Police and crime update, December 2016
Police and crime report Dec 16
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year !
Sanah Sahnoun, aged 9, of Coppetts Wood Primary School
Government cuts of £17.4m lead Mayor to propose 8p a week council tax rise to defend police officer numbers
In the Autumn police funding settlement for the Metropolitan Police next year, the Government has recently confirmed there will be a cut in central Government funding of £17.4m compared to 2015-16, because of the decision of previous Mayor Boris Johnson to cut the Metropolitan Police’s funding police precept in the current year’s council tax..
In the 2015 Autumn Statement, the Government announced that police funding will be maintained at current levels, as long as the local police precept is increased by 1.99% a year. Any area that did not provide this additional funding from council tax would see a cash cut in police funding, which is what has happened.
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In response to the cut, Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced proposals to increase the policing share of council tax bills by an average of 8p a week at Band D from April 2017(a 1.99% increase) in order to help maintain police officer numbers across London, avoiding even bigger cuts to police funding and defending the strategic target of 32,000 officers across London
Government funding decisions mean that the Metropolitan Police currently faces a total funding gap of £420m between 2017 and 2021, which can only be met by a combination of reducing police expenditure or council tax rises. This is on top of the £600 million already cut since 2013.
One Met Police Model
The ‘One Met Police Model’ sets out the future strategic direction of the Met. These slides help explain the programme :
http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/2016/12/15/one-met-police-model-slides/
I join the first ever ‘Walk the Met’
I joined local Camden officers PC Gerry McGann and PCSO Mandy Nutt to walk the beat for an afternoon in Camden to get an insight into the extra demands placed on officers keeping London safe throughout the festive period. I spoke to local residents and traders about their concerns. Some of the issues raised included anti social behaviour and moped enabled robbery.
It was a chance to see first-hand how officers have responded to growing pressure on resources and it was impressive to see that they are still able to deliver a professional service with diligence and dedication. I am very supportive of the ‘Walk the Met’ initiative and hope it becomes a new Christmas tradition for Barnet and Camden and indeed for London as a whole.
All new police officers in England and Wales will have to be educated to degree level from next year.
A paid three-year “degree apprenticeship” is among three options open to people wanting to join all forces, including the Met, under changes unveiled by the College of Policing. The College will use its powers to force through the changes, which would mean “the public should receive the same level of service regardless of where they live”. The current recruitment system varies from force to force.
Would-be police officers can alternatively do an unfunded degree in policing or a funded postgraduate conversion course if they already have a degree in a different discipline.
The apprenticeship, due to be introduced next year, will see recruits undertake a three-year course, while receiving a salary and having the university academic component funded by their respective force.
The postgraduate conversion course would last six months and would also be funded by police.
The policing degree would have to be self-funded and the student would still have to successfully apply to become a police officer after completing it.
The college is in discussions with 12 universities about the new system.
Other changes that will be introduced include a national set of qualifications for officers following promotion, including a requirement that all applicants for the rank of assistant chief constable or above have a master’s degree.
A higher-paid “advanced practitioner” position will also be created to entice people to remain in specialist areas such as cyber crime, instead of seeking a promotion that would take them to a different area.
Police and Crime Committee at City Hall
The draft minutes of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee’s meeting held on 1 December 2016 are now available on the Greater London Authority’s website here.
The meeting was used principally for a question and answer session on policing and security in and around the London Stadium. (Item 6)
You may find my exchanges Commander BJ Harrington ( formerly Borough Commander in Camden) and with Karen Brady of West Ham interesting!
Item 10 was a q and a with Commander Nick Downing as an introductory session on the very damning HMIC report on child protection issues in the Met. With Commander Downing , I particularly raised the implications for merged boroughs like Camden and Islington.
We returned to the HMIC report in detail at our last meeting on 15 December. I will send a link once the transcript is available, in my next report. I focussed on child protection training, children in custody, and the ‘historic’ football coach abuse investigation.
Also on 15 December, we held our first of what is likely to be three sessions on the draft police and crime plan 2017-2021. I raised the implications for setting priorities in merged boroughs and was given an assurance that each borough will still be able to set its own priorities, even if different from the other boroughs in the merged command. We also looked at the issue of ‘hit and run’ drivers and the redundant water cannon.
Mayor puts ‘redundant’ water cannon up for sale
Sadiq Khan has revealed the full cost to Londoners of maintaining the three unused water cannon bought by his predecessor as he announced the redundant machines are now for sale via the Ministry of Defence . While the process will incur some fees, remaining funds from the sale, alongside saved maintenance costs, will be channelled back into communities and youth projects towards helping tackle gang crime.
The Mayor will only permit a sale to a buyer who meets the most rigorous ethical standards, to ensure the water cannon are not in any way misused in the future.
Since the previous Mayor’s decision to purchase the water cannon in 2014, more than £322,834 has been spent by the Met Police on purchasing, fitting out and repairing the three machines – despite the fact that they cannot legally be used in the UK and have languished in storage for two years. Around £21,000 per year has been spent maintaining them. By selling them, the Met. will save almost £175,000 over the next eight years which can instead be spent on frontline services.
Mayor’s answers to my policing and crime questions
The usual range of questions, set out below. you will see I particularly focused on the delays in DBS checks, which are posing a serious problem to some people waiting for checks, so they can take up jobs or volunteering opportunities. I also kept up the pressure, about the cost of policing football.
Unfortunately , there are again still too many with holding answers.
The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice document on Public Order: Policing Football
Question No: 2016/4841
Andrew Dismore
The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice document on Public Order: Policing Football sates that there are four key documents required for football policing operations:
1) A Statement of intent, outlining the agreed division of responsibilities between the police and the football club and signed by both of them on annual basis
2) A public order command structure
3) A charging agreement signed by the club and police
4) An information sharing agreement between the police and the club
In relation to each Premier League and Championship football club in London, which of these documents has been completed; when was the document in question last reviewed; and in cases where no such document or documents exist, the reasons why, and what is being done to compete the required documentation?
Written response from the Mayor
All clubs have a statement of intent and information sharing agreement, which has been reviewed this year. All clubs have a special police service (SPS) agreement except for West Ham due to issues around Airwave (police radio) coverage in the stadium.
In the case of all London Stadia an SPS is the agreement for chargeable services as set out in the APP. The SPS for West Ham is currently agreed on a match-by-match basis. All clubs have a public order command structure. These are also provided in the attached document.
| Team | Statement of Intent | Last Reviewed | Information Sharing Agreement | Last Reviewed | Special Police Service Agreement | Last Reviewed | Command Structure Gold/Silver* |
| Arsenal | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 06.07.2016 | Yes | 17.07.2015 | Bx1 |
| Barnet | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 06.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx2 |
| Brentford | Yes | 06.07.2016 | Yes | 06.07.2016 | Yes | 17.07.2015 | Bx3 |
| Bromley | Yes | 06.07.2016 | Yes | 06.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx17 |
| Charlton | Yes | 08.07.2016 | Yes | 08.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx4 |
| Chelsea | Yes | 12.07.2016 | Yes | 27.07.2016 | Yes | 17.07.2015 | Bx5 |
| Crystal Palace | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx6 |
| Dagenham | Yes | 12.07.2016 | Yes | 12.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx7 |
| Fulham | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx8 |
| Leyton Orient | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx9 |
| Millwall | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx10 |
| QPR | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 13.07.2106 | Yes | 23.07.2015 | Bx11 |
| Sutton United | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 30.08.2016 | Bx16 |
| Tottenham | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 17.07.2015 | Bx12 |
| West Ham | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | No | N/A ** | Bx14 |
| AFC Wimbledon | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 13.07.2016 | Yes | 22.07.2015 | Bx15 |
| Wembley | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 07.07.2016 | Yes | 14.09.2016 | Bx13 |
* There are dedicated match commanders (bronze) in place for every match who are occupationally competent and qualified. They are part of a wider command structure with Gold and Silver command across London on every match day.
** The issues around Police radio (Airwave) coverage in the Olympic Stadium are well documented. Negotiations are about to start around the SPS so that the MPS is ready when the full in-building Airwave solution is installed in February. The SPS is agreed on a match-by-match basis for current matches.
*** Please note these dates are review dates, as per the question, not dates when these documents were signed.
Children in custody
Question No: 2016/4842
Andrew Dismore
For the last 12 months, please state how many children under:
12
13
14
15
16
Have been held in police custody for:
Over 4 hours
Over 8 hours
Overnight
Over a weekend
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
DBS Checks [1]
Question No: 2016/4867
Andrew Dismore
How many Enhanced DBS Checks are outstanding with the Met?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
DBS Checks [2]
Question No: 2016/4868
Andrew Dismore
How many Enhanced DBS Checks were outstanding with the Met at this time last year and the previous year?
Written response from the Mayor
The MPS ‘Work in Progress’ (WiP) as at the 31/12/14 was 32,927 applications.
The MPS work in progress as at the 31/12/15 was 68,500 applications.
DBS Checks [3]
Question No: 2016/4869
Andrew Dismore
How many Enhanced DBS Checks have the Met processed this year?
Written response from the Mayor
In the financial year (April) to date (December) the MPS has returned 252,478 applications to the DBS.
DBS Checks [4]
Question No: 2016/4870
Andrew Dismore
How many Enhanced DBS Checks did the Met processed last year and the previous year?
Written response from the Mayor
In 2014/15 the MPS returned 258,187 applications to the DBS.
In 2015/16 the MPS returned 253,789 applications to the DBS.
DBS Checks [5]
Question No: 2016/4871
Andrew Dismore
What is the average length of time for the Met to compete an Enhanced DBS Check?
Written response from the Mayor
The average turnaround time for a DBS Enhanced Disclosure is now down to 26.96 days.
DBS Checks [6]
Question No: 2016/4872
Andrew Dismore
What was the average length of time for the Met to compete Enhanced DBS Checks at this time last year and the previous year?
Written response from the Mayor
The average turnaround time for December 2014 was 32.30 days
The average turnaround time for December 2015 was 67.96 days
DBS Checks [7]
Question No: 2016/4873
Andrew Dismore
As delays in completing Enhanced DBS Checks can result in people losing job offers, or being out of work for far longer, or charity volunteers losing interest as a result of the delays, what are you doing to speed up the process?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Homophobic discrimination
Question No: 2016/4874
Andrew Dismore
David Cary secured an impressive victory in his 9 year legal battle against the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in his claim arising from homophobic discrimination. What are the lessons the Met has learned from this case and what is it doing to implement them?
Written response from the Mayor
An Action Plan is in place to meet the recommendations following the ACAS review and EHRC investigation, in order to improve the way the MPS handle allegations of discrimination. The Directorate of Professional Standards in the MPS has set up a specific ‘discrimination team’ to ensure that discrimination matters are looked at with consistency and by people with the requisite skills / training.
My Deputy Mayor, Sophie Linden, and I will hold the Commissioner to account for the development of an inclusion and equality strategy and subsequently monitor its progress.
Met‘s public website
Question No: 2016/4875
Andrew Dismore
Part of the Met’s public website was disrupted as thousands of masked protesters converged on central London in early November for the Million Mask March organised by hacking group Anonymous. What was the cause of this and what is being done to prevent it in future?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
future role of SNBs and ward panels
Question No: 2016/4876
Andrew Dismore
How do you see the future role of SNBs and ward panels?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
SNB websites and publicity
Question No: 2016/4877
Andrew Dismore
Will MOPAC give consideration to funding and assistance for SNB websites and publicity for their public meetings; and if not, why not?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Stop and search data and statistics
Question No: 2016/4878
Andrew Dismore
Stop and search data and statistics are not being provided to SNBs monthly as before, apparently due to a new system: when will this be introduced and when will the provision of such data be resumed?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Barnet Community Transport’s Rolling Base
Question No: 2016/4879
Andrew Dismore
Are you aware of the excellent and cost effective youth engagement work carried out by Barnet Community Transport’s Rolling Base, currently funded by MOPAC?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Merger of borough BCUs
Question No: 2016/4880
Andrew Dismore
The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is quoted as saying, in respect of the decision to pilot the merger of borough BCUs:
“Further (my emphasis) evaluation and consultation will follow, after which and alongside our new Police and Crime Plan, decisions will be taken on the best way to deliver our commitment to real neighbourhood policing.”
What evaluation, and what consultation and with whom, was carried out before the decision to pilot the merger in Barnet and Islington?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
fraud and other cyber crime
Question No: 2016/4881
Andrew Dismore
What steps are being taken to record and collate statistics of the extent of fraud and other cyber crime on a borough level and publish such data?
Written response from the Mayor
Since April 2013, fraud offences have been recorded by Action Fraud (the national fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre) rather than by police forces.
The Home Office publishes a number of quarterly fraud reports using data provided by Action Fraud and other organisations that compile fraud data such as Cifas and Financial Fraud Action UK. These data are normally provided on a national basis however some data is available at London level. Each of these organisations from time to time publish reports relating to data that they hold.
New questions on fraud and computer misuse were added to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) in October 2015 and were initially included as experimental statistics. They were fully incorporated in September 2016.
No data are reported on a borough level in London.
Sexual misconduct inquiries into police
Question No: 2016/4882
Andrew Dismore
Further to Question No: 2016/4395
‘The Times’ has established that there are at least 156 live sexual misconduct inquiries into police in England, Wales and Scotland. The figure includes complaints made by colleagues as well as reports by victims and witnesses, although the majority of cases are in the latter category. The true figure is likely to be higher since only a quarter of 44 forces would acknowledge live cases. How many of these are in the Met.?
Your response being:
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Will you now give a substantive reply?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
West Ham and security at the Olympic Stadium
Question No: 2016/4883
Andrew Dismore
Further to Question No: 2016/4402
How much has been, or is expected to be, refunded by West Ham to the Met with respect to policing their home games at the Olympic Stadium since the start of the football season; and what has been the total policing cost of these games?
Your response being:
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Will you now give a substantive reply?
Written response from the Mayor
Please see my response to MQ 2016/4402.
Senior officers’ perquisites
Question No: 2016/4884
Andrew Dismore
And Further to Question No: 2016/3913
And Further to Question No: 2016/3416
‘What was the cost of perquisites awarded to officers of the rank of commander and above in the last financial year; what perquisites are senior officers entitled to or to claim for; what are the criteria applied to qualify for perquisites; and what was the highest value of perquisites received by a single officer?’
Your response being:
‘Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly’.
Will you now give a substantive reply?
Your similar response being:
‘Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly’.
As this question has been outstanding for some time now, will you now give a substantive reply?
Your response this time being:
‘Please see my response to MQ 2016/3416.’
Which of course was a circular response going back to a previous holding reply, this being:
“Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly”
As this is now the 4th time I have asked this question, going back well into the Summer, can you explain why it is taking so long to answer? Doesn’t the Met know what perquisites senior officers have been receiving and what their cost and value is? If they don’t, don’t you think they should? Is the delay because the answer will be potentially embarrassing to the Met at a time of severe cuts in the police budget and they think that if they obfuscate long enough, I will lose interest in the answer, when the delay only increases it? And will you at long last now give a substantive reply?
Written response from the Mayor
Please see my response to MQ 2016/3416. This answers the original question.
http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/questions/question_289762
