Andrew Dismore

Cost of policing matches

Question No: 2018/1559

Andrew Dismore

For the football season 2017 to 2018, how much was the cost of policing matches in the Premier League and the Championship by football club; and how much by football club was paid towards the cost of policing by each of those clubs?

Written response from the Mayor

The cost for policing football matches and cost recovery, by club, for both Premier League and Championship is set out in table attached.

The cost of policing Premier League football matches has reduced from £4.5m to £4m from 2016/17 to 2017/18. Cost recovery has held at c£0.3m-£0.4m, being the full extent of the costs able to be recovered.

I continue to call on the Government to change the law so that wealthy clubs are required to contribute to the costs of policing football, to help provide the Met police with the resources necessary to keep Londoners safe.

 

 

 

Reviewing seized alleged indecent images of children [1]

Question No: 2018/1563

Andrew Dismore

What is the average delay in reviewing seized alleged indecent images of children (IIOC)?

Written response from the Mayor

There is no delay in reviewing seized alleged indecent images of children. When investigators seize digital media, the nature of the investigation, the volume of data collected, and the risks and threats involved all impact on the length of time it takes to subject each item to a full digital forensic examination. The complexity of such cases means that the process can take time.

After material is prioritised for examination, the full digital forensic examination   typically takes around 6 months.  Some investigations may then require further forensic examination of the same material

 

 

Reviewing seized alleged indecent images of children [2]

Question No: 2018/1564

Andrew Dismore

Is it correct that there is only one location for officers to view IIOC, at Earl’s Court; that huge delays in forensics to examine material are being managed by requiring triage before submission so less questionable material is submitted; and is it correct that there are no formal arrangements to monitor staff who may be damaged by viewing weeks of IIOC as part of enquiries, relying on self referral only?

Written response from the Mayor

Due to the sensitive nature of indecent images of children (IIOC) the Met must ensure the integrity of the viewing and examination of any indecent image. As a result, it has invested in a specialist viewing and grading facility which is available to investigators from across the Metropolitan Police Service.

Digital triage is not used to manage delays rather, it allows the specialist teams to identify which exhibits to examine further. The Met is currently identifying how such digital triage tools can be made available to all IIOC investigators.

The Metropolitan Police Service recognises the impact on police officers and police staff involved in investigating and viewing IIOC.  Investigators in specialist units are subject to an ongoing occupational health programme, which involves screening of staff. The Met is also committed to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of staff in non-specialist teams and is currently developing a Met-wide health and wellbeing programme for all staff involved in viewing IIOC.

Reviewing seized alleged indecent images of children [3]

Question No: 2018/1565

Andrew Dismore

What is being done to improve performance in relation to the prosecution of those accused of possessing indecent images of children?

Written response from the Mayor

The Metropolitan Police Service is committed to tackling those who prey on children. It was one of the first police forces to establish a specialist unit to deal with such offences, and is at the forefront of national developments in tackling online child sexual abuse and exploitation – working with the National Crime Agency and other police forces.

The Met also works with its statutory partners to safeguard any young people identified as being at risk of CSE and conduct both proactive and reactive investigations to target perpetrators suspected of offences.

The Met has an improvement programme, which includes tactical toolkits and internal awareness campaigns. In addition, professional development days have been delivered to thousands of officers across the Met.

Detectives

Question No: 2018/1566

Andrew Dismore

How many detectives does the Met now have; have far short of the correct establishment is this; and what progress is being made in addressing the shortfall?

Written response from the Mayor

At the end of April 2018 the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had a strength of 4,817 Detective Constables.

 

The MPS is conducting several transformation programmes, such as the Strengthening Local Policing programme, that will change the way investigations are managed. For example, more routine investigations will be conducted by response officers. The MPS is therefore reassessing the number of roles that need full detective skills.

 

The MPS is continuing efforts to increase detectives. This work includes supporting existing police officers who want to be become detectives, by providing study support for the National Investigators Exam and through the provision of coaching once in a trainee detective role.

 

Moreover, around 130 direct entry detectives are currently in initial training, with the first cohort due to start at the end of June, supported by experienced ‘investigative coaches’.  The MPS plan to launch further external recruitment later this year.

 

The MPS is also considering time limited payments, introduced last year by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), to attract existing officers into detective roles.

 

Special constables

Question No: 2018/1567

Andrew Dismore

How many special constables does the Met now have; have far short of the preferred establishment is this; and what progress is being made in addressing the shortfall?

Written response from the Mayor

As of end of April 2018 there were 2,209 special constables within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

The MPS has a strategic ambition to reach 3,200 special constables.

 

The MPS has undertaken several pieces of work to better understand special constables, including survey’s and research with universities, so that it is better able to support and attract new volunteers.

 

The MPS is also strongly promoting the Employer Supported Policing (ESP) scheme. This is a national Home Office initiative, which encourages businesses to release their employees during work time to work as special constables. The MPS has recently appointed a dedicated lead and several large and high-profile businesses have already signed up including BT Open Reach, Civil Service Fast Stream and British Airways.

 

For 2018/19 the Mayor’s Office Policing And Crime (MOPAC) will also provide a £150 council tax payment to specials who live in London.

 

. Moped enabled crimes

Question No: 2018/1568

Andrew Dismore

How many moped-enabled crimes were there in each Borough Crime Unit for the last two years and the year to date; and what progress is there in reducing this crime?

Written response from the Mayor

Please see attached Appendix 2018/1568 – a table of moped enabled crimes in each London Borough for 2016, 2017 and 2018 to date (to the 31^st May 2018).

EK – Camden	973	5903	1134
SX – Barnet	48	116	96
Grand Total London	8908	23473	6637

 

 

 

In response to the rise in Moped Enabled Crime over 2016 and 2017, the MPS implemented a MPS-wide plan using a range of tactics under operation Venice.  This includes specialist traffic officers deployed in high harm areas on slim-line motorcycles, deploying tyre-deflators including ProSpike, forensic tagging spray and a dedicated team of detectives.

We have seen some significant progress and monthly comparison figures for May 2018, show reductions in moped/scooter enabled crime against May 2017 and if the current performance is maintained over the next three months, the MPS anticipates that figures will begin to show an overall year-on-year reduction.

Met Police vehicle crashes

Question No: 2018/1569

Andrew Dismore

How many Met Police vehicle crashes were there in each of the last three years; how many resulted in injury to a) police officers and b) members of the public; and what was the cost of c) write offs and d) repairs to police vehicles ; and what was the cost of compensation for e) personal injury and f) property and vehicle damage; and g) in how many of these crashes was the police driver considered to be at fault; and h) how many of those crashes occurred when responding to an emergency call?

Written response from the Mayor

Please see below the requested breakdowns of MPS Police Vehicle crashes during the last 3 years.

Met Police Vehicle Collisions breakdown by calendar year:

 

The following is a breakdown of costs of collision repair and write offs:

Cost breakdown	CY2015	CY2016	CY2017
Collision repair costs (Excl. VAT)	£2,010,047	£2,232,960	£2,578,440
Write off costs	£423,655	£419,914	£486,478

 

Please note: Fleet Services operate a recycling program, whereby many of the written off vehicles are stripped of reusable panels and mechanical components to reduce repair costs. The net loss for all the write off figures is therefore considerably lower than those stated above, when factoring savings into the calculations. These savings equate to around £250,000 per year.

 

Relevant payments made in relation to Traffic claims are set out below:

Please note: Award/Settlement payments will encompass payments in relation to personal injury and property as this

 

Hezbollah flags

Question No: 2018/1570

Andrew Dismore

The Metropolitan Police have said that Hezbollah flags can be flown on Al-Quds day due to Government policy: do you agree with Government policy on this; and if not, will you again lobby the Home Secretary to remove what is widely viewed as a false and ludicrous distinction between Hezbollah’s political and military wings from UK law so that the machine-gun adorned flag of an anti-Semitic terror group is not seen on London’s streets?

Written response from the Mayor

 

I have been very clear that I do not agree with the Government’s position on this matter. I wrote last year to the then-Home Secretary, Amber Rudd MP, to raise my concerns and to urge her to close this legal loophole. I have subsequently written to the new Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, to re-iterate these same points. There is now cross-party support within the House of Commons for proscribing the entirety of Hezbollah, and I will continue to lobby the Home Secretary on this. However, it is up to Government to take action. Neither myself nor the MPS have the power to ban marches or protests, that power also lies with the Home Secretary.

I have written to the organisers of the event informing them that hate and intolerance have no place in our city, while requesting they take the lead in preventing divisive displays such as the flag becoming the focus of the event

 

Victims of crime and immigration enforcement

Question No: 2018/1558

Andrew Dismore

There are worrying reports that more than half of UK police forces are handing over victims of crime to the Home Office for immigration enforcement, creating fears that this approach is stopping vulnerable people – including rape victims – reporting crimes, and playing into the hands of traffickers. What is the Met’s approach to this; and what advice would you give to victims of crime who may be undocumented migrants as to reporting the crime?

Written response from the Mayor

I am committed to ensuring the needs of victims at the heart of everything the criminal justice service does. Of foremost importance to us all is that victims feel able to come forward to report crime; I have and will continue challenge any actions taken by partners that may deter victims from coming forward in future.

 

In respect of the immigration status of some victims, the Police are required by law to share information they become aware of with the Home Office. The National Police Chief Council has provided some additional guidance to police forces explaining the extent of their discretion in carrying out an arrest in these circumstances. Sharing of information by the MPS with the Home Office is assessed on a case by case basis and will only occur where Police have a genuine concern that an individual is here illegally. When and how Police arrest someone is dependent on a number of factors, including their vulnerability and risk to public, this assessment is carried out on a case by case basis. The police primary focus is always the needs of the victim above other considerations.  When someone reports a crime, police role is to investigate that matter and bring any offenders to justice.

 

I am aware there have been arrests made to victims of crime and the Victims Commissioner for London, Claire Waxman, is leading the way on this issue and has convened a second roundtable with Deputy Mayor Sophie Linden recently on safe routes to reporting crime.   Statutory partners and partners who directly support migrant groups and specialist women organisations came together to address these very problems and there was agreement from partners to tackle and resolve these very issues so we can ensure that victims have the confidence that when they report they will be safe and treated with dignity.  I look forward to supporting the Victims Commissioner in taking forward the action and learning from that roundtable.