Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed the two new Assistant Commissioners, Paul Betts and Pete O’Doherty. The Chair also announced that Alix Newbold would be acting as Director of the Police Authority Team from February during Simon Latham’s temporary leave.

Apologies were received from the Deputy Chair, Tijs Broeke and Nick Bensted-Smith. Caroline Addy and Andrew Lentin observed the meeting virtually.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 13 December 2021.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 13 December 2021, be approved.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

Members received a joint report of the Commissioner and Town Clerk regarding the Board’s public outstanding references.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

The Chair to be heard.

Members received a verbal update of the Chair, who updated the Board on:

·         APCC review of police funding formulas with the Home Office and flagging issues unique to the City of London Police (e.g. small residential population)

·         Engagement with PCCs on Economic & Cyber Crime, including monthly updates.

·         Engaging with local residents and businesses via the Cluster Panels within Sector Policing.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.

Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

Members received a verbal update of the Commissioner, who covered the following points:

·         Introduction of the two new Assistant Commissioners and further staffing changes (Commanders, Chief Finance Officer and Director of the Police Authority Team)

·         The Commissioner and Board wished to thank the T/Commanders Blackburn and Evans for their contributions over a long and challenging period.

·         Counter Terrorism threat remained at severe.

·         There had been no large-scale public order issues since the last meeting although at one point the Benbow agreement was engaged to assist with ensuring commuters had maintained access to travel networks around a recent football match.

·          Violence against Women and Girls was an area of continued focus and the Force was working on delivering the national strategy by building trust and confidence, relentlessly pursuing offenders and making safer spaces.

·         The Christmas Campaign had been successful.

·         Dedicated Ward Officers were focussed on bike theft.

·         The Cluster panels had commenced and had engaged a cross section of the locality (residents, businesses, faith leaders). Plans were put in place to feedback to those who raised questions at the panels.

·         An example of successful intervention on an attempted office break-in was described. The offenders were then traced back to several crimes and had been charged.

·         The Commissioner commended the work of an officer who, whilst off duty, assisted a member of the public suffering a heart attack whilst off duty on Christmas Eve. The individual survived due to the commendable action of the officer and further by-stander.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.

Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

Members received a verbal update of the Commissioner regarding National Lead Force:

·         Action Fraud Customer satisfaction rate was high, although there was still a distinction drawn between satisfaction and confidence.

·         The Chat Bot that had been introduced at the end of 2021 was proving successful, driving efficiencies. It was made clear to website visitors that they were talking to a ‘bot’ rather than a person. A question was raised on the sentiment analysis of the chat bot. It would be monitored on an ongoing basis and updates brought as appropriate.

·         The Force had provided interventions on 25 occasions to help those who had suffered mental health issues after becoming victims of fraud and safely achieved some self-resolution.

·         A Member requested that the Force put some effort into refocusing on Hajj Fraud as now that people were more confident about travelling, this may become more prevalent again. He offered to assist the Force in doing more to promote the good work around this.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.

Report of the Director of the Environment.

Members received a report of the Director of the Environment concerning the Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO).

The Board felt that the annual report demonstrated the Order had been used sparingly and judiciously. However, following a question raised about the processes in place to ensure the order was not abused, clarity was sought on whether the Chair of the Board was to be formally consulted on its use as a matter of course, in the future (1/2022/P).

Members were informed that the ATTRO would be used for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Commissioner noted that maintenance of the Order in its current form was essential to provide the appropriate protection to the City community.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There was one item of urgent business.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members received a report of the Commissioner regarding the draft Policing Plan 2022-2025. The Commissioner explained that this was a draft report and the final version would come for approval at the February Board meeting and invited comments. She added that the People section needed to be strengthened, particularly in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and professionalism and additionally more work was required on the Efficiency and Effectiveness section.

·         Elements of the plan on a page were intentionally repeated in order to drive the main message.

·         Members suggested that more positive messaging be included about achievements, rather than just focusing on areas in need of improvement. It was suggested that this could be brought out in the Chairs and Commissioner’s Foreword at the beginning of the document.

·         Following recent pilots in London Boroughs, Officers confirmed that there was no plan to change the City of London Police’s response to the sale and use of drugs. The City of London Police work closely with associated agencies in this area, including diversion and this approach was supported by the custody and sector policing teams. Most Class A drug arrests were associated with the Night Time Economy.

·         Members sought a greater distinction between success measures and targets. For example, “increase percentage” or “improve” should be quantified even if lacking a baseline. A fuller report on these measurables were due at the SPPC and would feed into the final version.

·         The goal to have a 100% ULEZ compliant fleet did not include the horsebox. This was because it would take up to two years for the replacement to arrive (if purchased that day). Furthermore, the final choice on accommodation for the mounted unit may inform the type of vehicle needed.

·         Some photographs were repeated – which Members requested be addressed.

·         The Authority

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 13 December 2021.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021, be approved as an accurate record.

Joint Report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

Members received a joint report of the Commissioner and Town Clerk regarding the Board’s Non-Public outstanding references.

The Chair to be heard.

There was no update.

The Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner provided a non-public update on policing activity to the Board.

Commissioner & Chief Officers to be heard.

The Commissioner provided a verbal update on the National Lead Force policing activity.

Joint report of the Commissioner and Chamberlain.

Members received a joint report of the Commissioner and Chamberlain regarding the City of London Police Financial Deep Dive.

Joint report of the Commissioner and City Surveyor.

Members received a joint report of the Commissioner and City Surveyor regarding the City of London Police accommodation programme.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding a procurement waiver– CoLP Training in Fraud Prevention.

There were no questions.

There were was one item of confidential urgent business.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021.

RESOLVED, that the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021, be approved as an accurate record.