Agenda and minutes

The Town Clerk noted that Tijs Broeke would join the meeting late.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 29 July 2020.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 29 July 2020 be approved subject to an amendment being made to the reference to Cyber Griffin. 

Matters Arising

Appointment to Committees

The Town Clerk noted that subsequent to the 29 July 2020 meeting, Alderman Emma Edhem had expressed an interest in being appointed to the Economic Crime Committee.

RESOLVED, that Alderman Emma Edhem be appointed to the Economic Crime Committee for 2020/21.

Special Interest Areas

The Town Clerk noted that Munsur Ali had expressed an interest in deputising for Deborah Oliver in the Neighbourhood Policing portfolio.

RESOLVED, that Munsur Ali be appointed deputy Special Interest Area lead for Neighbourhood Policing for 2020/21. 

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

Members considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner regarding outstanding references and the following points were made.

30/2019/P – Cyber Griffin Evaluation

·         The Deputy Chief Executive noted that since the July 2020 meeting of the Board, the original unsuccessful funding bid had been reviewed and updated in light of work conducted in-house, and the refreshed bid would be submitted to the City’s Cyber Security Steering Group that week where, subject to endorsement, local funding would be used to carry out the proposed evaluation. There would be no need to approach the City’s Resource Allocation Sub-Committee. An update would be provided at the October 2020 meeting.

37/2019/P – Bishopsgate Exercise Yard

·         The Commissioner noted that an original assessment of required works of £100,000 had been reduced to £70,000 by the Capital Buildings Committee. Further work had demonstrated that the original assessment of £100,000 was definitely required. Once approval was secured to spend the additional £30,000, and provided that approval was provided imminently, it would be possible to deliver the works before Christmas.

·         The Lead Member for Safeguarding and Public Protection noted that this reference had been outstanding for some time and had arisen due to a red risk identified by an external inspection. The Member called for assurance that the £30,000 could be provided from the Force’s capital programme rather than reverting back to Capital Buildings Committee.

·         The Chairman invited the Deputy Chief Executive and Treasurer to resolve any extant governance issues that were delaying the project as soon as possible.

·         In response to a question, the Town Clerk and Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer noted that the exercise yard project was subject to Capital Buildings Committee as it fell within the overall Police Accommodation Programme. The additional £30,000 funding could be met from the programme’s

The Chairman to be heard.

The Chairman was heard in public session and the following points were made.

Future Meetings

·         The Chairman noted that the Board had, at its 29 July 2020 meeting, decided to adopt an increased frequency of meetings going forward to allow more time to discuss substantive issues. Officers at the City were working towards putting in place arrangements for hybrid meetings where some Members and Officers could be physically present. Members would be contacted in due course to establish their preference to attend meetings in-person or continue to attend via virtual means.

City of London Policing Plan

·         The Chairman noted that he was presenting the City of London Policing Plan at the Court of Common Council on 10 September 2020. The plan was a statutory requirement for the Force’s local function but there was also a need to articulate the Force’s National Lead Force function too. Members should note that the Plan had been developed prior to the onset of COVID-19, and engagement would take place with Members in developing the refreshed Plan for 2021-2024 shortly. Historically, engagement had taken place with Members of the City of London Police Authority Board, and officers from the Force, whereas the forthcoming process would be available to all Members of the Court of Common Council.

·         The Chairman added that the City of London Corporation was also putting thought into the changing face of the City, and how office space would be used going forward in light of increased working from home patterns. The Force would need to be mindful of this as it went about setting targets and its future Target Operating Model.

Force Finances / Headcount

·         In response to a question from a Member regarding the Force underspend due to vacancy rate, the Commissioner replied that the original Force budget had been set

The Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner and Chief Officers were heard in public session and the following points were made.

·         The Commander (Operations and Security) noted that those Members resident in the City, or attending the City in person, may have seen a small uptick in City attendance by the general public, although numbers were not significant. A further increase was anticipated during week commencing 7 September once pupils had returned to schools.

·         The Commander (Operations and Security) continued, noting that crime and anti-social behaviour continued to be at low levels year on year, with recent increases in shoplifting and pedal cycle theft having plateaued. That said, there was some seasonality to these types of crime and so it remained to be seen whether these crime levels normalised in the coming months. Crime and anti-social behaviour continued to be a key focus for the Force despite low overall attendance in the City by the general public.

·         The Commander (Operations and Security) noted that the night-time economy was bouncing back more rapidly than the day-time economy, with significant numbers returning to the City particularly with the recent good weather. This had given cause to some public order issues which had required a police response in co0operaiton with the City’s Licensing Team, particularly on the Broadgate Estate where there had been three weekends of unacceptable activity.

·         In respect of COVID-19, staff absence was at 3% which was lower that at this point the previous year. The Force’s establishment was sufficient to meet forecast commitments. The next three days would see planned protests commencing that day with a small Byelorussian protest outside the London Stock Exchange, succeeded by two days of protest by Extinction Rebellion. The Commander (Operations and Security) assured Members that policing plans were in place, including for support to/from the Metropolitan Police in respect

The Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner and Chief Officers were heard regarding National Lead Force issues and the following points were made.

·         The Commissioner introduced T/Commander Blackburn, who was in post following the retirement of Commander Baxter. The Commissioner added that Members would receive a National Lead Force Plan at their October 2020 meeting that set out where the Force sat within the national landscape.

·         The T/Commander (Economic Crime) noted the national economic crime picture for 2019/20, with one million contacts to Action Know Fraud which represented an 11% increase on year. At the beginning of lockdown there had been a 50% decrease in reporting, but pre-lockdown figures had now resumed. 2000 reports of COVID-specific fraud had been reported, of which 1682 had been disseminated to Forces. There had been a 46% increase in online shopping fraud mainly related to fake PPE and testing kits, resulting in 47 arrests and two charged to date.

·         In terms of national activity, a spending review bid composed of high, medium and low ‘asks’ had been submitted with a view to building capacity both within the City and nationally. It was planned to complete 40% of planned recruitment within year one of the planned three-year recruitment timeline.

·         Work continued on the fraud reform programme which involved all relevant national agencies. The programme was composed of six strands, namely (1) designing out fraud (2) communications and education (3) fraud and cyber reporting (4) National Cyber Crime Force (5) criminal justice and (6) victim support. The two key strands were the fraud and cyber reporting strand, which the Commissioner was leading on, and the National Cyber Crime Force which has been referenced in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto, and aimed to create a whole systems approach to combating fraud. The Force was currently in design stage, with the Force involved

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered an update report of the Commissioner regarding the Independent Advisory and Scrutiny Group (IASG) and the following points were made.

·         The Chairman welcomed the report and noted that the reinvigorated IASG was the result of HMICFRS comments that the previous regime of a Community Scrutiny Group and an Independent Advisory Group was not an effective arrangement that was having a negative impact on Force legitimacy.  

·         The Assistant Commissioner introduced the report, noting the IASG was made up of 16 Members from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages. 7 Members were BAME and 8 Members were female. There had been good engagement between the IASG and Force GOLD groups on COVID-19 and equality and inclusion. The IASG also offered a lot of potential for improved oversight and perspective in other Force functions such as sensitive investigations, and improved oversight of the use of body work video.

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner confirmed IASG meetings were well attended, and the terms of reference and minutes of the group could be provided outside of the meeting.

·         The Chairman noted that he would welcome the opportunity for himself, the Deputy Chairman and Special Interest Area Lead Members to attend meetings of the IASG. Similarly, IASG Members were welcome to attend public sessions of the City of London Police Authority Board. The Chairman noted he would welcome future reporting to the Board on outcomes from the work of the IASG, so that they could be tracked. Lastly, the Chairman commented that the IASG would be a good forum to test proposed changes within the Force, such as its Target Operating Model.

·         The Chairman concluded the item by suggesting that dip sampling of body worn video would be a good topic for review by the Professional Standards and Integrity Committee.

There were no questions.

There was no other 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 meeting held on 29 July 2020.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2020 be approved as a correct record.

Joint Report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

Members considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner regarding non-public outstanding references.

The Chairman to be heard.

The Chairman noted he had no non-public update to provide to the Board.

The Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner and Chief Officers provided non-public updates to the Board.

The Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner was heard regarding the National Lead Force.

The Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner and Chief Officers were heard regarding the City of London Police Transform Programme.

Report of the Commissioner.

The Town Clerk noted that this report had been deferred to a future meeting.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered an updated report of the Commissioner regarding Policing the City Bridges – Funding.

The Deputy Chairman to be heard.

The Deputy Chairman was heard regarding the Safer City Partnership.

There was one non-public question.

There was no other business.

At this point of the meeting, two hours having elapsed, Members agreed to extend the meeting until all items of business had been considered, in line with Standing Order 40 of the Court of Common Council.

To approve the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2020.

RESOLVED, that the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2020 be approved.

The Chairman to be heard.

The Chairman was heard in confidential session.