Policing update Jan 18
Dear all,
Happy new year. My first update of 2018 follows. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think might be interested.
The Mayor has announced his council tax proposals for 2018/19 include an overall 5.1 per cent increase to his total precept. All of the proceeds will go to the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade. This will enable the Met to maintain 30,000 officers as well as devote more to knife crime- an extra £15m.
In addition to the £15m to combat knife crime, £20.1m will be allocated to cover the cost of a two per cent police pay increase in 2018/19. The remaining £13.9m will be made available to the Commissioner to invest in officer numbers and to step up the fight against crime this year and next.
The Mayor of London’s 2018-19 draft Council Tax requirement is £862m – this being the total sum forecast to be collected from Londoners to fund GLA services. Under the proposal the total GLA precept will be increased from £280.02 to £294.22 a year (Band D household) for residents of the 32 boroughs – an overall increase of £14.20. All of this increase will be provided to the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade.
This equates to a Policing Precept increase from £206.13 to £218.13 and a non-Policing Precept from £73.89 to £76.09 a year.
Of the non-Policing precept, 2.99 per cent of the increase will go to London Fire Brigade but effectively one per cent will go to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime by a reallocation of business rates from the Fire Brigade to MOPAC. This is necessary to avoid a Council Tax referendum.
December’s full Assembly Plenary just before Christmas, was a session with the Mayor and Cressida Dick, the Commissioner. I raised three issues in detail with her: Borough Mergers, Moped Crime and the urgent review of non disclosure – http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/2018/01/08/dismore-questions-met-police-commissioner-and-mayor-over-borough-mergers-moped-crime-and-the-urgent-review-of-non-disclosure/
At January’s Mayor’s Question Time , I questioned the Mayor over Met. Police investigation policy , and which cases would be screened out. This link also includes links to the criteria and flow chart the Met. is using http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/2018/01/18/dismore-questions-mayor-over-met-police-investigation-policy/
Police and Crime Committee: our first January meeting was a q and a session with MOPAC, inquiring in detail into their work and procedures. The transcript can be found here . You can see I gave them rather a hard time , from pages 8, 15 and 20
We also visited HMP Downview, as part of our inquiry into women in custody, post the closure of Holloway. We spoke to the governor, prison officers and prisoners.
The Police and Crime Committee has published two reports this month
‘Respecting others: tackling antisocial behaviour in London’ – examines the issue of antisocial behaviour. (PDF attached above)
The report recommends:
- The Met must evaluate the benefits of rolling out Antisocial Behaviour Warning Notices in all London boroughs.
- MOPAC should introduce a performance management framework that collates and reports on data from the Met, local authorities and housing providers.
- Victims of antisocial behaviour are seen as second rate to victims of crime. The Mayor must lobby the Government to extend the remit of the Victims Commissioner and the use of MOPAC commissioning powers, to include victims of antisocial behaviour and for funding that reflects the needs of victims of antisocial behaviour in London.
- The Community Remedy and Community Trigger were designed to empower victims of antisocial behaviour. MOPAC must increase awareness and promote the use of these powers.
The second report – ‘Gun crime in London- points out that the patterns and trends around gun use may be changing. The number of guns on London’s streets is unclear and the supply of guns into the UK from abroad is a growing concern. For ease, the report can be found here, and our letter to the Mayor here.
Main points from the report include:
- Gun crime offences have risen over the past three years but the proportion that is gang related—often thought of as associated with gun crime—may not be.
- Both offenders and victims of gun crime are getting younger.
- Guns are most often used in violence against the person and robbery offences.
The report also highlights that the supply of guns into the UK from abroad is a growing concern, particularly as the use of technology and ‘the dark web’ is changing the way people can access weapons. A small, but increasing number of weapons are originating from Eastern Europe, particularly de-commissioned guns, which are easily converted into a viable weapon, but there is still a lot of traffic from the U.S.
Finally , links to Mayor’s answers to my questions:
December 17 Mqt Policing Questions
http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/2018/01/08/december-17-mqt-policing-questions/
Plenary December 2017 – Written Answers From Mopac
http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/2018/01/08/plenary-december-2017-written-answers-from-mopac/
Late Policing Answers, December 17
http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/2018/01/12/late-policing-answers-december-17/
Police MQs Jan 18
Police merged boroughs pathfinder evaluation
Question No: 2018/0242
Andrew Dismore
When do you expect the evaluation to be completed; and why has it been delayed?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
drug dealers using social media sites
Question No: 2018/0256
Andrew Dismore
Reports suggest that drug dealers are increasingly using social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat to sell illegal substances to young people. What action can you and the police take to prevent this activity?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Borough match funding for extra police officers (1)
Question No: 2018/0257
Andrew Dismore
Do you intend to continue with the Borough match funding for extra police officers scheme, in light of the pressure on officer numbers due to Government cuts?
Written response from the Mayor
The Met Patrol Plus Scheme which has operated between MOPAC and the Local Authorities since 2014.
Due to the level of the budgetary pressures facing policing, the Met Patrol Plus Scheme is currently being considered as part of the budget planning process for 2018/19 and beyond.
Both MOPAC and the MPS are clear in their desire to continue partnership working with local authorities and a revised policy in some form, will be in place in the future. For those existing contracts that expire on or before the 31st March 2018 we are encouraging local authorities to extend these agreements for a further 12-months.
We will provide further clarity once we have had time to examine the details of the Police grant from Government and have considered implications for the Met Patrol Plus scheme.
Borough match funding for extra police officers (2)
Question No: 2018/0258
Andrew Dismore
Which boroughs are using the ‘buy one get one free’ deal for match funding for extra police officer numbers; and how many officers are being paid for in this way in each of those boroughs?
Written response from the Mayor
As of December 2017 the total number of officers deployed to boroughs under the Met Patrol Plus scheme is 361.
Note this figure represents ‘Full Time Equivalent’ (FTE) officers and includes both the funded officer and the additional officer.
The breakdown per borough is provided in the table below.
| Current agreements in place | |
| Borough | Dec-17 |
| Barking & Dagenham | 16.0 |
| Bexley | 2.0 |
| Brent | 12.0 |
| Camden | 2.0 |
| Croydon | 2.0 |
| Croydon Town Centre (BID Team) | 6.0 |
| Ealing | 14.0 |
| Enfield | 16.0 |
| Greenwich – Estates | 4.0 |
| Greenwich – O2 | 5.0 |
| Greenwich – Gangs | 8.0 |
| Greenwich – DV Team | 4.0 |
| Greenwich Schools | 4.0 |
| Hackney (Homes) | 1.0 |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | 48.0 |
| Haringey | 6.0 |
| Hillingdon | 15.0 |
| Hounslow (Homes) | 4.0 |
| Islington Angel BID | 7.0 |
| Kensington & Chelsea | 41.0 |
| Kensington & Chelsea – SIT | 2.0 |
| Kingston | 12.0 |
| Lambeth | 9.0 |
| Merton | 4.0 |
| Redbridge | 2.0 |
| Southwark | 6.0 |
| Southwark | 2.0 |
| Southwark | 2.0 |
| Sutton | 8.0 |
| Tower Hamlets | 6.0 |
| Waltham Forest | 8.0 |
| Westminster – PBID | 1.0 |
| 279.0 | |
| Agreements in negotiation | |
| Camden | 13.0 |
| Hounslow – Community Safety | 10.0 |
| Islington – NTE | 4.0 |
| Newham | 40.0 |
| Tower Hamlets | 14.0 |
| Westminster | 1.0 |
| 82.0 | |
| Current agreements in place | 279.0 |
| Renewal/Extension in negotiation | 82.0 |
| GRAND TOTAL | 361.0 |
Cyber fraud
Question No: 2018/0259
Andrew Dismore
The Evening Standard has reported that Londoners fall victim to 3,500 cyber fraud attacks a month. What are you doing to detect and combat these crimes?
Written response from the Mayor
Fraud and cybercrime, as defined by Home Office Counting Rules, are reported through Action Fraud; these rules require a crime of this type to be allocated to the force where the suspect and line of enquiry is believed to be based.
As a result, a proportion of fraud and cyber crime cases affecting London resident are actually investigated by forces other than the MPS.
For its own cases and where a suspect lead is London-based, the MPS’ Falcon team make an assessment of vulnerability, volume and value. This generates charging options, but also the really important protective advice that can forewarn other members of the public about certain scams.
President Trump’s visit to London
Question No: 2018/0260
Andrew Dismore
Reports suggest that President Trump will visit London next year to open the new US Embassy. What is your best current estimate of the cost of policing such an event; and bearing in mind that the US Embassy already owes Londoners millions in unpaid congestion charges which they refuse to pay and the pressures on the Met’s budget, do you think the bill for policing such a visit should be sent to the White House?
Written response from the Mayor
You will note that subsequent to the tabling of this question it has become clear that the President’s proposed visit has been cancelled.
The US embassy currently owe roughly £12 million to TfL in Congestion Charges. TfL have been clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that foreign diplomats are not exempt from paying it. TfL continue to pursue all unpaid Congestion Charge fees and related penalty charge notices.
The cost of policing any visit from a Head of State to the UK depends on a host of factors including the length of the visit and the activities undertaken during that visit. It is not possible not provide detailed cost estimates in this case.
This is an example of the disproportionate cost of policing that falls on London as the nation’s capital, which central government continue refuse to sufficiently through the National and International Capital City (NICC) grant
Recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services
Question No: 2018/0261
Andrew Dismore
The recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services again found “significant weaknesses in the service provided to the children of London” to protect them from sexual exploitation. What are you doing to tackle this problem?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shor
Best wishes
Andrew Dismore AM
Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
