Andrew Dismore

Question No: 2017/4009

Andrew Dismore

How many 999 calls to the Met were not completed due to the caller hanging up in each of the last 12 months?

Written response from the Mayor

It is not possible to establish the reason for the call failing to complete. This may be due to the caller hanging up or the call dropping out from loss of signal.

Where the caller’s telephone number is passed by BT to the Met when connecting the 999 call, every effort is made to re-contact the caller if connection is lost.  The monthly totals of incomplete calls are as follows:

Question No: 2017/4010

Andrew Dismore

How many 101 calls to the Met were not completed due to the caller hanging up in each of the last 12 months?

Written response from the Mayor

It is not possible to establish the reason for the call failing to complete; it may be due to the caller hanging up or the call dropping out from loss of signal.  Additionally a recorded message provides alternative contact methods to callers.

Because there is no BT operator on the 101 service it is often not possible to obtain the caller’s telephone number to enable call back. The monthly breakdown of incomplete call is as follows:

Question No: 2017/4029

Andrew Dismore

How much do you expect to save in a year, as a result of the Camden and Islington police borough merger?

Written response from the Mayor

Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.

Question No: 2017/4030

Andrew Dismore

How much do you expect to save in a year if the roll out of borough mergers takes place across London?

Written response from the Mayor

Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.

Question No: 2017/4031

Andrew Dismore

Further to Question No: 2017/3300:

What is the present position over the disposal of the water cannon? How much has been spent on the maintenance and storage since their purchase and what is the annual cost of maintenance and storage? Has consideration been given to ‘cutting the losses’ and scrapping them?

Your response being:

‘The water cannon remain available for sale via the Ministry of Defence (MOD) which is helping to find the highest and most reputable buyer from a European policing or civil protection organisation, according to conditions set by the German Federal Police. We 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.

Buying, modifying, evaluating and maintaining the vehicles cost £322,834.71 under the previous Mayor.  Since they were put up for sale, the cannon have incurred no further storage or maintenance costs, and no training with the vehicles has been undertaken.

If a suitable purchaser cannot be found, we will have no other option but to scrap the vehicles. It beggars belief that, because the previous Mayor rashly purchased them before he even had permission to use them, such a huge amount of taxpayers’ money has been wasted on these redundant machines.’

How many expressions of interest from ‘a European policing or civil protection organisation’ have there been; are there any current negotiations that have any realistic prospect of success; and if there is no realistic prospect of their sale for a reasonable price, when will a decision be taken to scrap them?

Written response from the Mayor

The water cannons remain available for sale via the Ministry of Defence and this will be kept under review. While this remains the case, we will not be able to comment on interest received given the need to ensure commercial confidentiality and maximise the receipts of any sale that can be redirected towards youth projects.

Question No: 2017/4032

Andrew Dismore

PC Kris Aves was an officer on duty at the time of the Westminster terror attack earlier this year. Due to his severe injuries, his home in Barnet  requires significant adaptations to support his rehabilitation needs, and the BBC show DIY SOS have put out a call asking for volunteers to help do this. What can you do to assist with this call to help make the necessary adaptations to PC Aves’ home?

Written response from the Mayor

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is supporting the BBC DIY SOS production team and is working to supplement their tried and tested approach; including facilitating officers who wish to help but do not necessarily have a specific trade skill.

The programme has been overwhelmed with offers from trades’ people to give up their time to help.

Question No: 2017/4033

Andrew Dismore

For many years the Police Section House behind the Police Station in Holmes Road

NW5 3AE has stood empty. At a time of desperate housing shortage, it seems strange that it is not in use. Is the building part of the police or GLA estate, and if so will you consider developing the building into keyworker housing?

Written response from the Mayor

The building known as Section House building at Holmes Road NW5 is used as operational accommodation (offices etc.) by the Metropolitan Police Service as an extension to Kentish Town Police Station and is not vacant or available for other uses at the present time.

Question No: 2017/4034

Andrew Dismore

Residents have reported to me that the back alleyways and staircases on Watling Avenue next to and opposite the entrance to Burnt Oak tube station have severe problems with street drinking and drug dealing. It will not be tackled by a one-off operation but a sustained and coordinated approach with Barnet Council is required . Will you ask police in Barnet to lead coordinated and persistent action to tackle this?

Written response from the Mayor

The police and council have been and will continue to utilise operation Tungsten which involves working closely with Environmental Health, Traffic Enforcement and Licensing units to tackle anti-social behaviour in the area. The police have been using uniformed and undercover officers to target offenders which has resulted in arrests for drug dealing and possession.

The police have also issued community protection warnings and community protection notices to street drinkers. This targeted approach has led to a reduction in offences and resulted in several prolific offenders being accepted onto drug and alcohol programmes through the Westminster Drugs Project. In these circumstances, local problem solving solutions have the potential to make a difference and I encourage local residents to work with the police and local authority to reduce this type of offending.

Question No: 2017/4035

Andrew Dismore

Residents report to me that the junction of Oakhampton Road and Ashley Walk in Mill Hill has severe problems with late night Anti-Social Behaviour including reports of daily street drinking and drug dealing. Residents also report a lack of timely police presence when called. Will you look into this and ask the Police in Barnet to have a targeted operation here?

Written response from the Mayor

The anti-social behaviour team and ward officers are aware of the difficulties with this location and have been working with local residents, businesses and ward panels in an effort to prevent further offences.

Officers working in the area have issued community protection notices to those involved with ASB and have recently completed weapon sweeps and made arrests for drug offences. In an effort to deter drug users from the area the police have publicised their use of cannabis warnings to the community through social media. It is promoted that this area is a no drinking zone and encouraging work with partners, the local authority and residents will be key in influencing change.

Question No: 2017/4036

Andrew Dismore

What was the cost of policing the Europa League football match between Arsenal and Koln on 14th September; and how much is it anticipated Arsenal will contribute to the cost?

Written response from the Mayor

The total cost of policing the match was £122,840.  The MPS will seek to recover all appropriate costs as per the Special Police Services Agreement that is in place.

Question No: 2017/4037

Andrew Dismore

Only about 315 of drivers out of the 5,050 officers trained to carry out pursuits have reached the “tactical pursuit and containment” level since 2014. This small number are the only officers authorised to force a suspect to stop during a pursuit. With Moped-enabled crime rising dramatically, what is being done to increase this number of qualified officers?

Written response from the Mayor

Moped enabled crime is a priority for the MPS and a dedicated operation (Op Venice) has been established to tackle it. This includes research into the best methods for bringing a pursuit to a prompt and safe conclusion. Whilst Tactical Pursuit and Containment (TPAC) is a vital tool it is often not the most effective or safest means to apprehend offenders.

The MPS is diversifying and significantly expanding the tactics it uses to address this challenge. These include in excess of 1000 officers to be trained in Stop Stick / Hostyd tyre deflation systems and Rigid Stop tactics, the acquisition and roll out of the innovative PROspike immobilization system, the development of tactics for all MPS officers to remove riders from mopeds and the use of spray systems. This is in addition to maintaining the current TPAC capacity.

The intention is to ensure that all 5,050 drivers will be also be trained in the use of Rigid Stop and Stop Stick tactics by 2020. The adoption of this broad range of tactics should prove to be the most effective means of tackling moped enabled crime.

Question No: 2017/4038

Andrew Dismore

For each of the last 12 months, will you  please provide the response times for I and S calls in the merged boroughs; and the overall performance of the Met as a whole, as a percentage of the target time for each of the two types of call

Written response from the Mayor

Please see the below table indicating the proportion of I and S calls per month that were attended within the target times of 15 mins and 60 mins respectively. This covers Central North BCU (Camden and Islington boroughs) in comparison to the average across the Met for each of the last twelve months (October 2016 – September 2017 inclusive).

Question No: 2017/4039

Andrew Dismore

Further to Question No: 2017/3682

Are you satisfied with the performance of the police 101 number; and if not, what are you doing about it?

Your response being:

‘Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly’

Will you now provide a substative reply?

Written response from the Mayor

Please see my response to MQ 2017/3682 which you should have now received.