Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Doug Barrow, Andrew Lentin and Deputy James Thomson.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 28 November 2018.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 28 November 2018 be approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

National Lead Performance

In response to a query from a Member, the Commissioner noted that a central government Economic Crime Strategy Board had been established that was co-chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Home Secretary and consisted of senior Government department representatives and Chief Executives of major banks. Below the Strategy Board was the Economic Crime Delivery Board on which the Commander (Economic Crime) sat. A further report on National Lead Force activity would be submitted to Members in due course.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding outstanding references from previous meetings and the following points were made.

1/2017/P – Fraudulent Cryptocurrencies

·         The Commissioner noted that this reference would be closed prior to April 2019.

2/2017/P – Cyber Training for Members

·         Members agreed that this action could be closed subject to further dates being advertised.

3/2018/P – Shaping National Narrative

·         The Commissioner noted that report would be forthcoming in April 2019.

4/2018/P – Action Fraud Customer Experience

·         The Commissioner noted that an update would be provided in April 2019 for this reference, alongside a walk-through demonstration.

5/2018/P – City & Guilds

·         The Commissioner noted that City & Guilds was not currently a City of London Police training partner. Members agreed that this action could be closed.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner of Police regarding National Lead Force Performance for the 8 months to 30 November 2018 and the following points were made.

Pursue

·         The Commissioner noted that the decrease in crimes reviewed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) compared to the previous year was not as stark as it appeared – the decrease was due to the way in which reports were disseminated from the NFIB to the City of London Police – more generally the NFIB was seeing an increase in crimes reported with a 60:40 split between online versus call centre reporting. The drop in cases reviewed was likely due to the new reporting system being bedded in.

·         The Commissioner noted that work was being undertaken to establish why there had been a drop in webchat and that Members would be updated outside of the meeting.

·         The previous reporting system had left a backlog that had required some additional resource being given to the new reporting system in September 2018. There was no longer any backlog, and cases now being disseminated were new cases. The Force was working to ensure each new case was maximised in terms of the intelligence potential it offered.

·         The Commissioner noted that the relevant Detective Chief Superintendent would update Members at the July 2019 meeting with regards to what the Force considered to be a best practice reporting and monitoring model.

·         In response to a question, the Commissioner noted that the Head of Action Fraud was reviewing the emerging trends of reporting to Action Fraud to ensure the Force was providing adequate resource. The Commissioner was welcomed the current trend given that the British Crime Survey demonstrated that fraud tended to be an under-reported crime. The Force was currently managing the current scale of reporting through

The Commissioner of Police to be heard.

The Commissioner was heard regarding Brexit and the following points were made.

·         The Commissioner noted that in the event of a No Deal Brexit, the Force would lose access to two key tools namely intelligence and arrest warrants, as the flow of intelligence between the UK and the Eu was interrupted, and the UK had to relying on varying extradition treaties rather than the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). It should be noted that any EU citizens in the UK would not be subject to the EAW. As the terms of any Brexit deal were not yet known it was not possible to provide Members with an estimate of the likely impact.

·         In response to a question, the xxxx confirmed that the City of London Police could work via Interpol but the fact remained that the current working relationship with Europol was an effective one with a proven track record of delivery. The Commissioner added that the nature of the two institutions was different – Interpol was more a forum for liaison compared to Europol.

·         In response to queries from a Member regarding the impact of Brexit on the requirement for foreign language qualifications, and in response what education and training the Force was providing in response, the xxxx noted that the Force was being guided by coordinated activity from the Home Office and National Crime Agency. Further education and training was on offer through the Economic Crime Academy.

·         In response to a question, the Commissioner noted that Force Counter Terror officers proactively engaged with City businesses but faced a barrier in the form for high turnover of short-term office space. A Member suggested that the Force’s approach to providers such as WeWork should be reviewed in light of this.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.

There was no other business.

There were no questions.

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 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 following items of business on the grounds that 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 28 November 2018.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2018 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

Members considered an update report of the Commissioner regarding the Economic Crime Academy.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Economic Crime Directorate Staff Numbers as at 30 November 2018.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Economic Crime Victim Care Unit Performance to 31 December 2018.

The Commissioner of Police to be heard.

The Commissioner was heard regarding Restricted Activity.

There were no questions.

There was one item of other business.