Agenda item

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police summarising performance against measures set out in the Policing Plan 2016-19 for the period 1 April 2016 to 30 September 2016.

The Commissioner was satisfied with the position whilst noting areas that required improvement. Violence without injury was rising, and more needed to be done in terms of repeat offenders, warrants and patrolling. A profile on this has been commissioned by the Force PMG. Acquisitive crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), particularly aggressive begging, remained issues. The Chairman questioned whether there would be any value in breaking down statistics on victim vs. non victim based ASB which the Commissioner undertook to investigate to see if this was possible for the next quarter report. 

The Chairman questioned if the numbers for recording ASB could be monitored on both the new and old recording system for a short period, as current trends were masked by the sudden increase in numbers under the new recording system. The CoLP noted that due to the new recording method this was not possible.

The Chairman questioned whether the Q2 measure on levels of victim-based violent crime was improving as the figures were marginal. The Commissioner asserted that the level of such crime was stable (positive) and had flattened out.

The Sub-Committee asked what the CoLP were doing on the issue of bike theft. This was an issue that affected Islington and Camden particularly and the CoLP are working with the Metropolitan Police in sharing intelligence. The Commissioner noted the need to act smarter in tackling the arrests of those who carry out this crime for example by using banning orders.

The Sub-Committee also questioned whether CoLP efforts on cyber-crime were having an effect, and asked the Commissioner to look into other regional or national figures as by means of comparison. The Commissioner noted that the Workforce Plan would take into consideration - advanced training and recruit new skillsets to meet future demand in tackling cyber-crime, as well as issues such as 24/7 reporting.

With regards to survey satisfaction, the Sub-Committee questioned why the response numbers for the Police Memorial event were exceptionally low. The Commissioner noted that this may be down to ‘survey fatigue’ experienced by those who receive online surveys. To improve response rates, the CoLP are looking into improving corporate communications and consolidating the number of surveys sent out. The Commissioner suggested a possible ‘layering’ approach so that only those showing dissatisfaction would be asked to complete a more detailed return. He said he would explore the possibilities of this back in force.

The Chairman noted that quarterly or six-monthly trend data for performance summaries would be beneficial, and that graphs for future meetings be produced in colour for electronic use.

RECEIVED.