Agenda item

Report of the Commissioner.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner with an assessment of the City of London Police performance against the objectives set out in the National Policing Strategy for Fraud, Economic and Cyber Crime 2023-28 for Quarter 2 2025/26 (1 July 2025 – 30 September 2025).  Officers advised that Q2 had been a good quarter both locally and nationally. In respect of local City performance, Members noted that technology disruptions continued to be down this quarter and age disseminations were on target.

At the national level, Officers advised that performance in Q2 has also been positive. Officers reported continued improvement across many performance measures, though some were nearing the end of their lifecycle. Members noted that cyber training and Protect were areas below target and suggested that a refreshment of performance framework measures be bought to the next committee meeting in 2026. Officers further advised that Protect activity reductions reflected maturing practice and a shift in strategy for victim protection, including increased focus on online and social-media-based engagement rather than face-to-face activity. Officers expected Protect engagement figures to continue to decrease as this pivot continued. Due to FCRASS and the imminent launch of Report Fraud, age dissemination performance within 28 days had reduced; however, Officers anticipated a strong position by Q4 as new technology bedded in.

On Cyber Resilience Centres (CRCs), Officers reported that the network was undergoing a period of change to be completed by the end of December, with improvements expected by Q4. Regarding money laundering and asset recovery (MLAR), Officers advised that the area was currently below target due to disruptions and system-related issues, including corrections to what could be counted.

Officers emphasised that they were not concerned by the underperforming areas, each having reasonable explanation, and indicated an intention to bring forward proposals for revised measures for the next 2.5 years.

A Member asked about improving outcomes for victims. Officers confirmed that performance was improving on current measures. Officers highlighted the contribution of the DCPCU, noting that £75m of potential fraud offences had been prevented this year compared with £53m last year. Officers added that Report Fraud would enable broader visibility of stop-and-block disruptions, including social-media takedowns.

A Member asked about training and whether a “train-the-trainer” model could be explored in the forthcoming report. Officers advised that a national lunch-and-learn series had been used to promote courses to Assistant Chief Constables and strategic leaders, including recent sessions on the fraud performance accelerator. Officers reported strong feedback, with a 9/10 value-for-time rating and 8/10 confidence rating.

A Member requested early sight of the broader Protect strategy and related training courses, suggesting that a high-level plan would be helpful.

A Member raised the need for a national approach connecting frontline policing, specialist Protect officers and the CRC network, noting the importance of alignment with ministerial focus on public resilience. Officers advised that CRCs would shortly move fully under policing control, with significant work underway to transition from the current private-sector model.

A Member asked about fraud and Pursue activity and suggested that before-and-after examples be provided to demonstrate the impact of the FRACAS system. The Chair clarified that the focus was on ensuring that clear, measurable impact were captured on an ongoing basis to provide evidence for future investment.

A Member sought clarification on data availability during the transition between systems, noting concerns about a nine-month period without visibility. Officers confirmed two issues: low compliance and clarity across forces in recording items such as crypto seizures within JARD, and broader system difficulties. Officers advised that improvements were being explored, including using data from private-sector storage partnerships in the short term, but that consistency could not be fully achieved until the ARIT system was implemented.

The Chair noted the importance of asset recovery and requested a future deep dive to establish the baseline, new normal, and opportunities for improvement.

A Member asked about opportunities to further develop CRCs and their alignment with national responsibilities. Officers advised that a network of national ambassadors was already in place and that an update on the new CRC model and structure would be provided at a future meeting. Officers confirmed that engagement with IG and Mansion House colleagues was underway to widen ambassador outreach and noted recent references to CRCs in the Lord Mayor’s speeches.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.