Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Deputy Doug Barrow, Deputy James Thomson, James Tumbridge and Deputy Richard Regan.

There were no declarations

To agree the public minutes of the last meeting, held on 1 December 2017

The Sub-Committee considered the minutes of the last meeting, held on 1 December 2018.

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Town Clerk that summarised the outstanding actions from previous meetings.

OR1 – Agenda Packs

The Chairman illustrated her approval that the decision to enable reduced restrictions on the agenda packs in the interest of transparency had been finalised, thanking the Director of Professional Standards for her efforts in making this possible.

OR3 – London Police Challenge Forum Minutes

It was agreed by Members that, although this action had not been completed, this was no longer relevant and should be removed.

OR4 – Gifts & Hospitality Report

It was agreed that this would be submitted to the next meeting on 6 June 2018. (1)

OR5 – Body Worn Video (BWV) Demonstration

It was agreed that this would be postponed to the September meeting. (2)

OR7 – LPCF Participation Process

It was agreed that this would be confirmed by the next meeting on 6 June 2018. (3)

OR8 – Force Leadership Changes Update

It was agreed that the Assistant Commissioner would circulate an update on Force Leadership changes on a monthly basis to Members of the Police Committee and its Sub-Committees. (4)

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Chief Superintendent of City of London Police to be heard

RESOLVED - It was agreed that this item would be postponed to the meeting on 17 September 2018. (2)

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that aimed to address concerns raised following submission of a paper to the Police Committee and Safeguarding Sub (Community & Children's Services) Committee that the City of London Police were using excessive force on juveniles in custody.

The Chairman noted that the figures were incorrectly presented, leading to concerns, but stated that there was now confidence that procedure was in fact correct and justified.

A Member noted that the original data was very clearly incorrect and explained that it was surprising that it had not been flagged initially.

The Chairman noted that issues with comparisons of data across forces was often problematic.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that aimed to address concerns raised following submission of a paper to the Police Committee and Safeguarding Sub (Community & Children's Services) Committee that the City of London Police were using excessive force on juveniles in custody.

The Chairman noted that the figures were incorrectly presented, leading to concerns, but stated that there was now confidence that procedure was in fact correct and justified.

A Member noted that the original data was very clearly incorrect and explained that it was surprising that it had not been flagged initially.

The Chairman noted that issues with comparisons of data across forces was often problematic.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that gave an overview of the recent Staff Survey of the City of London Police.

The Chairman stated that the report had been submitted to the Police Committee in December 2017 and was requested at this Sub-Committee.  It was appropriate to measure the impact of the Staff Survey.

A Member explained that it was important to have a good understanding of the survey and noted that it was produced as an academic paper which was not easily digestible, and perhaps this was an issue.  Another Member explained that it was difficult to get meaningful conclusions from reports such as these. 

The Sub-Committee noted the content of the report but advised that Members still wanted clarity on the understanding of the Intelligence and Information Directorate and asked for an action plan to be clarified with a report submitted to the next Sub-Committee.  It was agreed that Chief Superintendent David Evans should attend. (5)

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that provided Members with a detailed overview of the findings of the recent HMICFRS PEEL Legitimacy inspection, ownership of Areas for Improvement and arrangements for oversight of progress.

The Head of Governance and Assurance explained that an action was currently in place.  The Chairman asked him what the action plan was, and he advised that this was submitted to the Performance and Resource Management Sub-Committee but could be submitted to this Sub-Committee also if desired.  The Chairman requested that it was. (6)

A Member noted that the report raised some concerns around the lack of appropriate training for stop-and-search received for all relevant officers.

The Chairman asked for clarification of the main issues around Areas for Improvement (AFIs) Nos. 4 & 5.  The Director of Professional Standards explained that the “King Formula” was employed to define “discrimination”.  She advised that the motivation was to avoid encouraging people to merely follow the letter of the law by not specifying defined characteristics.  She also explained that the desire was to engage with complaints immediately to allow maximal use of the 10-day period, noting that complaints resolved within this period are not required to be recorded.  She explained that these planned changes were yet be implemented.  A Member asked when these would come into effect, and the Director of Professional Standards confirmed that they would be prior to the next meeting of this Sub-Committee. (7)

The Chairman asked how AFI No.5, relating to the timeliness and quality of updates supplied to complainants, would be addressed.  The Director of Professional Standards explained that there would be consultation with the complainant about timescale expectations to agree terms.

A Member queried when the causes of concern raised under paragraph 7ii of the report, relating to stop and

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that provided Members with an update on the Integrity Standards Dashboard and Code of Ethics of the City of London Police.

The Chairman asked for an update on the London Police Challenge Forum meeting that had taken place in January 2018, and a Member advised that, although it was a good meeting, it was difficult to determine any concrete conclusions.

Members noted that, for indicator 9, there were two Business Interest Investigations mentioned in Q3, though “0” recorded within the table.

A Member queried the repercussions of a vetting refusal.  The Chairman stated that it would be useful to have a report on vetting that provided clarity on the following (10):

1.    The re-vetting process;

2.    Vetting refusals and their implications (referencing the 6 refusals recorded in this report); and

3.    The different levels of vetting and their associated clearances

The Chairman noted that this issue was raised by the Police Committee at their last meeting during a discussion on the JCCR.  The Director of Professional Standards explained that such vetting issues commonly arose in relation to Action Fraud and clarified that as far as she was aware refusals referenced did not lead to the loss of employment for any individual.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

There were no questions

There was no further 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 from the last meeting, held on 1 December 2017

The Sub-Committee considered the non-public minutes from the last meeting, held on 1 December 2017.

RESOLVED – That the minutes be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Town Clerk that summarised the outstanding actions from previous meetings.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that contained the statistics relating to the Professional Standards Directorate for Q3 of 2017/18.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that summarised complaint cases processed by the City of London Police since the last meeting that resulted in Misconduct Hearings.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that summarised complaint cases processed by the City of London Police since the last meeting where the complaints were upheld.

RESOLVED – hat the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that summarised complaint cases processed by the City of London Police since the last meeting where the complaints were not upheld.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that summarised complaint cases processed by the City of London Police since the last meeting that resulted in a local resolution.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that summarised the IOPC complaints statistics up to Q3 of 2017/18.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that provided Members with a glossary of the terms used within the reports supplied by the Professional Standards Directorate of the City of London Police.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

There were no questions

Members discussed two items of business whilst the public were excluded.

Joint report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor that summarised the recent Employment Tribunal and other legal cases relevant to the City of London Police that had been processed since the last report in September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

There were no confidential questions

There was no further confidential business