Agenda item

The Committee to receive a report from the Metropolitan Police Service on Basic Command Units, followed by a discussion with expert witnesses.

6.1      The Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Jones, delivered a presentation to the Committee members on the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) move in February 2019, from a 32 Borough based policing model to the creation of 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs).  The Borough Commander advised the Committee that The MPS was facing a rise in demand for services, increased financial challenges, and was policing a growing London population which was getting younger in a context of increasing complexity and expectations. The Borough Commander explained that without significant changes in how resources were managed they will be unable to meet these challenges and the complexities of policing a global city like London.

6.2      The Borough Commander advised that East London (Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Camden and Islington) changed over to the model last year and there had been a number of lessons learnt from their pilot, he informed the Committee that the responses to emergency calls became extremely challenging for a period of six months which did cause some concern; however much had been learnt and they were confident in the new model.  The committee was advised that from February 2019 there would be around 243 fewer officer posts.  Most of the reductions were from supervisory and senior posts.  There were reductions of officer posts in Neighbourhoods and Investigations, there will be an increases in Response and Safeguarding.  The Borough Commander anticipated that demand would continue to increase, including through additional footfall when the Elizabeth Line was operational.  The Borough Commander informed the committee that the changes reflected the fact that crime profiles have changed and also because the Response officers would be investigating non-serious and complex crime.  The new headquarters includes officers who were focused on demand reduction and increased back office efficiency. 

6.3      The Borough Commander advised that the benefits he anticipated under the model were more flexible resourcing, savings from the sale of buildings and demand reduction through local resolution teams.  Providing further details, the Borough Commander informed the committee that the Central West BCU would cover Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea Boroughs.  It was further advised that the BCU model incorporates five policing “Strands” each led by a Superintendent; Response, Neighbourhoods, Investigations (CID), Safeguarding and Headquarters.  The Borough Commander advised that the “Go Live” date for Central West was 20 February 2018 and there was to be a stabilisation period of 3-4 months following the implementation.

6.4      The Borough Commander advised that there would be a 10% reduction in overall numbers from 2016 and was reflected across London.  He also addressed the BCU resources and the changes to the mix of policing ranks, providing a diagram which gave a snapshot of the changes to the ranked officer numbers, which includes reductions at Chief Superintendent rank.  It was also advised that due to its central location and crime/location profile the BCU works very closely with specialist teams for example public order, firearms, counter terrorism and protection teams.  Detective Superintendent Ruddell addressed the Committee advising that there would be an increase in the numbers of Response Officers from 932 to 1050, a reduction in Neighborhood Officers from 533 to 256, an increase in Safeguarding Officers from 174 to 202 and a reduction in investigating officers (CID) from 374 to 246. 

6.5      The Borough Commander advised that the Headquarters (HQ) function would provide 60 senior officers with officer level cohesion for pan-BCU, functional activities and lead business change.  He also advised the Committee that there would be a single Control Room for the BCU based at Charing Cross and it would provide borderless deployment.  It was felt that all strands must be represented to provide the best and quickest service to victims.  The Borough Commander advised that a Local Resolution Team had been created and would be in operation from December 2018.  He advised that the team would deal with a number of calls to police at source and will provide demand reduction for police and a better faster service for the public. The Borough Commander discussed the modernization of its estates police stations including Charing Cross and Hammersmith, the Committee were informed that no estates (Belgravia and West End Central) would be sold and kept open until the police were satisfied with the new arrangements.  

6.6      The Borough Commander discussed the incidents in the Church Street Ward and commented that youths were no longer scared of the Police and that the Police needed to show a real presence.  Councillor Taouzzale queried the location and the facilities of the Kilburn Police station, the Borough Commander confirmed that it was a large station, North East London, just outside of Westminster.  He also advised that as a response location, it worked better than Charing Cross.  Councillor Taouzzale queried the opening hours and the staffing of the Church Street Police station.  The Borough Commander advised Councillor Taouzzale that he and his colleagues had discussed revising the opening hours including Saturday’s; and the hours which officers were working from of the station were much broader.

6.7      The Borough Commander advised the Committee that he anticipated that demand would continue to increase including through additional footfall when the Elizabeth Line was operational.  However it would be mitigated by prevention work done in partnership with businesses and also the distribution of footfall across the line (as experienced with the start of the night tube). The Borough Commander advised that police would continue to work with partners on efficient tasking, working in multi-agency teams to address key issues of ASB, night time economy and street population issues.  It was advised that the Night Time Economy would now be primarily policed by Response teams and would be reviewing performance in that area carefully. 

6.8      Detective Superintendent Ruddell informed the Committee that the police were primarily focusing pro-activity on violent crime and drug issues, however there would be a key Safeguarding role.  Detective Superintendent Ruddell advised that there would continue to be significant events in Westminster and the police would ensure that the right balance was struck between central and local resources.  She said that many police officers would be taking on new roles or responsibilities and officers would receive relevant training, and it was possible it could take 6-12 months for performance to be consistent.  Detective Superintendent Ruddell advised the Committee on how the police communicate and share information effectively with partners was something they would continue to work on.  

6.9      Chief Inspector Brittain addressed the Committee to discuss the Partnership Prevention Hub, he explained to the Committee that the hub will be based in Hatton Cross and would provide 16/7 cover.  Chief Inspector Brittain informed the Committee that the hub would consist of specialists in Hate Crime, Hospital Engagement and Hotel Engagement, Universities, ASB, Rough Sleeping and Social Media. A dedicated Licensing Team will also operate from the hub, there will be no reduction in the current numbers.  He said that there was an increase in Schools Officers Learning, as the police must continue to invest in prevention.  Also a Tasking Teams of around 20 officers would also operate from the hub. Chief Inspector Brittain advised that workshops would be held with key partners to discuss how the hub might work.

6.10    Chief Inspector Brittain discussed the night time economy with the Committee, advising that there would be a greater number of deployed officers available at times of peak demand with better levels of supervision.  A team of 50 Officers working 16 hours a day (07:00 to 23:00), the responsibility for the night time economy in the West End would be passed to the Response Team, seconded on a rolling bases for a three month period.

6.11    Councillor Adams thanked the police for the presentation and hard work. Responding to the presentation Councillor Adams felt that it was a big worry to the community with the reductions stated, although it was refreshing that a number of the management levels had been stripped out, assuming that the right governance arrangements were in place and leadership capabilities spread across the BCU. Councillor Adams felt that the change was about visibility and having officers on the ground, he encouraged everyone around the table to look at the discussion with greater police visibility in mind.  Councillor Adams advised that it was not without risk as it was a major structural and cultural change, not just in the reduction of numbers but a shift in activity.  Councillor Adams concluded that the model could be a perfect storm as serious youth crime was on the rise against some challenging measures which the police were proposing.

6.12    Sara Sutton address the Committee and provided some background regarding crime in Westminster.  Ms Sutton advised that following a strategic assessment within the Westminster Safer Partnership it showed that crime was increasing within in certain areas of Westminster. She informed the Committee that there had been a 9% increase in crime overall and some areas of crime were increasing quite significantly; knife crime for example, had an increase as high as 30%.  Ms Sutton also discussed the integrated teams (P&P Hub) advising the Committee that these partnerships had been working well and what she would like to see was a strong commitment within the BCU not to lose any of the current good work, and opportunities to build further on the work. Ms Sutton felt that it would depend on numbers of staff and ensuring that information was shared with partners.  

6.13    Jace Tyrell from the New West End Company (NWEC) addressed the Committee and provided a little background as to who the company was and what they did.  Mr Tyrell explained that NWEC represented over 600 occupiers and property owners across Bond Street, Regents Street and Oxford Street.  Mr Tyrell advised the Committee that the NWEC was a not for profit company and raised over £10 million through levies to invest in additional services, above and beyond that of tax streamed authorities, as an investment to their customers and to the West End.  He advised that the company had over 55,000 employees in their businesses, with 1 in 5 employees living in London, working in Camden and the West End.  Mr Tyrell informed the Committee that their businesses were also concerned and that from the NWEC’s own research and evidence stated that there had been a 20% reduction in Londoners visiting the West End in the last five years, which he felt was through the fear of crime, fear of safety, and threat and counter terrorism.

6.14    Mr Tyrell also felt that the City of London received a much better deal and settlement in terms of policing and resources based on analysis carried out by the NWEC.  He informed the Committee that there was 1178 officers in the City of London Police Force compared to the West End, who generates more GDA than the City of London; therefore he was surprised that the government did not recognise the impact that the West End had on the economy. Mr Tyrell raised the subject of Crossrail that he said could bring a 30% increase in customer numbers which was an extra 60 million people.  Finally Mr Tyrell added that there were already good partnerships in existence and he was currently working on a pilot scheme and would like more partnership working with the Council and the Police to address the crime issues in the West End.     

6.15    Dee Corsi also from the New West End Company addressed the Committee to raise concerns regarding some of the operation aspects of the BCU proposal.  Ms Corsi advised that the NWEC had good relationships with both the council and the police in tackling crime and ASB across the West End, which really did have an impact on their customers, visitors and residents.  Ms Corsi advised that it had an impact on the reputation of the West End and did have concerns with the level of policing in unique areas such as the London’s West End.  Ms Corsi further raised concerns regarding changes to the estates, moving officers from West End central to Charing Cross, which would result in taking longer to respond to call from the West End and wanted like to discuss the potential a working space within the footprint to strengthen partnership working.   Ms Corsi raised a concern with regard to the shift from neighbourhood policing to response team, she was concerned with the loss of localised knowledge.  She also had concerns regard to shoplifting, which she felt was on rise and was a major concern for their customers.

6.12    Simon Walton, Chairman from the Queens Park Ward Panel addressed the Committee. He advised that he agreed with the BCU’s vision to increased professionalism and raises status of the frontline response officer responses, Mr Walton was glad that Westminster was able to use Kensington and Chelsea Police.  With regards to the integrated model under the neighborhoods section, Mr Walton enquired as to the meaning of “All staff will be locally based and work to deliver on local priorities developed via local consultation”?  Mr Walton advised that whilst passing Kilburn Police station, the notice board advised the station was open 09:00 to 17:30, however it was not open and there was a note scribbled on the door which states that it was not open; Mr Walton felt that if the police want people to come and report crimes then stations should be user friendly and things like that turned people off.  Finally Mr Walton advised that he felt that Charing Cross and Hammersmith police stations were a significant distance from the north of Westminster. 

6.13    Mr Walton advised that they were always making a plea for more dedicated ward officers as they only have two, whom they rarely see and have to send email to them and receive responses three days later.  Mr Walton raised a query with regard to the investigation CID and if it meant there would be a reduction in the teams working with gangs, as this was a big problem in Queens Park and other areas, and seemed to be a bad idea to reduce officers in that area.  Finally Mr Walton made a plea for The Avenues Youth Centre which is located in north Westminster, he advised that the youth club had lost all of its funding, which could mean more youths on the streets, more guns and crime.

6.14    Frances Blois, Chairman from the Knightsbridge and Belgravia Safer Neighbourhoods Panel addressed the Committee. She confirmed that she had lived in Westminster for over 40 years and felt that she was very aware of the issues.  Ms Blois advised the Committee that the statistic for the neighborhoods represented at each meeting and although in a relatively low crime area no one could afford to be complacent.  Ms Blois informed the Committee that some of the crime was seasonal, some crime goes unreported and it also affects non-residents and tourists. Ms Blois advised that her ward had several distinct areas of crime, Victoria coach station to Hyde Park, with problems such as rough sleeping and begging.  She advised that licensing of late night café’s in the area had been caused a number of issues and that she was also concerned with the closure of Belgravia Police station.  Ms Blois advised that car crime, burglaries, snatch and grab of bags (from bicycles) and Shisha café’s was a priority for the residents.  Ms Blois was very happy with local police officers but unhappy with the 101 phone service as operators are never able to help.  Ms Blois felt for the model to work residents should be aware of safer neighborhood teams and any base should be located within easy reach of all the wards.

6.15    The Borough Commander responded to the questions raised by the expert witnesses and confirmed that with regard to those questions, visibility was vital and in addition to local police there was specialist support such were armed response cars, mounted officers and other visible assets.  The Borough Commander discussed the amazing special constable volunteers and the addition visibly they provide along with the local knowledge they have was incredible, he advised that local knowledge was something that he would want to build on.  Responding to the query regarding businesses, the Borough Commander mentioned the counter terrorism threat was an enormous concern to the police and a high number of the most crowded places were in Westminster foot print and would be doing everything in the polices power to ensure those places were safe from that kind of attack.  The Borough Commander advised that it had taken a lot of hard work to integrate the teams and were happy with the integrated street teams and were working to ensure the ward teams were integrated to the same levels.  The Borough Commander made a commitment to the ward base approach and to always evaluate their approach to ensure that it was working.

6.16    The Borough Commander addressed the supervision ratio advising that using efficiencies were able to find was to work better, the Borough Commander also mention the quality of new officer joining the police and the kinds graduates attracted to policing.  The Borough Commander apologised to Mr Walton for his experience at Kilburn Police station and address the issue of poor signage and agreed that that could be dangerous as well as frustrating.  He agreed that the contact points and methods of engagement have also been poor, it included the 101 phone service, which has just undergone a massive recruitment drive for more operators.  The Borough Commander felt that the offer from NWEC for a base space was a very good idea as it would be a space where people would normally frequent and not just an available space where residents would rarely go.  The Borough Commander advised that the police were reviewing how they can improve the use of social media for engagement.

6.17    Councillor Green responded to the presentation and raised a query with regard to the model for East London being comparable to the Model for Central London, even though later in the presentation it was advised that the Central London boroughs were not similar to borough in East London.  Councillor Green queried that officers were skeptical and advised that he had spoken with officers who felt that there should be an exception made for Westminster as we were the capital of the capital and as clearly shown by the NWEC City of London figures.  Councillor Green felt that the key challenges would be demand and it did not look like there would be enough people to do the job.  He felt that the focus needed for the demand and the night time economy would have a knock on effect, he advised that the outer neighborhood wards suffer with ASB crimes and need dedicated ward officers.  Councillor Green queried the officer reduction numbers which he advised had gone from 533 to 308, when originally it was 256, which was a massive reduction, Councillor Green wanted to know how the Borough Commander would overcome the challenges and maintain the level of neighborhood policing the borough needs.  Finally Councillor Green made a plea that the P&P hub also reaches out and engages with colleges and higher education establishments.

6.18    In responding to the BCU presentation Councillor Arzymanow queried the slide regarding partnership working, she referred to the NWEC earlier reference to its customers concerns and questioned to what extent businesses played a role as she wanted to explore a safe neighborhood with businesses and a number of large businesses had shown an interest in partnership working and had offered spaces.  Councillor Arzymanow felt that businesses were key to tackling crime and disorder.

6.19    Councillor Bott then addressed the Borough Commander with queries relating to the current numbers of officer in the borough and how many the BCU will have when the new model was implemented.  Councillor Bott referred to the City of London point raised by the NWEC and queried why and exception could not apply to Westminster as the demands for the West End was huge.  Finally Councillor Bott queried the local resolution team and how that work and how they might respond to a shoplifting incident and why that was better than it currently was.

6.20    In addressing the BCU presentation, the chair queried the number of officers available for the night time economy, (18 constables and 3 sergeants) every night, the chair questioned if these figures should peak at the weekend instead of every night.  The chair made a request on behalf of Councillor Barnes, as he had asked if one of the senior officers could accompany Councilor Barnes and his two ward colleagues on a walk around his ward nearer the go live date.  The chair advised that all members of the council, from the leader down was concerned with how the model would work.

6.21    Councillor Taouzzale responded to the presentation provided by the police and raised queries with regard to how the police intend to engage with young people and would the police consider a young person advisory board, where they could have input in issues that affect them the most; Councillor Taouzzale felt that current attempts to address the issues were being approached from the top of the council downwards, and adults 3 or 4 times the age of the young people were trying to find solutions to reduce crimes related to young people.  Councillor Taouzzale asked, if when recruiting young people, there was an effort to recruit from within their local areas.  Finally Councillor Taouzzale asked for further clarification on the location of the Kilburn police station.

6.22    Councillor McKie responded to the presentation and expressed that he was deeply concerned for Westminster and was fearful of a tipping point for social cohesion, he felt that social cohesion was cracking and that current policing was a sign of that.  Councillor McKie advised that crime had reached the point where young youths had openly ridiculed officer like in Church Street and young men could rush into restaurants where families were dining and brandishing knifes and machetes; it was no longer ASB, it was criminality.  Councillor McKie felt that crime had reached a point where there criminals know they will not be caught and caused as much damage as they wanted without any consequences.

6.23    Councillor Less thanked the Borough Commander for the presentation and queried safeguarding with regard to sex trafficking of adult and adolescents and which she advised was linked to immigration, Councillor Less advised that she would like to see the issue in the BCU safeguarding remit.  Councillor Less advised that the London Taxi Drivers Association were wanting to boycott the Church Street area, because they were being robbed, which had an effect on residents both in Little Venice and Church Street, Councillor Less hoped that she could work with the police and colleagues to encourage taxies not to boycott the area and engage with the police on staffing safe in the area.

6.24    The Borough Commanderresponded to the questions raised by the Committee and advised that working with the colleges was something that they could do and confirmed that they already to a lot of teen training in colleges but could increase their presence in that area.  The Borough Commander advised that a lot of work had gone into the BCU model and one of the earlier proposals was to have Westminster as a unit on its own, he advised that they wanted to get as much efficiency as they could to keep costs down and that was why they decided on the current model; the Borough Commander advised the Committee members that he and his officers absolutely believed the operating model was achievable, we have all the experience and we have the officers, he advised that was would difficult with the new numbers but that they believed they could do it and he would not have taken the job.  The Borough Commander felt that it was a step into the unknown and he could not ensure that all the elements would work and would be testing the Westminster model for three months and then review and come back, the Borough Commander advised that if the model was not working then he would go back to the Commissioner or will look again at the resources. 

6.25    The Borough Commander advised that there were lots of opportunities to work with businesses and companies and the expertise of the leaderships better, from sharing premises to sharing radios and how the police could develop the idea further.  Councillor Arzymanow wanted further clarity on whether the police would endorse safe neighborhood meetings that involved ward members and companies, the Borough Commander fully endorsed Councillor Arzymanow suggestion of proactive partnership working.  The Borough Commander addressed the issue regarding the City of London police, where he explained that they have a really efficient system, it was historical and had a whole separate policing structure with a chief constable and a chief officer team across it, they had also had officer reductions recently, however it was difficult to compare to Westminster as they have no domestics issues, as no one really lives there, however they have incredible levels of fraud.   The Borough Commander advised that the current officer numbers and the reduction numbers were all included in the presentations and that it was a difficult to clarify, as it included some safeguarding officers that were not exclusive to the BCU and gave a best estimate of 10% of what we have now.

2.26    The Borough Commander advised that in the BCU model, apart from neighborhoods which will always stays locally based, everything else will flow to where the demand and risk was.  The chair quested that the Borough Commander provide the Committee with a final version of the report (specific to Westminster) with the final reduction figures of what the total is now and what it will be in February, as soon as the information was available.  The Borough Commander advised that they have an enormous number of cadets, but want to grow it more, it starts from quite a young age, 40% were from deprived backgrounds and one third were at risk of exclusion.  He advised that until recently the MPS police only recruited from London, but to increase numbers, they have opened up to everywhere; he agreed however that local knowledge was important. 

2.27    The Borough Commander advised that they were relentlessly focused on catching violent criminals and had been carrying out dawn raids when violent criminals were identified.  He advised that when there had been acute issues such as moped robberies and acid attacks, the police really focus and get on top of the issue, there was now a 75% decrease in moped crime.  The Borough Commander also advised that safeguarding and human trafficking required further work, he felt that they had got better a county lines, however the international work was much harder and they still had some work to do in that area.  The Borough Commander advised that behind the service sat a specialist hubs who would come in with an analysist and would review the details with the serious crime agency.  He felt the issue was under reported and added there were a lot of issues particularly in Soho, he advised that the issue was hidden and that he wanted to tackle it.

6.28    The chair thanked the Borough Commander and other presenting officers.  The chair asked the Committee members to decide if it wanted the Borough Commander to return to the Scrutiny Committee to provide an update prior or after the go live date, however left the decision to officers after consulting with members after the meeting.  Councillor Adams advised the Committee that he and the Borough Commander have regular catch up meetings sometimes with the Leader and Chief Executive and reassured the Committee that he would be shadowing the developments.  Councillor Adams also raised the risk between vacancy numbers and the current run rate.  He encouraged the Committee to continue to scrutinise such an important topic for the importance of the City.  

6.29    Councillor Less sought further clarity on her earlier query in relation to the London Taxi Drivers Association and if anything work could be done with taxi’s to prevent a boycott.  Chief Inspector Brittain advised that they had recently sent out communication to all those that had been attacked to let them know what had been happening and would be meeting the magazine called the London Taxi Drivers Association to circulate a positive update about the police and encourage reporting.  Chief Inspector Brittain advised that they had had successful prosecutions in such areas before and needed to get a true picture of the issue so that it could tackle it with a solution.

6.30    The chair thanked the Borough Commander and other presenting officers again and asked Members to consider if any other partners that should be invited to the next meeting with regard to the BCU, any suggestions should be sent to Artemis Kassi and included in the action log.

RESOLVED: The Committee noted the report and comments made by expert witnesses.