Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Caroline Addy and Alderman Jones.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 14^th September.

Mr Tumbridge asked the Committee clerk to ensure that his name was recorded in the minutes as having attended the meeting - his name was currently absent.

RESOLVED - that the public minutes (including the amendment above) of the meeting held on 14 September 2020 be approved.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

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

14/2019/P - Integrity Dashboard and Code of Ethics Update

Future meeting dates of London Police Challenge Forum to be provided to the Committee.

·         No meetings are currently arranged. Members asked that this was kept as a standing item and that they would be informed should a meeting date be confirmed.

17/2019/P – Police Authority Process for Handling Complaints

Appeals Process New Review Panel Process to be reviewed after three months of operation.

·         The review would be submitted to the Committee at its next meeting in February 2021.

20/2019/P – Ethical Economic Partnerships Policy

Ethical Economic Partnerships Policy to be reviewed by Professional Standards and Integrity Committee after one year of operation.

·         An update was included in the pack for today’s meeting. Members requested that, going forward, updated versions should be submitted on an annual basis.

1/2020/P – Integrity Dashboard and Code of Ethics Update

Case studies arising from London Police Challenge Forum Meetings to be circulated to Committee

·         See 14/2019/P – once a meeting is held, case studies will be circulated to the Committee.

2/2020/P – Integrity Dashboard and Code of Ethics Update

Committee to be advised when next Victim Satisfaction Survey will be conducted

·         The next Victim Satisfaction Survey would be submitted to the Committee, for information, at its next meeting in February 2021.

3/2020/P – Integrity Dashboard and Code of Ethics Update

Force Human Resources to provide report to June 2020 meeting on statistics of temporary promotions at all levels of Force

·         A Report was included in the pack for today’s meeting.

4/2020/P – COVID-19 FPNs

NPCC Policing the Pandemic to be circulated to the Committee

·         The Chairman asked the Town Clerk to circulate the NPCC Policing the Pandemic

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning Officers on Acting and Temporary Promotion.

The Assistant Commissioner explained that the number of Officers on acting and temporary promotion was significantly higher than the historic norm due to the Force waiting for the shape of the Transform Model to be concluded in early 2021. Currently, when vacancies have arisen, the Force have turned to internal recruits as this is the best way to ensure it was in good shape to roll out the new model quickly and effectively in 2021; the Assistant Commissioner anticipated that, once the model was in place, the numbers in the Report would decline, as the Force reverted to normal methods of application and recruitment.

The Assistant Commissioner assured Members that vigorous vetting is applied, and individuals would always fill roles that were appropriate to them; furthermore, supervision is robust and is no different to the normal line manager – direct report relationship.

The Chair thanked the Assistant Commissioner for the briefing and asked him to return with an update at the next meeting of the Committee in February.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning Stop and Search Data for Q2.

Members took ITEM 6 and ITEM 7 together.

A Member queried the outcome rates on page 30. In response, officers, whilst pointing out that CoLP was the best performing Force in the UK in terms of positive and judicial outcomes post arrest (28%), cautioned Members that the data within the Report needed to be set in context; once an arrest was made, it could result in a range of eventualities, which did not, in and of itself, negate the overall effectiveness and efficacy of Stop and Search as a tactic in the City. Indeed, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary’s (HMIC) recent study found that 92% of the City of London Police’s Stop and Searches were deemed reasonable – this was was the highest rate across all UK Forces. Whilst the picture was nuanced, the Assistant Commissioner confirmed that he would look to provide clearer explanation on the data in future.

Members queried whether the statistics concerning Stop and Search based on ethnicity could be presented in percentage terms going forward. Officers responded that they would liaise with the Stop and Search Working Group and bring a revised data set to the Committee in the future.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning Stop and Search Data.

Please see the Minute for ITEM 6.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning the use of algorithms and AI.

Members welcomed the Police’s cautious approach to the adoption of AI and were keen that the Force continued to track and monitor developments, particularly when it came to national or international approaches to establishing best practice in this area. Whilst this was, for now, at an embryonic stage, the technology (such as facial recognition) continues to evolve and the ethical concerns are becoming more apparent. A Member proposed that a separate session on Data Ethics, which outlined some of the concerns and potential risks that would likely emerge as the technology matured would be useful. Officers would set up a session in 2021.

Separately, the Chair added that she had been reassured about the Force’s approach to algorithms in its procurement of a successor system to Action Fraud.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning the Equality and Inclusion Strategy.

The Draft (non-public) Equality and Inclusion Action Plan was circulated separately as a supporting document to this Item; this document will be finalised soon and will be circulated to Members thereafter.

In response to a query concerning recruitment and retention, the Assistant Commissioner responded that current trends for widening representation were positive and are on an upward curve. The Force is now fifth in the country for police representation from BAME communities and is also very well placed in terms of civilian staff representation; this reflected a proactive approach over recent years. Whilst the Force was now working from a good and stable base the Assistant Commissioner conceded that the number of female specials had declined recently, and more work was required to turn this around. He added that diversity amongst the Force’s cadets was in a very good place, with 27 of 36 recent cadets coming from a BAME background.

In response to concerns around prioritisation, officers stressed that this was a process that would take time to mature; whilst it was unrealistic to expect all areas to be resolved in one go, officers were committed to ensuring the strategy was adopted in full and successful over the longer term.

A Member highlighted some wording on page 91 concerning the creation of a
“Gold Group in response to the Black Lives Matter movement” – and asked whether the wording could be changed to something more understandable to the lay person. Officers recognised that too much jargon was unhelpful and, when finalising the Action Plan, would cut down on acronyms and other esoteric terminology where possible.

In response to a query around the feedback from focus groups and the recent

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning the Integrity and Code of Ethics.

Officers provided a brief update; it should be noted that due to the pandemic not a huge amount of work has been undertaken recently in this area.

In the potential continued absence of a London Police Challenge Forum (LPCF) meeting over the medium-term, officers would look at trying to run an internal CoLP only session to ensure that momentum around best practice was kept fresh and top of mind.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report. 

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning the IOPC Review into Stop and Search.

Members took ITEM 11 and ITEM 12 together.

The Chair welcomed the offer from an officer to provide a training session for Members concerning Stop and Search; it was envisaged that this would take place in the new year. The Chair would work with officers in the Force and Town Clerks to confirm a time convenient to the Committee.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Please see the Minute for ITEM 11.

A Member raised a question concerning whether the Force had yet received notification about the National Association of Legally Qualified Chairs’ recent motion to potentially suspend tribunal panels in response to the risk of panel Members being considered personally liable for decisions they take in tribunal (and as a consequence subject to costs), concerning equality claims.

The Association wanted either the regulations to be changed or an indemnity to be put in place to cover panel members.

The Assistant Commissioner informed Members that notification had only been received earlier in the week; the Force’s legal department was examining this issue and would come back to Members shortly with guidance.

Officers added that the subject of indemnity was something that had been looked at previously by the Force as a potential component of wider Corporation indemnity for employment tribunal panel members. Members asked that a Report be submitted to the Police Authority Board summarising the position.

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 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 Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14th September.

RESOLVED - that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2020 be approved.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

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

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning CoLP Ethical Partnerships.

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning Professional Standards Statistics for Q2.

Report of the Commisioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning Professional Standards Statistics – Quarter 2 – 1 July 2020 – 30 September 2020

Case to Answer / Upheld

Members considered cases with a case to answer/upheld.

No case to answer/not upheld

Members considered cases with no case to answer/not upheld.

Local Resolution

Members considered cases dealt with by local resolutions.

Death or Serious Injury

Members considered cases involving death or serious injury.

Complaint and Conduct Regulations 2019

Members considered cases dealt with under Complaint and Conduct Regulations 2019.

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Committee considered a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police concerning Action Fraud Statistics for Q2.

Oral Update

The Committee received an oral update and slide presentation concerning the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) cases assessment process.

There were no questions.

There was one item of non-public urgent business.