allocated to Safer Neighbourhood Teams are still being deployed effectively and that maximum impact is achieved from the investment made. We will be conducting a formal scrutiny focusing on the structure of Safer Neighbourhood Teams in the autumn to review the effectiveness of the current model.

MPA Anti-Violence Panel
Met Forward outlined the intention to increase the focus on reducing gang-related violence in London. The MPS has responded by developing an Anti-Violence Strategy, bringing together units across the MPS to address this issue.

Race and Faith Inquiry
The independent Race and Faith Inquiry Report, commissioned by the Mayor of London, was launched in July. This project sought to address concerns about several key issues, including recruitment, progression and retention of black and minority ethnic candidates through the ranks, and the extent to which there is visible leadership around race issues. Following extensive consultation throughout the course of the inquiry, the report outlines a number of recommendations for both the MPS and MPA.

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