Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Doug Barrow and Deputy James Thomson.

Deborah Oliver noted an interest in Item 20 (Employment Tribunal and Other Cases) as her employer was the British Medical Association. James Tumbridge noted in relation to Item 20 that he sat on Police tribunals outside the City of London area.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 September 2019.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 September 2019 be approved.

Joint Report of the Commissioner and Town Clerk.

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

8/2019/P – Reference to Stop and Search in Force Communications Plan

·         The Assistant Commissioner noted that the Annual Report on Stop and Search considered by the Police Authority Board would be circulated to Members of the Committee outside of the meeting, and the reference closed prior to March 2020.

12/2019/P – Predictive Policing Methods

·         The Assistant Commissioner noted that a report on this issue would be submitted to the next meeting.

13/2019/P – Communication of Anti-Corruption Measures

·         The Head of the Professional Standards noted that further communications activity was planned and that this reference would be closed prior to the next meeting.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding the Police Authority process for handling Complaints Appeals and the following points were made.

·         Members welcomed the options presented within the report but felt that it would be more efficient to adopt a model whereby the entire membership of the Committee formed a pool from which a Review Panel could be convened.

·         The Chair noted that the new process should be reviewed after three months of operation to ensure it was working effectively. Members should also be offered relevant training.

·         The Chair concluded by noting that the authority to make a determination should lie with the Review Panel.

RESOLVED, that Members

·         Approve that a Review Panel be established as and when required, consisting of the Chair and two other Members of the Committee, or any three Members of the Committee in the event the Chair being unavailable.  

·         Approve that authority to make a determination lie with the Review Panel by majority decision.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Crown Prosecution Service File Failures and the following points were made.

·         The Head of Professional Standards noted that CPS file failure was a national issue and individual cases were often down to factors such as not submitting CCTV evidence in good time, which had now been rectified. Moreover, a small number of cases could seem disproportionately high when viewed in percentage terms.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Professional Standards noted that failure was defined as a missed target rather than a prosecution being abandoned. She committed to confirming how many prosecutions were abandoned due to file failures outside of the meeting.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Professional Standards replied that ‘real time’ expert advice from the Evidence Review Officer (ERO) in the Uniform Policing Directorate involved the ERO sitting with officers on request to provide advice and guidance on file preparation.

·         Members queried whether Extinction Rebellion policing commitments were the reason for the increase in file failures for the month of September 2019.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Professional Standards replied that Transform would come into effect from April 2020.

·         Members requested that a further report on file failures be prepared for the Committee which included a definition on what constituted a file failure and an analysis of the impact of file failures.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding the Force response to the HMICFRS PEEL spotlight report Shining a Light on Betrayal (Abuse of Position for Sexual Purpose) and the following points were made.

·         The Head of Strategic Development noted that the report detailed progress on issues highlighted by the 2017 PEEL spotlight report. This included work around counter-corruption capacity and the proper use of software and effective vetting.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Strategic Development noted that corruption intelligence not being recorded correctly was commonly due to insufficient training in the proper use of software rather than any other factor.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered an update report of the Commissioner regarding the Integrity Dashboard and the Code of Ethics and the following points were made.

Integrity Dashboard 2019/20 Q2

·         The Chair commented that much of the data within the dashboard related to historic cases and this should be clarified in future iterations of the dashboard. Moreover, indicators should be given more clarity on how they related to ethics.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Strategic Development confirmed that the data regarding Leaning and Development indicators was satisfactory and that percentage data would be clarified in future reports.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Professional Standards noted that the 15 officers trained in Stop and Search represented new arrivals to the Force.

·         The Assistant Commissioner confirmed that it was possible for officers to fail courses.

·         The Head of Strategic Development noted that random drug testing had recently been transferred from Learning & Development to the Professional Standards Directorate and completed.

Police Integrity Development and Delivery Plan Report 2019/20 – November 2019 Update

·         In response to a question, the Head of Strategic Development noted that peer review results were forthcoming that would inform the Force’s decision on whether to take part in the ‘Ethical Drift’ survey.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Strategic Development noted that peer review of organisational integrity arrangements was part of an ongoing network offer.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

RESOLVED, that the Integrity Dashboard 2019/20 Q2 be received.

RESOLVED, that the Police Integrity Development and Delivery Plan Report 2019/20 – November 2019 be received.

There were no questions.

There was one item of other business.

Joint report of the Commissioner and the Chief Executive of the City of London Police Authority.

Members considered a joint report of the Commissioner and the Chief Executive regarding an Ethical Economic Partnerships Policy. The Chair welcomed the report and noted that the Committee would review the policy in a year’s time.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

MOTION – that under Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds 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 of business on the grounds they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2019.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2019 be approved as a correct record.

To receive a written update regarding a matter arising from Item 15b (Summary of Cases – Assessed as not conduct or performance issue - CM/62/18).

RESOLVED, that the note regarding Matter Arising – Item 15b (Summary of Cases) be received.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that Item 13(a) – Non-Public Reference 10 was considered next.

Joint Report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

Members considered a joint report of the Commissioner and Town Clerk regarding Non—Public References.

Report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that Item 14 (Employment Tribunal and other Legal Cases) was considered next.

Members considered Item 13(b) – Review of Speed Camera Activations next.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Professional Standards Statistics – Quarter 2 – 1 July 2019 – 30 September 2019.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner providing a summary of cases before the Professional Standards Directorate.

Members considered cases involving a Hearing or where a meeting was held.

Members considered a report on cases where there was a case to answer/upheld.

Members considered a report on cases where there was no case to answer/hot upheld.

Members considered a report on cases dealt with via local resolution.

Report of the Independent Ofifce for Police Conduct.

Members considered the IOPC Complaints Information Bulletin for 1 April 2019 – 30 September 2019.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.