Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received in advance of the meeting from Alderman Timothy Hailes and Caroline Addy.

It was noted that the Deputy Chairman would be joining the meeting remotely and that Helen Fentimen would be observing the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the Terms of Reference as set by the City of London Police Authority Board at its meeting on 25 April 2022.

The Sub-Committee received the Terms of Reference as set by the City of London Police Authority Board at its meeting on 25 April 2022.

RESOLVED- That the Terms of Reference be received.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 7 February 2022.

The Sub-Committee considered the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting of the Strategic Planning and Performance Committee held on the 7^th of February.

Responding to a question from a member of the Committee Officers explained that appropriate performance dashboards and graphics would be included in the next performance report for the quarter.

RESOLVED- That the public minutes of the previous meeting of the Strategic Planning and Performance Committee held on the 7th of February be approved as an accurate record.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

The Sub-Committee received the Public Outstanding References from the last meeting.

The Chair requested an update on the two outstanding references listed in the report. It was suggested that a deep dive report on victim services and satisfaction rates be brought to the next meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted.

Report of the Commissioner.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the City of London Police Commissioner on the Q4 Performance against Policing Plan Measures.

The Commander introduced himself to the Committee and noted he was not able to attend in person due to an urgent operational matter. The Committee Chair and Chair of the Police Authority Board thanked the City of London Police for their excellent work regarding a recent murder investigation and for keeping Members informed appropriately.

The Chair thanked the Assistant Commissioner for his attendance at a recent City-Wide Residents meeting noting that his answers were well received by the residents and Members in attendance. 

The Chair noted that the majority of the performance measures were listed as satisfactory and that this represented a positive trend. In addition, it was noted that this would be the last performance report in the current format which would be moving to more reflective performance measures. Officers highlighted the progress made but commented that was further improvements to be made.

The Committee commented on the need to include the proposed action for each of the performance measures, particularly those which were listed as requiring improvement, and a date when these actions would be completed. It was added that it was important to include appropriate metrics for success which were linked to directly to the Policing Plan.

The Chair requested that a reporting mechanism be established to ensure that he was appropriately informed outside of committee to replace the work previously completed by the Strategic Leads.

The Committee requested further details on why the satisfaction rates were decreasing and whether any of these measures ever surpassed the rating of satisfactory. The Chair commented that whilst the satisfaction rates were still under the 2019 pre-lockdown rates the direction of travel was not positive. Officers explained that the first

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner on the Force’s Performance against the Government’s National Priorities for Policing, 4^th Quarter Statement end of March 2022. The Chair highlighted that the City of London Police were now ranked fortieth out of all forces in terms of all crime representing a twenty five percent increase noting that this was after spending eighteen months ranked first.

Responding to a query from a Member of the Committee Officers noted that decrease in domestic crime in the City of London was likely due to a decreased number of visitors to the City, but that this would be confirmed.

The Chair of the Police Authority Board observed that the Quarterly Statement presented was technical in nature and suggested that a more public facing document presenting this information be developed as part of a larger review of how information regarding the City of London Police is presented. The Chair observed that communication and engagement had regularly been raised as an issue by the Police Authority Board whilst he had served on the Board.

A Committee member noted it was important to reassess reporting to reconsider what the classification of ‘good’looks like in this context.

The Committee requested that further information on the actions taken to promote successes be included in reports of this kind. Responding to this it was confirmed that there were a number of plans in place to progress cyber-crime policing, both nationally and locally, noting that traditionally the City of London Police had not been good at promoting successes in policing which would be reassessed.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted.

Report of the Commissioner.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner on the Force’s Performance against the Government’s National Priorities for Policing, 4^th Quarter Statement end of March 2022. The Chair highlighted that the City of London Police were now ranked fortieth out of all forces in terms of all crime representing a twenty five percent increase noting that this was after spending eighteen months ranked first.

Responding to a query from a Member of the Committee Officers noted that the decrease in domestic crime in the City of London was likely due to a decreased number of visitors to the City, but that this would be confirmed.

The Chair of the Police Authority Board observed that the Quarterly Statement presented was technical in nature and suggested that a more public facing document presenting this information be developed as part of a larger review of how information regarding the City of London Police is presented. The Chair observed that communication and engagement had regularly been raised as an issue by the Police Authority Board whilst he had served on the Board.

A Committee member noted it was important to reassess reporting to reconsider what the classification of good looks like in this context.

The Committee the requested that further information on the actions taken to promote successes be included in reports of this kind. It was confirmed that there were a number of plans in place to progress cyber-crime policing, both nationally and locally, noting that traditionally the City of London Police had not been good at promoting successes in policing which would be reassessed.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted.

Report of the Commissioner.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner on the Quarterly Community Engagement Update.

A Member questioned how best to make Sector Policing Cluster Panels effective and engaging for residents. Further to this a Committee Member queried if in-person panels were the most appropriate forum for this engagement noting that modern technology allowed for more immediate and wide reading communication. It was observed that it was important to get a balance between dealing with local matters which are of importance to those attending the Panels in-person and reaching those that might not attend the panels in person through other methods.  

Responding to a Committee Member’s question the it was noted that it was important to effectively monitor the changing community within the City of London and that Police Officers had the training to notice the signs of cultural offences. Following a further question, it was confirmed that appropriate engagement through methods such as neighbourhood policing had been employed with regard to Counter Terrorism and that there was a team in place at the City of London police to investigate modern-day slavery cases.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted. 

Report of the Commissioner.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner on the HMICFRS Inspections Update. The Chair noted it was good to see that significant progress had been made in this area.

Following a question from a member of the Committee the Assistant Commissioner explained the process for taking forward the points raised by the HMICFRS noting that Members would be informed of any recommendations not approved.

The Committee discussed the level of detail included in the reporting of these recommendations. The Chair commented that he was happy with the current position with the reporting of the HMICFRS reporting noting that the detail provided offered assurance. It was added that any recommendations not approved by HMICFRS would need to be brought to the Committee’s attention.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted.  

The Police Authority Board Chair informed that the Police Authority Board would be recruiting two external members to join the Board which would be advertised accordingly.    

The Committee thanked Polly Dunn for her time supporting the Committee and the Police Authority Board.

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 I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

The Commissioner to be heard.

The Committee received a verbal update from the Comminissoner on the Protective Secuirity Deep Dive.

RESOVLED- That the update be noted.

There was one question received in the non-public session.

There were no items of urgent business considered in the non-public session.