Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Christopher Hayward, Simon Duckworth and Deputy Richard Regan.

MATTERS ARISING

The Chairman introduced new external Member, Andrew Lentin, to the Police Committee for his first meeting.  He also introduced Tina Denis, who had just joined the Town Clerk’s department and would be providing support to the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the Police and Finance Committees.

There were no declarations.

The draft public minutes from the last meeting.

To agree

The Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 21 September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

To receive

The Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 22 September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

To receive

The Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 26 September 2017.

A Member asked for clarification of Sub-Committee Member, Caroline Mawhood.  It was confirmed that Caroline was a second co-opted Member from the Audit & Risk Committee, alongside Kenneth Ludlam.  It was confirmed that she was also an external Member.  The Member suggested that their status as an external Member be clarified in the membership list within the minutes.  The Town Clerk confirmed that they would amend the system nomenclature for co-opted and external Members within all future minute documents to ensure clarity in this regard. (2)

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

To receive

The Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 2 October 2017.

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

To receive

The Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 20 October 2017.

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which set out Outstanding References from previous meetings of the Committee.

OR 1 – Equality & Diversity Lead

A Member asked for confirmation of who had been appointed as the CoLP lead for Equality and Diversity.  The Assistant Commissioner explained that the decision would be made on 9 November, and would be able to confirm this with the Member in due course. (3)

OR 4 - Source of Clothing Stock

A Member explained that the response provided by City Procurement to address this item was not sufficient, and asked for clarification of the adherence to the Social Value Act 2012 in procurement.  The Member agreed to feedback the findings of the Social Value Panel that measures performance of local authorities in this regard. It was agreed that this item be marked as outstanding. (4)

OR 6 – Accommodation of Young People in Custody

The Chairman illustrated his approval that the total outstanding costs had been recovered for the accommodation of young persons in Police custody when local accommodation could not be provided.

OR 10 – Street Triage Funding

The Chairman asked for any update on where funding would be sourced beyond May 2018.  The Commander of Operations advised that there had been a verbal agreement for NHS East London Foundation Trust to continue funding until May 2019.

A Member raised a concern that responses to previous outstanding references were not recorded within the agenda packs, and as such there may not be sufficient opportunity to prevent outstanding references from being marked as closed if responses are not satisfactory.  The Deputy Chairman noted that previously this was the case, but due to the significant additional paperwork it added to the agenda packs, it was not always entirely productive. He suggested that a compromise

Report of the Commissioner of Police

[Appendix 3 of this report is included under item 23 of the agenda, as a non-public item]

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that provided information on the current position regarding the management of Health and Safety within the City of London Police since September 2016.

The Assistant Commissioner explained that Custody training issues, one of the top marked risks in paragraph 25, has now been addressed.  He explained that officers were trained during the period in which the custody suite was closed, but that the CoLP were reliant on support from the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA), for the period of closure.

The Assistant Commissioner explained that the other noted key risks were all being picked up by the November Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee meeting.

A Member explained to the Committee that in relation to the closure of the custody suite for 11 days, the Professional Standards and Integrity Sub-Committee had been made aware that the structure of sourcing staff from uniformed policing was a potential issue as command lines of custody officers remained with their uniformed sergeant rather than having any reporting line to the Custody Manager, which created ambiguity.  The Member noted that the issue was addressed previously, with a plan in place to have training carried out in January 2017.  However, this plan was stifled by urgent issues at the time.  The Member explained that a Command structure has been proposed but had simply not yet been implemented.  The Commander of Operations explained that there were two options for consideration: a single service approach, or a cooperation between custody and CID officers.  The Member stated their disappointment at the poor communication of the closure to Members, Independent Custody Visitors and appropriate Corporation staff. The Member requested to be kept updated about any developments in this regard. (6)

In reference to paragraph 54 of the report, a Member asked

Report of the Chamberlain and Commissioner of Police

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of Police that proposed the strategic direction for the City of London Police IT service over the next three years, until 2020.

Members commented that the attachment of the Appendix relating to the Force Information Security Policy was unnecessary.  However, Members agreed with the general principals set out by the strategy.

A Member questioned the lack of reassurance that nothing would be implemented that was incompatible with technology used by other forces.  The Commissioner explained that the CoLP were monitoring every opportunity in policing and are fully engaged with other forces on new developments – clarification of this had simply been omitted from the report.

The Assistant Commissioner explained that the Force Information Security Policy, although compiled in August 2014, was still current as of this meeting.  He explained that the Director of IT sits on the Force Strategic Digital Board which allows CoL/CoLP to maintain insight in this regard.  He explained that the CoLP is thus able to join up with national forces with regards to interoperability of systems where possible as part of the national police IT landscape.  The Chairman stated that these facts need to be clarified within the next iteration of the IT strategy which would be reviewed in six months. (8)

RESOLVED – That the report be received and the strategic approach set out within the report be approved.

Report of the Commissioner of Police and the Chamberlain

[This report was unavailable at the time of publication and will be circulated separately]

The Committee received a late joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of Police that summarised the capital and revenue budget of the City of London Police for the second quarter of 2017.

The Commissioner explained that the Mid-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) Report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Police Committee, on 15 December. (9)  The Chamberlain explained that discussions undertaken to finalise the report had gone on longer than expected, due to uncertainty around some of the numbers.  He explained that the budget deficit of £1.6m was likely to come down towards the end of the year, but it was important to continue to identify savings to reduce the drawdown on the reserves, which would be exhausted next year without further action.  He explained that the Deloitte review had identified potential savings which should be factored into the budget for 2018/19 and the MTFP.

In reference to paragraph 9 of the report, the Chairman asked if the £395,000 savings identified by the Deloitte report as “quick wins” were included within the budget.  The Assistant Commissioner explained that this will be confirmed by the Q3 budget report.

A Member asked if the additional funds requested for Bishopsgate refurbishment under urgency procedure since the last meeting would be included in the budget.  The Director of Estates & Support Services explained that there had been underinvestment at Bishopsgate and so this additional spend would not negatively impact the budgeted sums. A Member stated that underspend on maintenance was a very common mistake made by organisations, and noted that it had clearly occurred in the case of Bishopsgate Police Station.  The Member declared that lessons should be learned, and that there was a need for an annual external survey and report on whether maintenance of services have been maintained adequately.

The Committee heard a verbal update from the Special Interest Area lead for Public Order.

The Special Interest Area lead for Public Order thanked Lucy Sandford and Inspector Stuart Phillips for providing her with support as she took over the role.

The SIA Lead explained that, when looking at future challenges for public order, the City of London Police filling vacancies was an immediate issue.  Following a hiatus period where there was no recruitment process ongoing, the City of London Police have now commenced recruitment again.  Although there have been 20 newly recruited probationer officers, the need for training means that they will not all be fully operational for an additional period. The Commander of Operations clarified that although training time was effectively only one week for Public Order skills, the delay was due to the combined period of recruitment and training processes.  She explained that there was also a limited pool of those who hold the skillset to recruit from internally, but that there was a focus on improving recruitment campaigns and solidifying the skills requirements.

The SIA lead explained that unpredictability of workload, in the face of the occurrence of unexpected events, has been a significant factor impacting the work/life balance of those officers involved in public order resolution.

The SIA lead explained that uniforms and resources were also an issue of note.  She explained that there had been cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on this, and the relationship between the two Forces was very supportive.

The Director of Estates & Support Services explained that the City of London Police are on-boarding the National Framework for the uniform of Police.  He explained to Members that their internal process was referenced in the Health & Safety Report.  He also explained that resilience stock was available for delivery 24/7.

The

The Committee heard a verbal update from the Special Interest Area lead for Professional Standards and Integrity.

The Special Interest Area lead for Professional Standards and Integrity explained to Members that the Director of Professional Standards, Dermont Robinson, was no longer in post and would be replaced by Detective Superintendent Maria Woodall.  She also explained that two new Members had joined the Professional Standards and Integrity Sub-Committee, Common Councilman, Tijs Broeke and external member, Mia Campbell.

The SIA Lead explained that the Professional Standards Department (PSD) was generally operating at full strength, though there was still a desire to increase the number of skilled analysts.

The SIA Lead explained that recent misconduct hearings/cases had been handled very well, citing a drink-driving case that had been fast-tracked to hearing and resolved in an efficient and timely manner.

The SIA Lead made Members aware of the Bad Apple project, which enables 2-way reporting of the misconduct of colleagues.  She explained that since its inception in March 2017, there have been 29 complaints, out of which one misconduct issue has arisen.

The SIA Lead explained that the London Police Challenge Panel had been a useful platform for forces to discuss code of ethics issues.

The Assistant Commissioner explained that a recent HMIC inspection had suggested increased resilience and capacity  in the area of anti-corruption, and the PSD were now looking at capacity in this area..

The Assistant Commissioner declared that the PSD was a very robust outfit, and explained to Members that other forces had called on their services to carry out investigations, cementing their strong reputation.

RESOLVED – That the Special Interest Area lead for Professional Standards and Integrity be heard.

[This item was taken as part of the non-public agenda, following Item 13]

There were no questions.

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 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 I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the following meetings:

To agree

The Committee considered the non-public minutes from the last meeting, held on 21 September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting be approved.

To receive

The Committee received the non-public minutes from the last meeting, held on 20 October 2017.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting be received.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which set out non-public Outstanding References from previous meetings of the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk that summarised actions by the Town Clerk taken under delegated authority or urgency procedures since the last meeting, held on 21 September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the City Surveyor, Chamberlain and Commissioner of Police

The Committee considered a joint report of the City Surveyor, Chamberlain and the Commissioner of Police that summarised progress on the Police Accommodation Strategy, and sought Members’ approval for the progression of the implementation programme.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be approved.

Report of the City Surveyor, Chamberlain and Commissioner

The Committee received a joint report of the City Surveyor, Chamberlain and Commissioner of Police that sought Members’ approval for redevelopment works on Bishopsgate Police Station as part of the Police Accommodation Strategy.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be approved.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain that sought Members’ approval of a number of recommendations surrounding the occupation of Finsbury House.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be agreed.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Committee considered a report of the Commissioner of Police that sought Members’ approval of recommendations surrounding the ID Crime Project.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be agreed.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

That Committee considered a report of the Commissioner of Police that sought Members’ approval of a number of recommendations relating to the implementation of the CCCI Niche Project.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be agreed.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Committee considered a report of the Commissioner of Police that sought Members’ approval of a number of recommendations surrounding the HR Upgrade to v2015 project.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be approved.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Committee considered a report of the Commissioner of Police that sought Members’ approval for the closure of a number of projects undertaken by the City of London Police.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations be approved.

Report of the Chamberlain

[This item was taken as part of the public agenda, following Item 7]

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain that briefed Members on the process, risks and points to consider when approving waiver requests.

The Chamberlain emphasised to Members that the headline of the report was that the number of waivers required had reduced overall. He explained that sanctions were being drawn up with Human Resources to penalise repeat use of retrospective waivers as a deterrent to their frequent use.

A Member noted that half of the total value of waivers used by the City of London Police were applied for retrospectively, and queried whether this was the case with all departments.  The Chamberlain explained that they would follow this up and feed back to Members. (12)

RESOLVED – That Members note:

1.    The positive reduction in the number of waivers processed during the last financial year from 830 down to 388.

2.    The value of waivers processed for 2016/17 was £10m.

3.    The risks associated with approving waivers, in particular, retrospective waivers which we wish to eradicate during 2017-18.

4.    The need to consider waiver requests presented to Spending Committees in light of the risks highlighted and to ensure that prior to approval that the waiver is the only viable route to procure a contract.

This document is Appendix 3 of the report at Agenda item 5

The Committee received an additional appendix not for publication to the report received as item 5 on the agenda, Health and Safety Annual Performance Update (1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017)

RESOLVED – That the appendix be received.

Commissioner to be heard.

The Committee heard a verbal update from the Commissioner of Police that updated Members’ on recent developments of the City of London Police since the last meeting, held on 21 September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the Commissioner be heard.

There were no questions.

The Committee were asked to consider a late report of the Commissioner of Police.