Police MQ answers Jan 19
Question tile: Police funding settlement
Question No: 2018/3279
Andrew Dismore
In his budget speech, the Chancellor said: “The Home Secretary will review police spending power and further options for reform when he presents the provisional police funding settlement in December.” What are the implications of this for London?
Answer for Question tile: Police funding settlement
The Mayor
Last updated: 28 November, 2018
Officers are drafting a response
Question tile: Police funding settlement
The Mayor
Last updated: 21 January, 2019
The Government’s provisional funding settlement was announced on Thursday 13th December.
70 per cent of the Met’s funding is controlled by the Government and Ministers have repeatedly refused to reverse the cuts the Met have had to make. As a result, the Met have already had to make savings of £850m and I am furious that this is set to continue.
The Government’s funding settlement is smoke and mirrors. A large part of the new money provides funding for a pension pressure which was of the government’s own making. Furthermore, the £11.7m uplift for NICC falls well short of the £170m shortfall according to the Government’s own estimates. We’ve had months of warm words from the Home Secretary about the desperate need for more government funding in order to tackle violent crime, but Ministers have fundamentally failed to back that up with real money.
I am concerned that the Government is continuing to shift the burden of police funding from Government Grant to Council Tax- which is deeply regressive and hits the poorest the hardest. However, the brutal reality of the rise in violent crime, and cuts forced on the Met means that I have little choice but to increase the policing element of the council tax by the maximum allowed by Ministers.
Despite this, the reality is the Met still has to make savings of £263 million by 2022-23. If these required savings were delivered through officer reductions, this is estimated to reduce the number of police officers to 28,215 – a fifteen year low. At a time that violent crime is rising, this is a total abdication of the Government’s responsibility to public safety.
Met Police in Northern Ireland
Question No: 2019/0346
Andrew Dismore
Reports suggest that 1000 police officers are being trained to go to Northern Ireland in the event of disorder post Brexit. How many of these officers and in what ranks are from the Met?
Met Police in Northern Ireland
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) annually sends approximately 100 officers to a one-day public order course in Northern Ireland. This is in preparation for any mutual aid requirements and is part of the MPS contribution to any national mobilisation.
This year the MPS anticipate sending around 150 officers (126 constables, 18 sergeants and 6 inspectors). The increase in numbers to be trained is a precaution in case of possible Brexit related protest.
At this time there is no requirement for any deployment to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Question No: 2019/0348
Andrew Dismore
Police officers who carry a Taser are more likely to be attacked than their unarmed colleagues because of the “weapons effect”, according to researchers at Cambridge University’s study of City of London officers armed with Taser who were not only 50 per cent more likely to use force in the line of duty, but they were also twice as likely to be on the receiving end of violence. What does this research suggest for extending the use of Taser and of firearms?
Taser
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
The City of London study was interesting but only considered nine assaults, six of which were on officers who were carrying Taser. It is difficult to draw any firm conclusions from this small sample size, not least since Taser-equipped officers are more likely to be deployed to violent incidents.
5700 MPS officers are trained to carry Taser. In the twelve months to October 2018, Officers drew Taser from their holsters on around 5000 occasions but only actually fired in around 8% of those cases. The mere presence of a Taser often avoids the need for officers to use further force. Taser deployments and tactics are kept under constant review – it is a proven proportionate and effective means to deal with violent offenders. The Met will use the City of London study to begin to examine their own data as they do not have a comparative study.
Question No: 2019/0349
Andrew Dismore
How prepared are the Metropolitan Police, working with airport management, to deal with the misuse of drones obstructing the operation of airports in London?
Answer for Misuse of drones [1]
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
Officers are drafting a response
Question No: 2019/0350
Andrew Dismore
Have the Metropolitan Police, working with airport management, in considering how to deal with the misuse of drones obstructing the operation of airports in London looked to the use of birds of prey, as in Holland?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-35750816/eagles-trained-to-take-down-drones
Answer for misuse of drones [2]
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
Officers are drafting a response
Nationals of other EU countries [5]
Question No: 2019/0355
Andrew Dismore
How many a) officers and b) members of staff in the Metropolitan Police are nationals of other EU countries; what estimate have you made of the likely number who will return home in the event of a hard Brexit; and what are you doing to provide assistance and reassurance to them?
Nationals of other EU countries [5]
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
There are approximately 800 officers and 230 staff who are nationals of other EU countries.
The decision for each officer and staff affected by Brexit to remain in the UK will be personal and unique and is very hard to quantify or predict. This is just one of the many challenges that Brexit will bring to policing.
I have already called on the Government to scrap the ‘settled status’ application fee for EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit. I have also committed that City Hall and the GLA Group, including the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), will pay the fees for their EU employees if the Government doesn’t act.
Furthermore, I have launched an online ‘EU Londoners Hub’ to help London’s European citizens access the information they need to stay in the UK after Brexit.
I will continue to do what I can to support EU nationals in policing and across London.
Nationals of other EU countries [6]
Question No: 2019/0356
Andrew Dismore
What estimate have you made of the impact of a hard Brexit on the Metropolitan Police‘s ability to recruit a) officers and b) members of staff in who are nationals of other EU countries?
Answer for Nationals of other EU countries [6]
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
Officers are drafting a response
Question No: 2019/0359
Andrew Dismore
Your draft budget indicates an extra £95 million for the police next year – how will this be funded; and what will this mean for officer numbers?
Draft police budget
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
After months of warm words from the Home Secretary, the government failed to back that up with action with real money in the police funding settlement. Instead, Ministers shunted the cost of policing onto London council taxpayers, hitting the poorest hardest. The Government has already forced the Met to make £850m of cuts since 2013-14 and despite last week’s police funding settlement, there remains a huge funding gap.
Faced with little choice in order to give the Met the resources it requires, I am proposing to increase the share of council tax that goes directly to the police by the maximum amount that does not require a referendum. This is the equivalent of 46p a week – an 11 per cent increase in the policing precept.
This provides for a net additional funding of £84.8 million in 2019-20 will be invested in additional officers, staff and the crime fighting tools they need. Three hundred additional officers will be recruited, and I expect MPS officer numbers to be at 31,000 by late 2019-20. Furthermore, staff will be recruited to fill investigative and other roles, freeing up officers for front line duties. Finally, there will be a step change in the tools and techniques available front-line officers to investigate crime, including fingerprinting, rapid drug testing, cutting edge capabilities to deal with digital investigations, and advanced techniques to combat child sexual exploitation online.
My draft budget also proposes further new funding of £6.8 million in 2019-20 to tackle violence in London through the work of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and a further £3.5 million will be allocated for victims’ services and crime prevention activity by MOPAC. Together this amounts to £10.3 million additional funding to support ‘on the ground’ programme delivery in 2019-20 and is funded from £2.3 million in business rates and £8.0 million from the forecast 2018-19 council tax collection fund surplus.
Metropolitan Police harassment grievances
Question No: 2019/0360
Andrew Dismore
How many harassment grievances has the Metropolitan Police received against officers in each of the last 3 years; and how many of those grievances were found to be well founded?
Answer for Metropolitan Police harassment grievances
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
Officers are drafting a response
Camden and Islington BCU borough commander
Question No: 2019/0361
Andrew Dismore
Camden and Islington BCU are getting their fourth borough commander in just 12 months; is the intention to provide continuity in these posts and if so is such turnover desirable?
Answer for Camden and Islington BCU borough commander
The Mayor
Last updated: 22 January, 2019
Officers are drafting a response
