Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Deputy Chairman, the Commissioner of Police and the Commander of Economic Crime.

The Chairman welcomed the new Chief Superintendent of the Uniform Police Directorate, Richard Woolford.

There were no declarations of interest.

Matters Arising

Item 7 - Police Innovation Fund

The Commander of Operations updated Members that the Police would be attending a meeting with the Home Office to help improve their bid in the future.

Lift at Bishopsgate Police Station

A Member updated the Committee that work on the elevator repairs were underway and was hoped be completed in the next several weeks.

To receive a report of the Town Clerk.

Police Committee Workshops

The Chairman updated Members on upcoming Member workshops which included Action Fraud and the upcoming Police budget. The Town Clerk would send details to Members when they were confirmed.

To receive a report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which updated Members on recent community engagement activities, community priorities and forthcoming events.

The Chairman queried the success of Operation Fennel and the Commander of Operations informed Members that the Police were patrolling continuously and sign posting individuals who required support. A Member suggested that a good idea for a Member workshop may be a topic on rough sleeping.

Members discussed the Business engagement team survey and stated that it was important the topics covered in the survey did not lead the public to think there were issues arising with management of Police priorities.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and its contents noted.

To receive a verbal update of the Equalities, Diversity and Human Rights Manager.

The Committee received a verbal update from the Equalities, Diversity and Human Rights Manager, who advised that recruitment was underway for the Independent Advisory Group and would be advertised for a six week period. A further report back would be provided at the next meeting.

A meeting had taken place on the Stonewall Equality Index and Police benchmarking, and it was stated the activities the Police needed to undertake to meet these measures were of very little cost.

In response to a query from a Member on the costs associated with the Force implementing Stonewall Equality Index and the risk of trade-offs needing to be made, the Assistant Commissioner clarified that costs would be discussed internally and reported back to Members at the April Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and its contents noted.

There were no updates.

To receive a report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which updated Members on the financial position of the Force to the end of January 2014.

Members raised concern over the fact that details of two Capital Programme funding initiatives -Intellectual Property Unit and Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Card Unit (page 24) had not been listed, the Director of Corporate Services undertook to liaise with the Town Clerk to circulate the details. The Assistant Commissioner stated that the reporting system for the Capital Programme had improved and going forward, there would be methods by which to monitor programme slippage. He added that the Athena Project had fallen behind timelines on a national scale, which the Force was subject to.

A Member also suggested that going forward, future budget monitoring reports include further detail of the nature of other expenses, such as non-payroll stationary.

The Chamberlain also stated that they were meeting with the Police on Budget Monitoring and were reassured by the progress being made.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and its contents noted.

To consider a report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee considered a report of the Commissioner of Police which asked Members to approve the Computer Estate Model detailed within the report, and endorse the request for additional funding to enable the implementation of the optimum catalogue of devices across the City of London Police (CoLP). 

At the request of the Committee, this report was moved to the public section of the meeting.

The Director of Corporate Services informed Members that the computer estate model was influenced by the Force’s City Futures Initiative and the Accommodation project which both sought to improve the Force’s IT structure and enhance digitisation. Part of this process required examining and improving upon the Force’s existing ways of working and liaising with the Corporation to align network technology to enhance Force network access. Members were advised at the next meeting of the Committee, a further program of works would be presented.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that there was an error listed in the Computer Rationalisation Model (page 9), and the costs for screens and docking stations could be removed, which lowered the total cost over three years to £419,000.

The Chief Information Officer informed Members the Chamberlain’s Department had engaged in robust discussions with the Police, to ensure Force IT provisions were aligned with Corporation IT where possible. The Chief Technology Officer added that the mix of devices the Force had originally requested, as part of the Gateway 4 report, had since been amended. Officers highlighted that a mixture of mobile devices and increased in scope was required, and the report included the purchase costs for tablet devices and laptop computers as opposed to fixed desktop computers.

Members expressed their concern that devices for mobile working were costly and not necessarily required, and also that placing large orders of devices

To receive a joint report of the Director of Built Environment and the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a joint report of the Director of Built Environment and the Commissioner of Police which updated Members on the twice-yearly progress report in relation to the City’s Road Danger Reduction Plan (RDR Plan).

The Chairman remarked that he was happy with this report, which presented the joined up working the Corporation and the Police were undertaking with regard to road safety.

The Commander of Operations stated that the number of total accidents had decreased by 15%. The 20 mile per hour would be agreed by Planning and Transportation and would be effective from the 20^th July 2014.

Members and officers discussed the provisions for two way cycle roads and it was stated that at the time Upper and Lower Thames Street would be included on a temporary basis and would be agreed on a permanent basis in the future.  A Member stated that it was important that cycle lanes be well signed with white lines painted to assist cyclists and traffic flow. The Transportation & Public Realm Director of Built Environment stated that cycle lanes were well sign posted and there were efforts to channel cyclists on to less busy roads within the City. The Chairman remarked that the City’s Safer City Partnership was also doing work in the area of road safety.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and its contents noted.

To consider a report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which set out the Scheme of Delegation to the relevant Chief Officer relevant to this Committee, in this case the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

Members discussed the details of the Scheme of Delegation, and it was agreed that a minor amendment was required to state delegations to officers were within agreed budgets, and further specification was sought on whether the delegations relating to human resources were within the remit of the City of London Corporation or the Police.

RESOLVED – That,

a)    subject to the approval of the Policy and Resources Committee of the overall Scheme of Delegation, the delegations relating to the Commissioner of Police be approved;

b)    further specification be sought on whether the delegations relating to human resources were within the remit of the City of London Corporation or the Police; and

c)    the proposed amendment to Standing Orders relating to the declaration of operation property assets which are surplus to requirements be noted.

Questions were raised as follows –

Barbican Highwalk CCTV– a Member queried into the status of CCTV at the Barbican Highwalk, due to concerns around security. Members of the Police Committee, who were also Members of the Barbican Residents Association, stated given the security risks and need to ensure safety they were supportive of this measure.

Members discussed the possibility of a survey to canvas Barbican residents on introducing CCTV on the Barbican Highwalk, but there were concerns raised that from past experience, response rate could be low and it was important that measures be taken to ensure security and safety of residents and the public.

Members agreed to note their support measures for CCTV installation on the Barbican Highwalk and the Town Clerk undertook to explore the possible options for the installation of CCTV on the Barbican Highwalk and provide an update at the next meeting.

Passes for external Members – A Member requested the Town Clerk address the lack of City of London passes for external Members of the Committee.

Economic Crime Member’s Briefing – the Chairman of Policy and Resources, who was also a Member of the Committee, updated Members  on the successful Member’s Briefing held on the Police’s role as lead force for economic crime, which enhanced their knowledge and detail of the Force’s work in this area.

Police Road Closures - Members raised the recent Police closures with the Police with regard to how decisions were taken in implementing road closures and deciding the area affected, given the recent closure at Bishopsgate due to the investigation of a crime scene. Members raised concerns over the cost implications of these closures and the need to ensure wherever possible closures could be minimised, such as the timing of Old Bailey sentencing in instances of

The following items of urgent business were raised –

Project Servator

The Commander of Operations provided an update to Members, upon the request of the Chairman, which updated Members of Project Servator which involved specially training officers and improved methods of policing the City’ entry points.  There had been many stops within the first week of operations, with an overwhelming positive response from the community and the involvement of City businesses.

A Member queried if Project Servator would reduce stop and search procedures, to which the Commander of Operations explained that the Police were subject to regular inspection and reports by the HMIC and College of Policing and was in good standing.

Force Accommodation Project

The Chamberlain updated Members that the Force would be moving into Guildhall Yard East in late 2014 and the Chamberlain and City Surveyor would be briefing to the Police Committee lead Member, and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Police Committee, Finance Committee and Projects Sub Committee on the progress being made. Issues were being closely examined, such as the location of custody suites and the firing range, and were not affecting costs of the project.

A written report would be received at the next meeting of the Police Committee.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item No.                                  Exempt Paragraphs

12a)                                         3

12b)                                         1, 2 & 5

13                                            3

14                                            7

16                                            3

17                                            3

18                                            3 & 7

·         Item 9.a) – Statistical Information, to revise the section under Action Fraud to state a meeting had been postponed by the IPCC; and

·         Item – Any Other Business, to revise that IPCC funding was being re-allocated from the Home Office.

To consider a report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee considered a report of the Commissioner of Police that updated Members on the transfer of the Action Fraud service from the National Fraud Authority to the City of London Police.

To receive a report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a report from the Commissioner of Police which summarised a recent trip to the United States taken by the Commissioner and the Commander of Economic Crime.

To receive a report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of action taken by the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman since the last meeting of the Committee.

To receive a report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a quarterly report of the Commander of Economic Crime which updated Members on economic crime matters.

The Assistant Commissioner provided the report update on behalf of the Commander of Economic Crime.

The Commissioner of Police to be heard.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police was heard concerning on-going and successful operations undertaken by the City of London Police.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.