Met Forward Two - overview

Met Forward was published in 2009 and set out the MPA’s three year strategic mission to guide the MPS in tackling the issues that matter most to London’s communities. A lot has happened since Met Forward was published. It has now been refreshed and Met Forward Two sets the strategic priorities for the Met’s delivery of the Policing London Business Plan 2011/2014.

Building the ‘Big Society’, where local people feel more empowered to participate and help make decisions about issue that directly affect them, is an important emerging theme. To achieve this and encourage greater public confidence, we believe easily accessible information, clearly and concisely explaining policing priorities and future direction, is essential.

There are changes being planned by the government about policing governance. The Police and Social Responsibility (PRSR) Bill was introduced in Parliament in December 2010 and has now completed the Committee Stage in the Commons. The Bill includes provision to create the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime (MOPC) as a new functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA), and the abolition of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

This will mean there is one democratically elected person who is accountable to the public for policing in London. We are preparing the way for a new model of policing governance and accountability and the implementation of the MOPC through the Met Governance and Accountability strand of Met Forward Two. The MOPC will ultimately be accountable to Londoners for the delivery of policing.

To name just a few achievements since Met Forward:

• The Authority completed a scrutiny into Safer Neighbourhoods focusing on ‘what partners need from Safer Neighbourhoods policing’ and a detailed review of the effectiveness of the current Safer Neighbourhoods team model. The Authority will continue to challenge the Met to ensure that the Safer Neighbourhoods model remains fit for purpose and that resources are effectively deployed to respond to the crime and community safety priorities identified by Londoners.
• The Authority also established, under Leadership of the Mayor, the London Crime Reduction Board (LCRB). The Board is seeking to work with partners and local politicians to define joint community safety priorities and ensure joint action delivers results for London. The LCRB will streamline the existing boards and strengthen relationships between criminal justice organisations, crime prevention and community safety activity.
• In addition, the Authority has scrutinised the major business cases to ensure that Olympic planning is providing value for money as well as safety and security. The MPA will ensure the Met is delivering its commitments while ensuring these do not impact significantly on the delivery of day-to-day policing, particularly in the context of reduced resourcing.
• The Authority’s Joint Engagement Meetings (JEMs) provided a valuable opportunity to engage borough partners in discussion about their approach to dealing with prevalent crime and community safety issues, including serious youth violence. The JEMs model will be developed further to support the analytical capabilities of the LCRB’s strategic priority setting process.

Following on from Met Forward, two additional strategic drivers have been added within Met Forward Two:

• Protect the most vulnerable from harm; and
• Deliver a safe London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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