Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2016 be agreed as a correct record subject to the following amendments:

Members Present – Edward Lord to be recorded as ‘In Attendance’ and not a ‘Guest’.

Minute 1 – Apologies

The removal of apologies from Commander Chris Greany as the giving of apologies isn’t applicable to officers.

Minute 11 – Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order – minute reworded below

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment proposing the introduction of an Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO) in the City on a permanent basis.

Members were informed that details of how the Order would operate were still being discussed with Transport for London (TfL) and as a consequence it was suggested that the proposal Order be approved in principle subject to the clarification of certain legal aspects.

The Committee questioned whether, in considering the duty to act in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights, legal advice had been obtained, and whether an equality impact assessment had been carried out. They were informed that the appropriate processes had been followed and that external legal advice had been obtained, which was very supportive. The Committee noted that they would like to see further details of the legal advice, which should be provided as soon as possible. The Committee questioned whether the rank of the police officer required to make the decision on the instigation of the ATTRO was appropriate, and noted that they would like to see the draft protocol.   The Committee also noted that members had a number of drafting points to suggest on the draft order.

The Committee was advised that in the event of an ATTRO being agreed and TfL agreeing to their roads in the City being included

Resolved – That the minutes of the Economic Crime Board meeting held on 5 February 2016 be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

RESOLVED – That the list of outstanding references be noted.

3.         Barbican CCTV

The Commissioner reported that a project timeline had been circulated but was still in the procurement stage so it was not yet possible to predict an implementation date.

6.         Internal Audit Review

The Chamberlain reported that review was currently in the consultation phase and the final recommendations and implementation details would be available at the next meeting on 14 April.

A member of the Committee asked if this could include an update on the Bridgehouse Estate.

7.         Police Pensions Sub-Committee

Alderman Luder, Chairman of the Police Pensions Sub-Committee reported that five members of the sub-committee had been identified with one outstanding vacancy.

These were:

Chair:                                                             Alderman Ian Luder

Additional elected member:           Deputy Alexander Deane

Police representative:                     Superintendent Helen Isaac

Scheme member representatives:

Alan Goss (current pensioner)

Davina Plummer (deferred member)

Vacant (currently re-canvassing for interest)

Alderman Luder subsequently recommended their appointment.

RESOLVED – That Alan Goss and Davina Plummer be appointed as Scheme Member Representatives of the Police Pensions Sub-Committee.

8.         Budget

This action had now been completed and could be taken off the list of outstanding references.

ATTRO

That a report back on the Policy and Resource Committee’s decision in relation to this be provided at the next meeting.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Community Safety Team setting out revised proposals for the Community Remedy Document (CRD) which had been updated to respond to a number of queries raised at the last meeting.

This included further information on the flexibility of the financial threshold for theft offences and addressed the concerns raised regarding the inclusion of section 4 of the Public Order Act, hate crime and domestic violence.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Members raised a number of questions concerning whether or not ‘theft from the person’ should be included, the options available to the victim, in what instances the CRD would be available, the results of the consultation exercise and how representative they were, future monitoring of the scheme and whether this would be done nationally, and also how the scheme would be advertised to the public.

Members noted that offenders with previous convictions couldn’t be considered for a CR disposal if they had previous convictions or cautions, and officers would need to carry out checks to establish suitability prior to any decision being made.

RESOLVED - to

a)            Endorse the proposed remedies detailed in the report for inclusion within the Community Remedy Document.

b)            Approve publication of the Community Remedy for May 2016 to allow time to prepare the processes and provide necessary training.

To receive any updates.

There were no updates.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police presenting the ‘designed’ Policing Plan approved at the January Committee.

The Commissioner advised that the designed version had not yet been reviewed for typing or other errors, which first printed drafts usually contained, but that this would be done before the plan was formally published.

The Committee noted that the measures had also been considered and formally agreed by the Police Performance and Resources Sub Committee on the 24 February 2016, so the wording of some of the measures in the version in front of Members were still subject to slight change.

The Deputy Chairman, and Chairman of the Police Performance and Resources Sub Committee reported that the Sub-Committee had raised a number of comments in relation to the use of the word ‘level’ instead of numbers, the number of surveys being undertaken as a measuring tool and how reliable these were, the need to target cyclists as well as motorists and whether or not ‘narrative assessment’ involved external scrutiny.

The Sub-Committee had raised a question concerning a measure for rough sleepers, and was advised by the COLP that this had not been raised as an issue of concern within the community. Rough sleepers came under the responsibility of the local authority and not the Police.

The Sub-Committee had also asked for the inclusion of a measure for victims of anti-social behaviour, and had agreed to revisit and review the measure for Cybercrime after six months.

RESOLVED – That the report of the Commissioner and comments of the Performance and Resources Sub Committee be noted.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment and the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received a report from the Director of the Built Environment detailing the progress being made in reducing road traffic casualties on City streets and setting out proposals for achieving further reductions in the future.

Members noted the proposal reflected an important emphasis on six key action areas of enforcement; engineering; business engagement and behavioural change; reviewing and learning from the successes of others; reviewing staff location; and strengthened working with TfL and the GLA.

Members welcomed the report but expressed frustration that the table indicating the current profile of casualties was out of date as only reported up to 2014. The Director of the Built Environment advised that this was the approved data from TfL.

Members questioned whether or not a proper analysis of the effectiveness of the measures was undertaken as targets were often unachievable. It was suggested that there was no point in trying to do things that just couldn’t be done. The issue of why TfL were referring to data not relevant to the City of London was also raised.

RESOLVED - that the Road Danger Reduction Programme be noted.

Youth Offending System

In advance of the meeting a Member had raised a number of questions in relation to the youth offending system operating in the City of London.

The member was informed that a report was being produced for the September 2016 meeting which would cover all of the questions raised and the Member confirmed that she was happy with the response.

There were no items of urgent business.

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.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the Economic Crime Board meeting held on 5 February 2016 be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Committee received and approved a report from the Commissioner of Police regarding the responsibility for custody healthcare and recommending a suitable course of action.

Report of the City Surveyor, Chamberlain and Commissioner.

The Sub-Committee considered and approved a joint Gateway 3/4 update report of the Chamberlain, City Surveyor and Commissioner of the City of London Police which provided the Committee with an update on the Police Accommodation project. The report primarily advised on the decant strategy to allow the project to proceed.

Report of The City Surveyor.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the City Surveyor in relation to the letting of Finsbury House, 23 Finsbury Circus.

Commissioner to be heard.

The 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.