CHIEF CONSTABLES’ COUNCIL
AGENDA
16-17 January 2019
West Midlands
CPOSA AGM at 09:00-10:00
16 January 2019 at 10:00
1. ATTENDANCE AND APOLOGIES
The names of those attending and apologising will be noted in the Minutes
2. MINUTES
To consider the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 3-4 October 2018
3. MATTERS ARISING
To review and update the Council Action Log
4. STANDING ITEMS
4.1 Chair’s Update
- NPCC Delivery Plan Q3 Update
- Personal Development Review for the Chair of the NPCC
- National Police Vetting Update – Contractor Vetting
4.2 College of Policing Update
4.3 Regional papers on: Police Dogs Working Group Update, Mounted Policing Working Group Update, Police Support Volunteer National Strategy 2019-2023, Serious Error Reduction within the Acquisition and use of Comms Data, Responding to Online Child Abuse Activists, Learning Leaders Action Plan, Electronic Monitoring Update, Practitioner Guidance Pre-Charge Bail and Suspects Released under Investigation Update, Operation Hydrant Update, NPCC Guidance for Forces – Sex Working and Prostitution, Management of Risk in Law Enforcement Programme (MoRiLE) – Request for Support, Forensic Portfolio Update – Human Tissue, Consent for Obtaining Digital Downloads during the Course of an Investigation, , APP for Post Incident Procedures following Death or Serious Injury, Digital Policing Portfolio Update, Proposal for 2019/20 Charging for Police Services and Mutual Aid Guidelines, Workforce Data, Chief Officer Retention and Recruitment Update.
5. Investigation, Disclosure and File Quality
Presentation from Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, CPS
6. National Disclosure Improvement Plan – Phase 2 Presentation from Nick Ephgrave
7. Mark Sweeney, Director General, Justice and Courts Policy Group, Ministry of Justice
8. Digital Evidence Transfer Service
Submission from Giles York
LUNCH
9. Pay Reform
Submissions from Francis Habgood
Annual Pay Uplift
10. LOCAL POLICING COORDINATION COMMITTEE DISCUSSIONS
Discussion and Submissions from Alan Todd and Gavin Stephens - National Contact Management Strategy - Neighbourhood Policing Guidelines Update - Police use of Social Media
11. Chair of the Police Federation Speaking Submission from John Apter
12. Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy and Duty of Candour Submission from Richard Cooper
13. National Policing Technology Programme Overviews 2019 Presentation from Chaucer
14. Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme Submission from Francis Habgood
15. Update from IMORCC
Submissions from Ian Dyson
HMICFRS PEEL Efficiency Recommendations 2017 – Exemplar Plan Analysis
Data Quality Dashboards Information Assets and Maturity Model Update
CLOSE
DINNER ********S31(1)(a)(b)********* 19:00
17 January 2019 at 09:00
16. National Aviation User Requirement Submission from Rod Hansen
17. National Commercial Board – Combining Outline Business Cases Submission from David Thompson
18. Comprehensive Spending Review 2019 Update Submission from Sara Thornton & Dave Thompson
19. College of Policing – Implementation Support and Priority Setting Presentation from Mike Cunningham
20. Response and Neighbourhood Big Data Tools Presentation from Lawrence Morris, Head of Police Practice & Improvement, HMICFRS
21. Transforming Forensics Programme – Business Case Update Submission from James Vaughan
22. UCPI Update and Continued Resourcing Paper Submission from Andy Cooke
23. Resourcing of Operation Elter Submission from Andy Cooke
24. Brexit – International Crime Coordination Centre Update Submission from Richard Martin
25. EU Exit Planning Submission from Charlie Hall
26. Mobilisation and Co-ordination Submission from Chris Shead
27. CT Policing Update Presentation from Neil Basu - Operation Temperer: Augmentation Element - CT Policing Governance
28. BUDGETS
28.1 NPCC 2019/20 Budget and Funding
28.2 ACRO Funding Proposal 2019-2020
28.3 NPoCC 2019/20 Budget and Funding
28.4 NABIS Funding Paper 2019-2021
28.5 Funding Bid for National Police Policy Lead MAPPA within HMPPS
28.6 Third Party Reporting Funding (National Ugly Mugs) Sex Working
28.7 National Wildlife Crime Unit Budget and Funding
29. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
To consider any items of business not included in the substantive agenda
DATE OF NEXT MEETING - The next meeting will be held on 17 & 18 April 2019
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Chief Constables' Council Minutes
Wednesday 3 – Thursday 4 October 2018, Cardiff, Wales
Security classification: Official
Authors: Susan Paterson, Richard Hampson, Ben Gasson & Richard Cooper
Force/organisation: National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC)
Date created 10 October 2018
Attendees
CC Sara Thornton NPCC Chair
DCC Sarah Crew Avon and Somerset
CC Jon Boutcher Bedfordshire
CC Nick Dean Cambridgeshire
A/CC Janette McCormick Cheshire
Commissioner Ian Dyson City of London
CC Mike Veale Cleveland
CC Michelle Skeer Cumbria
CC Peter Goodman Derbyshire
DCC Paul Netherton Devon and Cornwall
ACC Paul Davies Devon and Cornwall
CC James Vaughan Dorset
CC Mike Barton Durham
DCC Darren Davies Dyfed-Powys
CC Ben-Julian Harrington Essex
DCC Matthew Horne Essex
CC Rod Hansen Gloucestershire
CC Ian Hopkins Greater Manchester
CC Julian Williams Gwent
CC Olivia Pinkney Hampshire
CC Charlie Hall Hertfordshire
DCC Michelle Dunn Hertfordshire
CC Lee Freeman Humberside
CC Alan Pughsley Kent
CC Andrew Rhodes Lancashire
CC Simon Cole Leicestershire
CC Bill Skelly Lincolnshire
CC Andy Cooke Merseyside
AC Robert Beckley Metropolitan Police Service
AC Helen Ball Metropolitan Police Service
AC Martin Hewitt Metropolitan Police Service
Sir Craig Mackey Metropolitan Police Service
T/CC Gareth Pritchard North Wales
CC Simon Bailey Norfolk
CC Nick Adderley Northamptonshire
CC Craig Guildford Nottinghamshire
CC Winton Keenan Northumbria
CC Lisa Winward North Yorkshire
CC Matt Jukes South Wales
CC Stephen Watson South Yorkshire
DCC Nick Baker Staffordshire
DCC Stephen Jupp Suffolk
CC Nicholas Ephgrave Surrey
DCC Bernie O'Reilly Sussex
CC Francis Habgood Thames Valley
CC Martin Jelley Warwickshire
CC Anthony Bangham West Mercia
CC David Thompson West Midlands
CC Dee Collins West Yorkshire
T/CC Keir Pritchard Wiltshire
CC Paul Crowther BTP
DG Lynne Owens National Crime Agency
DDG Steve Rodhouse National Crime Agency
CC George Hamilton Police Service for Northern Ireland
CC Mike Cunningham College of Policing
ACC Chris Armitt Civil Nuclear Constabulary
CC Iain Livingstone Police Scotland
CC Andy Adams MoD Police
Brig David Neal Royal Military Police
Wg Cmdr Michael Dixon Royal Air Force Police
Chief Officer Jack Hawkins Royal Navy Police
ACC Chris Shead NPoCC
In attendance for specific items
Sir Thomas Winsor HMICFRS
Richard Thwaite Chaucer
Chris Walker Chaucer
Steve White College of Policing
DC Chris Spencer College of Policing
Andy Harding Metropolitan Police Service
ACC Nav Malik Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Guy Ferguson Police Crime Prevention Initiatives
Jon Cole Police Crime Prevention Initiatives
In attendance
Tony Brown South Wales Police
C/Supt. Rachel Nolan NPoCC
David Lamberti Home Office
Oliver Cattermole College of Policing
Supt. Richard Cooper NPCC Chief of Staff
Insp. Ben Gasson NPCC Staff Officer
Nicola Growcott NPCC Communications Manager
Richard Hampson NPCC Senior Business Officer
Susan Paterson NPCC Business Manager
Sherry Traquair NPCC FOI and Decision Maker
Robert Hardware NPCC Public Affairs Officer
Liam O'Brien NPCC Staff
Isabella Bird NPCC Comms Staff
09:00-18:00, 3 October 2018, Cardiff, Wales
OPEN SESSION
1. ATTENDANCE AND APOLOGIES
The Chair welcomed those present and the following tendered their apologies for this session of
Council.
Andy Marsh – Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Mike Griffiths – Civil Nuclear Constabulary
Mark Collins - Dyfed-Powys Police
Cressida Dick – Metropolitan Police Service
Neil Basu – Metropolitan Police
Gareth Morgan – Staffordshire Police
Giles York – Sussex Police
Gareth Wilson – Suffolk Constabulary
2. MINUTES
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 11-12 July 2018 were agreed.
Action: NPCC Team to update the attendance list in the 11-12 July 2018 minutes to reflect Simon
Bailey's apologies for this meeting.
3. MATTERS ARISING
Action item number 4.3.9 (11 July 18): Andy Rhodes reported that there is a national programme
board overseeing the project and a high level business case for the national service including costs is
being prepared for the January 2019 Council meeting. Further updates on the progression of this
work will be published to all chiefs via ChiefsNet.
Action item number 4.3.12 (11 July 18): Alan Pughsley informed chiefs he had spoken with the
Eastern region regarding their feedback from the July Council meeting and they now support the
paper. Alan Pughsley updated Council on the importance of a consistent approach to the payment
of overtime to undercover officers. A further update would be shared with chiefs in future.
Action: All chief constables to check their own force's position in respect of the payment of overtime
to undercover officers.
Action item number 9 (11 July 18): Julian Williams confirmed work was progressing regarding an
action plan following the report on sexual harassment in the workplace and this would be presented
at the January 2019 Council meeting.
4. STANDING ITEMS
4.1 Chair's Update
The Chair welcomed visitors to Council and thanked Matt Jukes and South Wales Police Force for
hosting the meeting. The following were congratulated on their recent appointments:
Gareth Prichard appointed as T/Chief Constable for North Wales Police
Nick Adderley appointed as Chief Constable for Northamptonshire Police
Iain Livingstone has been appointed as Chief Constable for Police Scotland
Nick Dean has been appointed as Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Ben-Julian Harrington has been appointed as Chief Constable for Essex Police
Lisa Winward has been appointed as Chief Constable for North Yorkshire Police
The Chair thanked Sir Craig Mackey for his tremendous leadership over the years and his significant
contribution to the NPCC.
The Chair provided an update on the chief constable tenure report. Since July there has been
further engagement with PCCs. It was agreed at the July Council meeting that the findings of the
report would be considered with those of the College of Policing's Chief Officer Appointments
Survey and the Chief Police Officer Staff Association Resilience Survey to establish common themes.
This will in turn be considered at a roundtable event between the College, NPCC, Association of
Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and the Superintendents' Association which would take
place in October. The Chair welcomed any feedback and ideas on this important topic.
Action: Consolidated report and the latest position after the 8 October meeting to be circulated on
ChiefsNet.
The Joint APCC and NPCC Conference is taking place on the 31 October and 1 November and the
Chair confirmed a number of key speakers including the Home Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary
would be in attendance. The Chair encouraged all to attend the event.
The Chair reminded chiefs that at last year's joint conference considerable effort was made to
support the Police Memorial Arboretum and encouraged forces further to do more to help.
Martin Hewitt updated Council on the Westminster Bridge Inquests arising from the deaths in the
attack of the 22 March 2017. Neil Basu and Sir Craig Mackey would be giving evidence to the inquest
and the MPS has been reviewing current security arrangements for the Palace of Westminster.
Delivery Plan Q2 2018/19 Update
The Chair introduced the paper containing the Q2 update on progress towards the 2018/19 NPCC
Delivery Plan. The paper set out the current position on progress for the objectives.
Mike Barton updated the current position on objective 1.1 in the plan on implementing and
embedding a structured response to modern slavery and organised immigration crime. The Crime
Coordination Committee is seeking to increase the level of connection between coordination centres.
Simon Bailey confirmed a joint counter-exploitation bid is being developed however the
development of sustainable options to ensure policing responds effectively to emerging forms of
exploitation is proving challenging given different rates of progression across different issues
including county lines. In this context the resilience of the modern slavery programme was being
explored including its current funding envelope.
Action: Richard Cooper to work with Mike Barton and Simon Bailey to ensure any emerging product
from Crime Coordination Committee is reflected in Police Transformation Reform Board (PRTB)
discussions.
Peter Goodman summarised the position on objective 2.2 for delivering specialist force cybercrime
capability across forces and informed chiefs of the positive progress made in terms of force take-up
and the development of minimum capability standards. There remains some concern based on the
absence of total confidence in the source of funding for 2019/20.
The Chair updated that the Police ICT Company has now received some funding and have
commissioned work that will examine date standards linked to the National Enabling Programme.
The level of risk attached to that objective will therefore likely reduce.
Simon Cole commented on the excellent progress being made towards objective 4.1 on the Digital
Public Contact (DPC) programme. The focus has been on securing statements of intent from forces
to join and this has been successful. In June the MPS joined by Thames Valley Police and Hampshire
Constabulary went live on the platform. A full business case to enable the inclusion of all 43 forces
within the Single Online Home is being finalised. He also updated that he and Mark Burns- Williamson
will be writing to the Policing Minister regarding the non-emergency 101 service. The process of
re-contracting the 101 service will consider the costs to the public associated with making a non-
emergency call.
Action: Letter on the future of the non-emergency 101 service to be published on ChiefsNet.
All update returns for the objectives have been published on ChiefsNet.
Chiefs noted the update on the NPCC delivery plan.
4.1 1 International Policing Update
Sarah Crew updated chiefs on the current position of the cross-Government strategy for
international policing and indicated there would be a further update following the publication of the
strategy.
Action: Andy Marsh to link in with Bill Skelly who will coordinate with all forces the provision of
mapping of diaspora communities within force boundaries and crime types/issues which have an
international aspect to them and represent an increased demand on forces.
4.2 College of Policing Update
Mike Colbourne stated that Bernie O'Reilly would be starting with the College in November and
Simon Nickless would also be joining the College to continue efforts on workforce transformation.
Following discussion at Council in July there is likely to be a new process at the pre-assessment stage
for direct entry inspectors.
4.3 Regional papers
The Chair guided colleagues through the feedback from the review of regional papers.
4.3.1 Standards of Behaviour – Internal Relationships - CLOSED
The Chair acknowledged the feedback from forces and noted that some concerns had been raised.
Julian Williams explained the background to the creation of the standards of behaviour. He
expanded on four primary issues that had been considered in the standards' production. These were
LGTB considerations, Article 8 considerations, record-keeping in respect of workplace relationships,
and freedom of information implications. There is precedent from other sectors and this had been
used to shape the standards.
Julian Williams highlighted that the view of the Police Superintendents' Association is that the Code
of Ethics is sufficient and he therefore sought to understand the appetite of chiefs for specific
guidance on this subject. On the four primary issues he explained that central recording was
considered disproportionate so he would seek to develop guidance for recording by local
supervisors, accepting that this would carry risks in respect of the resilience of such records. He
believes that there is likely to be an FOI exemption under Section 41. Legal advice indicates that the
proposed approach is compliant with an individual's right to a private and family life. LGBT
considerations were included as part of the consultation with all forces and stakeholders but he
stressed that there should and will be sensitivity applied around diversity issues in the guidance.
Mike Cunningham proposed that the College of Policing's Professional Committee is the appropriate
decision-making body in respect of the standards but that the views of chiefs at Council would be
considered. Chiefs had mixed views on the guidance as it is currently drafted. The Chair of the Ethics
and Portfolio Coordination Committee set out that the portfolio's view is that specific guidance is
required. It sets out a pragmatic way of responding to everyday potential conflicts of interest. This
was supported by some chiefs who cited examples where members of staff had not understood
what was and wasn't appropriate. In that context, the standards should be viewed as enhancing
understanding by setting out expectations and parameters rather than being concerned with
sanctions.
The view of the North West region, which was supported by some others, is that the concerns
regarding the impact on LGBT officers and staff who are not ‘out' outweigh the benefits of the
standards being in place. The Code of Ethics is seen by some chiefs as being sufficient.
The Chair summarised that chiefs held mixed views and that whilst some consider the setting out of
specific professional guidance to be helpful, there was general agreement that this should not be
linked to misconduct. Mike Cunningham will consult further with Julian Williams before taking the
matter to Professional Committee.
4.3.2 Police Delivery Model Pilot Update – DBS Enhanced Disclosure Certificates
Nick Adderley acknowledged the need for a clear understanding of the business case proposed and
clarified that the paper seeks engagement from chiefs on how disclosure and barring is delivered in
future. There was no commitment sought or made to a particular delivery model for disclosure and
barring. Chiefs noted the paper.
4.3.3 Force Management Statements Debrief
Chiefs supported the paper.
4.3.4 Adoption of Minimum Standards for ‘In Service' Drones Training
Michelle Dunn thanked all Chiefs for the feedback provided which would be assessed by the National
Drones Working Group. Charlie Hall will liaise directly with those regions who sought clarity on the
cost proposals.
Action: Charlie Hall to go back to West Midlands and North West regions on feedback provided.
Chiefs supported the direction of travel of the paper.
4.3.5 Electronic Monitoring
Nick Ephgrave described the main objectives sought by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for the
programme and highlighted the opportunities, benefits and threats this will present for policing.
Delivery of the programme has been brought forward substantially. The service would have until the
end of November to negotiate specific details, as the planned implementation was being extended
to all forces by April 2019.
Nick Ephgrave explained the proposals and that it had been agreed that high risk offenders would
not be included in initial rollout. He sought the views of chiefs so that he could reflect these back to
the Ministry of Justice. A number of chiefs were concerned by the haste of implementation despite
issues having been identified during the pilots. Chiefs also discussed the transfer of costs to policing
that is associated with the enforcement burden, and the risk to the public that might arise if policing
cannot respond as expected.
The Chair summarised the position of Council by confirming that the pilot needs to be fully evaluated
and costs understood before rollout. When those costs are understood, any necessary transfer of
funding should be considered accordingly. The NPCC would examine whether there are any statutory
requirements for forces to do this. The College also supported the need for the pilot to be evaluated.
Action: Nick Ephgrave, as Chair of the Criminal Justice Coordination Committee, will write to the MoJ
reflecting the position of Chiefs' Council.
4.3.6 Pre-Charge Bail Update
Nick Ephgrave emphasised the importance of greater consistency in how forces assess necessity and
proportionality in respect of bail so they provide adequate protection to victims.
National guidance is being developed for officers with case studies around when it is appropriate to
apply pre-charge bail.
Action: Guidance to be presented at the January 2019 Council meeting for chiefs' review.
Chiefs noted the paper.
4.3.7 Reforms to Complaints and Discipline System Update
Chiefs noted the paper.
4.3.8 Royal Mail Protocol
Chiefs agreed the implementation of the protocol.
4.3.9 NPCC Specialist Capabilities Programme Update
The Chair addressed the regional feedback on the pilot and timeline linking this into the spending
review work. Simon Cole confirmed that discussion of a pilot is still ongoing.
Chiefs discussed the process by which bespoke funding requests are agreed. The Chair set out that
substantial budgeting decisions were made at the January meeting of Council, but that where
possible all requests for funding contributions from forces should be routed through Council.
Chiefs noted the update.
4.3.10 A Pilot Practice Direction for Force Marriage and FGM Protection Orders
Simon Bailey informed all chiefs that there was an expectation that once the pilot had been completed
at the end of January 2019 that a full evaluation would take place and a paper brought back to
Council covering the assessment of cost and resource implications.
Action: Paper to be brought back to the January 2019 Council meeting.
Chiefs supported the direction of travel for the paper.
4.3.11 Information Exchange regarding Victims of Crime who have No Leave to Remain
Chiefs supported the paper.
4.3.12 Volunteer Police Cadets Update
Chiefs were supportive of the programme and what it had achieved. The programme will engage
with forces individually to take this work forward further.
Chiefs noted the paper.
4.4 Taser – NPCC Position on Home Secretary Letter
Andy Harding, presenting on behalf of Lucy D'Orsi, (NPCC Less Lethal Weapons lead) suggested that
the UK is recognised as providing the 'gold standard' in terms of how the weapon is deployed. That
said, he acknowledged that there are differing views within the service about the approach that
should be taken moving forward, i.e. whether the weapon should be rolled out more widely as
personal protective equipment (PPE), or whether it continues to be issued based only on a specific
threat assessment.
He explained the NPCC's Less Lethal Weapons Portfolio intended to maintain a threat-based
approach to less lethal weapons deployment to officers while the probationary constable model is
introduced and the question of whether special constable should be able to carry the equipment
was considered (a decision is planned by summer 2019). It will then consider the case for widening
the roll out of Taser as personal protective equipment.
Simon Cole agreed with the approach, but expressed that in his experience, wider rollout is not as
contentious as has been described. He cited local evidence that his officers are four times less likely
to be injured when they 'red dot' a potential threat. He suggested that the evidence shows that
Taser is used sensibly and proportionately and so he is concerned about the length of time this
process might take. He stressed that chiefs must consider officers' rights to work safely and their
welfare.
Olivia Pinkney added that Hampshire and Thames Valley Police have rolled out an uplift of Taser as
the assault data informed the threat assessment, which proved a compelling case. She explained
that it is only issued to an officer where there is an operational need, aptitude, and a desire to carry
one. She added that the wider rollout has not been an issue.
Chiefs noted that this is a significant concern for officers, particularly those in isolated rural areas.
Nonetheless, it is acknowledged that Taser is a less lethal and not a non-lethal weapon. Consistency
of approach, subject to the individual circumstances as identified in force threat assessments, is
important both to officers and to the public.
The Chair summarised that the process and principles must be consistent, but accepted that the
threat assessment itself will vary from force to force. She stressed that chiefs must be able to
accurately and appropriately address any concerns raised about this, particularly by staff associations.
4.5 Election of the NPCC Chair
As of March 2019, the current Chair of the NPCC will step down. Under the provisions of the NPCC
collaboration agreement, the Chair has served the maximum period and as such this role will be
advertised for any current chief constable to apply.
The Chair of the Professional Committee, Olivia Pinkney, explained that all those who are interested
in applying should have a discussion with a member of the NPCC Performance Committee. She
explained that a small committee has been formed to administer a formal process which is election-
based to ensure that the successful candidate was legitimately endorsed by chief officers. If there is
only one candidate they would be automatically appointed and if there is more than one a voting
system would be put in place. She will formally write out to chiefs and the advert will be published
on ChiefsNet on 15 October for a three-week period.
Chiefs agreed the paper.
SUPER COMPLAINTS
The Chair welcomed Sir Thomas Winsor who briefly summarised the progress on Force Management
Statements (FMS) and thanked chiefs for submitting these to HMICFRS. He confirmed the FMS
overview document will be published and said this will assist in building the picture on police
demand, assets, efficiency and resources requirements.
Sir Thomas gave an overview of the background to super complaints and the process for their
submission and response. The system is due to become operational on 1st November 2018 and is
designed to capture systemic issues in policing, rather than complaints about individual forces or
officers. It relates to complaints where a feature or combination of features of policing in England
and Wales, by one or more than one police force (including the NCA) is, or appears to be, significantly
harming the interests of the public.
Only bodies designated by the Home Secretary can make a super complaint. There are sixteen such
bodies, a larger number than in other sectors with super complaint systems. HMICFRS are currently
engaging with these bodies to determine in what form a super compliant might be lodged. This
engagement will provide advanced warning and in some cases it may be appropriate to defer some
of potential complaints on the basis that HMRICFRS, the College of Policing, or the Independent
Office Police Complaints (IOPC) already has plans to do something about the issue identified. HMICFRS
will work together with the College and IOPC to determine if the complaint is eligible and the correct
action to take. The panel will be comprised of representatives from the three agencies and they
will have to carry out preliminary inquiries and provide a report every 56 days to the complainant.
If the complaint is about a police force then both the force and PCC will be notified along with the
NPCC. There will be an information requirement and the resulting HMICFRS response will be provided
to the force in advance. Sir Thomas explained that there is a small budget to run the HMICFRS
secretariat but there is no budget to investigate the super complaints so this is challenging. Designated
bodies do not have to pay a fee to make these complaints. He asked for the support of chief
constables in implementing the system as smoothly as possible.
Chiefs discussed the avenues of appeal open to complainants which Sir Thomas identified only as
being judicial review. Chiefs also asked of the extent to which the three coordinating bodies could
ask questions of other agencies which may hold relevant information as well as the police. Sir
Thomas said the information acquisition powers of the HMICFRS and the IOPC would apply without
limitation. It was also confirmed if a case was already being investigated by the IOPC or HMICFRS
then the super complaint would be deferred until the outcome was decided. It should be noted that
there will be no historical cases only current ones.
Chiefs were generally supportive of a system that might bring appropriate scrutiny to those relatively
few issues that were not already subject to examination and accountability processes. They
discussed the likely impact upon portfolio leads, who would be a probable source of information
in response to a super complaint.
Chief constables agreed that NPCC Leads will assist HMICFRS, IOPC and the College of Policing in
conducting research into policing issues or approaches that have been accepted as super complaints.
Chief constables further agreed that NPCC central office will act as the initial liaison point for
HMICFRS in determining which NPCC Lead is best placed to assist in carrying out any necessary
research. Chief constables decided that at this early stage a specific chief officer lead was not
required on behalf of the service for the super complaints system itself. However, Martin Jelley will
provide initial senior oversight as part of the Ethics and Integrity portfolio.
5. OPERATIONAL CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR A ‘NO DEAL' BREXIT
The Chair explained that the Brexit paper was a re-submission and reflects PSNI and Police Scotland
involvement.
Police Scotland said good links have been made in the coordination between the Brexit team and
forces and that although there are still some funding questions that need to be discussed, this
should not delay progress. It was confirmed by chiefs it would not be practicable to embargo leave
at this stage.
Bill Skelly said that it's foreseeable that significant information requests in respect of crime and
incidents linked to Brexit will be made of the service in the run-up to Britain leaving the European
Union. He is having discussions about how this information could be best coordinated.
Chiefs discussed the need for command roles to be available, and that the impact of people being
abstracted from their core roles should be considered. Paul Netherton described his work with
Government in planning the civil contingencies response and is clear that the policing role should be
limited to the service's normal duties and the prevention of disorder. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs)
will have an important role to play, and a table-top exercise is being developed that should be of
assistance to LRFs.
The Chair explained that the recent Strategic Capability Board away day spent time discussing
national security in the context of Brexit, and that the National Crime Agency has now developed an
initial impact assessment relating to Brexit and serious and organised crime.
6. TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Law Enforcement Re-allocation
Craig Mackey welcomed recent Home Office engagement and the request for scrutiny of Home
Office technology programmes from the service. He explained that there is half a billion pounds
being spent on these national programmes and there is a danger of 'scope creep' which could have a
significant impact on budgets if not closely monitored. He described the risk that pressures on
reallocation to fund programmes could result in forces receiving no further funding to local budgets
at all in the spending review. Therefore, an overview of the portfolio is vital to consider the necessity
of trade-offs and reach the best balance for the service and the public.
The Chair and Mike Barton emphasised the importance of operational requirements driving the
development of such programmes, which must be user-led rather than technology-led. Mike Barton
expressed concern that so many programmes are overspent and running late. He gave an example
of how this is impacting on the existing PND system, where requests for further funding from the
Home Office have been rejected on the basis that NLEDS is being developed, yet there is significant
uncertainty about what this will actually deliver and in what timeframe.
Ian Dyson stated that the police must take some responsibility as users have not properly given
operational requirements to the technologists. He stressed that this is why the oversight work is so
important.
Craig Mackey emphasised the scale of the decisions that were required, i.e. the shelving of work in
certain areas in order to balance risk and benefit. David Lamberti acknowledged that programmes
should be well-managed and meet operational requirements. He stated that the Home Office are
working hard to address the concerns raised by chiefs.
Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) Update - CLOSED
Francis Habgood updated chiefs on the progress of ESMCP for which the full business case (FBC) is
now being redrafted. There has been good progress towards a national procurement framework to
get replacement Airwave devices. The police governance structure also now seems to be working
well.
Francis Habgood reminded chiefs of the preferred programme approach being one of incremental
transition, with products becoming available for use in forces over time. This will commence with
the network being phased in beginning later in 2018, then data, then voice. Within each category
there are a number of stages of implementation.
There may be work that is required within force IT departments to progress onwards through the
different versions of ESN and this may involve support for different devices. It is therefore
considered unlikely that forces would want to take any iteration of ESN before full functionality for
standard users (ESN Prime) becomes available in August 2020.
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Francis Habgood intends to write to the Permanent Secretary setting out Council's position with
reference to the business case as one of supporting ESN as the right future solution, but also
highlighting the risks that persist.
Chiefs expressed their thanks for Francis Habgood's leadership in this area. Paul Crowther
highlighted the danger of individual aspects of the overall ESN capability being adopted in isolation,
and with multiple contingencies being relied on for successful delivery. Chiefs discussed the level of
project support available for ESN implementation within forces and Francis Habgood advised that
these teams should not be stood down.
The Chair summarised the position confirming Council's agreement that Francis Habgood writes to
the Permanent Secretary highlighting the risks described but with clear and detailed reference to the
outline full business case and the evidence that is contained within it.
Action: Francis Habgood to share the ESMCP full business with the chiefs' reference group.
Action: Francis Habgood to write to the Permanent Secretary highlighting the risks described but
with clear and detailed reference to the outline full business case and the evidence that is contained
within it.
Chiefs noted the update and agreed the approach as outlined in the paper.
Peer Efficiency Exemplar Plan
Ian Dyson explained this is an opportunity to collectively assess where we are in relation to digital
policing, both in respect of foundation capability and ‘stretch' ambitions such as preparedness for
robotics, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.
He is grateful for the return of the templates that were sent to forces, with thirty-one having been
completed and seven forces near to completion. He said the next step is for the information to be
analysed to provide supporting information for the spending review and also to meet the HMICFRS
recommendation. He confirmed there will be further workshops planned to clarify the further
requirements and discuss any gaps identified through the analysis. Timescales are tight, but
necessarily so, in order to contribute effectively to the SR narrative.
Landscape Mapping and Force Milestones
The Chair welcomed Richard Thwaite and Chris Walker from Chaucer who updated chiefs on progress
and gave a demonstration of the software for monitoring the status of force delivery milestones.
Richard Thwaite gave an overview of the work completed, including project roadshows, the
development of landscape mapping, and the monthly delivery dashboard. The monthly dashboard
also reflects the policing community's view of project progress, and that in turn has influenced
the conduct of programmes. A variety of important themes have been gleaned from the
community view and the engagement undertaken, including the requirements for change
implementation within forces, how all the projects fit together, and the value of data integration.
Chris Walker provided a demonstration of the force delivery milestones software and highlighted
that it was available for use by staff within forces. The software is updated at least weekly, can give
national and regional views, and shows when items are ‘landing' within forces.
The demonstration was well received by chiefs. The question was raised as to the level of influence
that the landscape mapping team can have to make the programmes change course and behaviour.
Richard Thwaite replied that in certain ways influence is limited. The team hold a mirror up to the
programmes and whilst they can't require the programmes to do things differently they can make
challenges visible to people. Chiefs emphasised the importance of considering the cost of delivering
the changes required by programmes locally, and the extent of our collective understanding of this
cost set against benefit.
Ian Dyson praised the work for allowing a better understanding of the programmes and what is to be
delivered, but there needs to better understanding of the change that is required in forces. The
Business Change Council may be able to assist with that.
7. POLICE CRIME PREVENTION INITIAITIVES (PCPI)
Stephen Watson reiterated to chief constables that PCPI was a success story that had become self-
funding and sustaining. British policing has developed a world-leading ability to influence planning
applications; over a million homes have been built in line with secured by design standards; new
residential developments have seen sustained crime reduction, particularly in burglaries; and there
has been a significant reduction in the number of false alarm calls to the police. Guy Ferguson, the
CEO of Police CPI, recapped on the history of the enterprise and outlined its governance with diverse
representation on its board. Further innovation is expected in relation to licensed premises, and
PCPI have recently taken on the London Digital Security Centre which helps businesses fight off
cyber-attacks.
The benefits of the Designing Out Crime Officer (DOCO) role were described, and the healthy state
of continuing professional development to support those members of staff. Chiefs were asked to
ensure that DOCOs have access to senior individuals in the force to ensure that effective influence is
exerted through the planning framework.
Francis Habgood questioned the level of bureaucracy attached to securing and maintaining
accreditation, particularly in light of resourcing pressures across forces. Stephen Watson replied that
only a modest percentage of compliance checks are conducted in order to ensure the efficacy and
honesty of the system. Chiefs also asked about the contribution of PCPI to the fight against organised
crime, and the ability to join up effectively with the approach that is being pursued in Scotland.
The decision in the paper was noted.
8. CT UPDATE AND BRIEFING
This item was withdrawn from the agenda and an update would be provided at the next Council
meeting in January 2019.
9. FRONTLINE REVIEW
Steve White introduced his new role in relation to the frontline review for the Home Office. He
thanked forces and the College for the provision of staff to take part and explained that a steering
group has been set up and Andy Rhodes sits on this group on behalf of chiefs.
Andy Rhodes explained the importance of staff engagement and the strong association with the
wellbeing of our employees. The steering group has support from the staff associations and the
Home Office.
Chris Spencer described how the Office for National Statistics is advising on the methodology to
produce a robust set of findings. He also set out the range of workshops that have been scheduled
across different regions and involving different ranks and roles within policing. Chiefs queried the
geographic breadth of the workshops and also asked whether the diversity of staff representation
had been considered, which Steve White advised that it had.
This work was noted and supported by chiefs.
10. SPENDING REVIEW
Alex Murray provided a briefing on the work being carried out on the spending review. He outlined
the difficult financial national context that the Treasury is grappling with, and the subsequent pressure
on public sector spending.
Although the Chancellor announced that there is going to be a spending review in 2019, the timings
have not been confirmed. Policing's spending review narrative will focus on productivity and
efficiency and it will stress how transformation is being prioritised in our approach to the workforce,
digital technologies, and meeting the strategic aims of the Vision 2025.
Alex Murray explained that the broad areas of focus had been agreed as the empirical evidence for
non-crime demand; the growth in crime, both that reported to police and that revealed in the Crime
Survey of England and Wales; the specific increase of complex high-harm crimes; and finally the cost
associated volume crimes, particularly relating to investigation. He further explained that as a result
of the resource challenges criminal justice outcomes are being affected, with visibility, proactivity,
and levels of satisfaction reducing. He explained the next steps involved in providing chiefs with a
more exact understanding of the relationship between these factors. He also provided a brief overview
of the work under each of the strands that had been identified.
Chiefs highlighted a number of important considerations in the spending review work. This included
the understanding of the ongoing effect on the police workforce and the element of it that is non-
deployable; the distillation of the capabilities that make up neighbourhood policing; and the
importance of a compelling public narrative as well as an empirical one for government officials. The
Chair acknowledged the importance of making a case that resonates with the public, but outlined
the fine balance that must be struck by officials in working on behalf of ministers. Police chiefs must
also consider the objective assessment of the resources required to keep the public safe whilst also
being mindful of public reassurance and a proportionate understanding of crime levels.
11. NPCC FINANCE COORDINATION COMMITTEE UPDATE
Dave Thompson introduced this item and provided an overview of the progress that's been made
and issue for chiefs to note. He explained that there is continued pressure from the Treasury to find
efficiencies and savings and the work around this is going well. Chiefs will however need to consider
the preferred operating model for procurement and shared services. Whilst regional delivery is
familiar that approach may not meet with governmental expectation.
Dave Thompson explained that the joint submission by the APCC and NPCC for 2019 settlement has
been submitted. The paper identifies a number of challenges including the freeze on grants, the
reallocation for ICT programmes, differential benefits from council tax precepts, and counter-
terrorism funding which is due to end this year.
Dave Thompson also made chiefs aware of an issue around changes in the pension scheme discount
rate that needs careful consideration. Due to suppressed pay the contribution rate is less than
expected and for the first time there are more pensioners than police officers paying into the
scheme. As a result there will likely be a shortfall to be met by an increase in employer contributions
of £165 million in 2019/20 then £400m in year two. Dave Thompson argued that whilst there will be
impact to all public services the police position is unique, not least because of the overpayment in
percentage terms of the employer contribution to date. The next step will be to commission legal
advice and produce a financial planning options paper.
Chiefs discussed the effect of precept rises in different forces and the varying levels of political will
for a further increase on top of that in 2018/19. Francis Habgood suggested that the messaging
needs to be clearer, engaging both with internal and external audiences including PCCs. He also
stated that staff associations are aware of what is happening and there needs to be an explanation
of cost, making clear the difference between pension issues and of pay uplift.
The Chair confirmed that a briefing will be provided next week and a letter has been sent to the
Chief Secretary of the Treasury.
Action: The letter regarding 2019/20, the letter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the
submission to the Public Accounts Committee from CC Thompson all to be shared with chiefs.
Action: The Chair / NPCC Finance Lead to reply to the Minister's letter regarding the changes to the
public sector pension discount rate.
Day 2: 09:00-13:00 4 October 2018
12. REVIEW OF POLICING OPERATIONS TO SUPPORT VISIT TO POTUS – JULY 2018
Chris Shead provided a summary of the operation delivered for the Presidential visit to the UK in July
2018. The report focused on identifying potential learning for future national events, early indication
of financial costs on forces and detailed the resources used. Nearly every force supported the
operation with almost 10,000 officers deployed from all over the country, performing over 26,000
shifts. The full cost of the operation is still being worked out but an early estimate is nearly
£18 million spent. Chiefs discussed the high demands put on the service at the same time as the visit
including that linked to the football World Cup and various other events and festivals. These
demands affected local policing to varying degrees across the country.
Each host force established a stand-alone command and planning team and appointed an event
command structure as required under current Authorised Professional Practice (APP). The MPS Gold
adopted a coordinating function, holding regular conference calls with other gold commanders.
Chris Shead explained post-operation data had been collected from forces to determine the impact
of the POTUS operation on service delivery, contact management performance, and staff resilience.
The majority of forces had to cancel officers' rest days and extend the length of their working shifts.
The resourcing requirements for the operation were further complicated as a result of the ambiguity
surrounding the itinerary of the visit.
Chiefs discussed the approach taken towards the command of significant national events that impact
in more than one force area. It was suggested that the scale of such operations meant that
“coordination with a big C” was required. Some advocated a cadre type approach to public order
where the most experienced gold commanders take responsibility to plan and manage the event(s)
regardless of force boundaries. Chiefs discussed the advantages and disadvantages of this approach
as outlined in the paper. It was felt keeping a list of experienced accredited gold commanders was
helpful but the majority of chiefs would wish to be able to select such a commander for such an
event. Dave Thompson asked that forces that have chosen to invest in greater public order training
due to local need should not be asked for a disproportionate contribution to national operations
simply due to that increased capacity. Iain Livingstone noted that public order command would likely
remain a live issue in the coming months and years and advocated a well-informed central
moderating function to help determine what level and specialism of resources is required where.
The Chair recognised the need for consideration of a moderating function and whether the concept
of a coordinating gold is reflected in Approved Professional Practice. She summarised that the
Council would like to see more work done on the cooperation and command of multi-force
operations, drawing on lessons from the Olympics and the POTUS visit, and looking more widely
than simply terminology but examining policy and structure.
Francis Habgood added that the issue of overnight allowance is being worked on with the Police
Federation and this information would be shared soon with all chiefs.
Chiefs were encouraged despite the challenges and the significant operational burden presented
that through the hard work officers and staff the public were kept safe throughout.
Chiefs noted the paper and agreed the recommendation. However Council agreed a further
recommendation to the paper which include completing further work done on the service approach
to coordination of multi force operations including gold command.
Action: Paper to be brought back to the January 2019 Council meeting on the moderation and
coordination work around multi-force public order and public safety operations.
13. AIR SUPPORT OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT - CLOSED
Charlie Hall presented an update on work to articulate the user requirements for the National Police
Air Service (NPAS) which has been created in response to the HMICFRS study from 2017. The paper
has been shared at the previous NPAS strategic board where it was agreed and represents the views
of key stakeholders. The user requirement seeks to understand latent and patent demand and will
define the future air support requirements for the police service and form the basis for a new 10-
year police aviation strategy which is due to be published in April 2019.
********S31(1)(a)(b) & S24(1)*********
The Chair summarised that the general air support user requirement appears right but the cost
should be considered in a further paper to be brought back to Council by Dee Collins.
Action: Paper to be submitted to the January 2019 Council meeting providing an assessment of the
investment required to meet the air support user requirement.
Action: National Crime Agency (NCA) to capture covert surveillance requirement to support CT user
requirement.
14. IICSA NPCC CORE PARTICIPANT STATUS
Simon Bailey provided an overview of the coordinated service response to historical child sexual
abuse and explained that there are a significant number of inquiries areas still outstanding. Although
the work carried out on behalf of the police force by the Operation Hydrant team has been
effective and they have been able to provide the inquiry with a good response there remain some
challenges that chiefs should be aware of. He explained that one of the challenges is the police
service does not have core participant status and therefore limited scope to contribute to the
thinking of the inquiry before recommendations are finalised.
Simon Bailey set out the proposal to establish a capability to support core participant status. This
would involve horizon scanning by Operation Hydrant across all inquiry material to identify potential
issues of future interest to the service; the referral to East Midlands Legal Services where an issue is
identified as a matter concerning NPCC interests; and where formal representation at the inquiry is
necessary, consultation should take place with the Chair of the NPCC and the Chair of the Violence
and Public Protection Portfolio to determine whether Counsel should be appointed.
Chiefs supported the proposal and the provision of funding but requested that consideration is given
to future consideration of whether net budget or core grant be used to determine contribution for
such matters.
15. UNDERCOVER POLICING INQUIRY (UCPI) AND CONTINUED RESOURCING
Andy Cooke introduced two papers, one on the NPCC Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI)
Coordination Team and one on Operation Elter. He explained that the MPS are dealing with Special
Demonstration Squad legacy issues and are working closely with the NPCC coordination team who
are considering the National Public Order Intelligence Unit issues. He stated that the purpose of his
input was to put chief constables on notice that at January's Council meeting he will be putting
forward a funding request.
Andy Cooke described the service's response to the inquiry and how the inquiry's timeline had been
significantly extended. There will therefore be increased costs to the service in terms of legal costs
and the Relativity software, which is why a request for £1m for the NPOIU Co-ordination Team will
be put to chief constables in January. To add context to the challenge being faced by the team, he
described how the team are dealing with 2.6 terabytes of data, which is around 40 million pages.
Disclosure of just 1% of that will take the current team 4.6 years as one expert can redact around 65
pages per day.
16. RESOURCING OF OPERATION ELTER - CLOSED
Andy Cooke described the Elter team and its purpose. He explained that the Elter team costs
substantially more than the NPCC team, and so a request for £3.5m will be put to chief constables in
January. He added that a number of conduct matters have been identified through the work of Elter,
and a pack for each identified case will be sent to the relevant force. He explained that each pack
will include a recommendation so that cases are dealt with consistently across all forces. He asked
chief constables to take note of the recommendation, accepting that as the independent competent
authority the final decision on a case rests with them.
Craig Guildford agreed with the desire for consistency with regards to the misconduct issues, stating
that the recommendation on each case is helpful, but emphasised the point that the appropriate
authority must make the final decision on a case by case basis.
Helen Ball explained the resourcing pressures linked to the response to public Inquiries, and
suggested that the service must secure support in terms of providing a proportionate response. The
UCPI set out an expectation that it would release several witness bundles to the MPS each month to
enable the force to take a comprehensive statement from that witness before redacting and
disclosing it to core participants. Instead, very few have been received to date, despite the MPS
standing up resources to work to the higher estimate. She described how a recent single statement
took 25 hours to write and at least 100 hours in terms of support to the witness. She outlined her
plan to write to the inquiry to set out a number of issues, and will look for support from the NPCC in
this regard.
Matt Jukes explained that there are currently 1,400 investigators across the country working on non-
recent investigations and that this demand seems to be ever increasing. He has looked at how
contractors are being used, and the various costs of agency workers, some which charge up to 25%
of the cost of the investigator. He described a need to consider better models of using such resources
as it is clear that inquiries cannot absorb investigative resources from the core service.
Discussion moved on to the funding proposal, and specifically how charges were to be distributed
amongst forces. Dave Thompson expressed concern that it is not appropriate to base the cost to
each force on the grant distribution formula, but instead it should be based on net budget. He
acknowledged that the current request would not be a significant sum of money, but this is
nonetheless the position of the Finance Coordination Committee.
Sara Thornton referred to a previous Chief Constables' Council paper where a precedent had been
established for using net budget. Bill Skelly disagreed with this principle being used for all such
matters going forward and suggested that the issue should be formally brought to Council for
specific discussion rather than reaching a wide-ranging decision as part of this paper.
Sara Thornton suggested that the UCPI and Elter funding papers should include both charging
options - core grant distribution and net budget, so that a decision can be made. In parallel, a
summary of the issues from the Finance Coordination Committee should be put into a paper for
January Chief Constables' Council.
ACTION: Andy Cooke to include both 'core grant distribution' and 'net budget' charging models
within the UCPI and Elter funding requests for January Chief Constables' Council.
ACTION: Dave Thompson to bring a summary of the issues relating to the national distribution of
charges from the Finance Coordination Committee to the January Chief Constables' Council meeting.
Lynne Owens expressed concern that this is a fundamental issue with regards to structuring
capabilities, and it may not be as simple as charging based on grant or precept, but something
between the two might be appropriate.
Pete Goodman explained that much regional activity is based on grant distribution, and so expressed
caution that any decision on this may have a wider impact on many other areas of policing.
Simon Cole suggested that thought should be given to a people strategy, given that many witnesses
to inquiries will retire before the Undercover Inquiry concludes, and their responsibility will need to
be handed over to their replacement or a retainer paid to keep them. He questioned whether all
forces are making consistent decisions in this regard and whether a debate might be appropriate.
Sara Thornton summarised that the decisions in the paper were agreed and noted.
17. PLAN ON A PAGE
Mike Cunningham provided the background to the development of the College of Policing's plan on
a page. He emphasised the value of clarity, both to the College and its stakeholders. The resulting
product is one born from a very wide engagement with the service and he has sought and received a
large amount of feedback on the College's purpose.
His priority is to establish a better connection with operational policing and increase the relevance of
the College to those delivering to the public. The College will be an independent professional body
that supports everyone working in policing. The plan on a page sets out the priorities in terms of
core deliverables for the organisation – cultivating knowledge and good practice; setting operational
standards; and developing talent, skills and leadership. He explained that he still needs to seek
agreement from the College Board but will then move into implementation.
Chiefs constables expressed their support for the approach described and would want to
demonstrate that support in a visible way after the new approach has been discussed at the College
Board.
18. WORKFORCE TRANSFORMATION
Mike Cunningham updated chiefs that three forces have acted as early adopters of the degree
apprenticeship approach. This allows the College to understand any impact on diversity and
abstraction rates of officers. He will look for independent assessment of the extent of that
abstraction. The College is now analysing the self-assessment material that has been received from
forces and he expressed his gratitude for those returns.
In respect of changes to the entry routes into the service Mike Cunningham proposed a 12-month
extension for forces to deal with implementation issues. This is simply to allow for issues in a
particular force to be addressed, not to indefinitely delay that implementation. Whilst the College
wishes to work with forces to address any concerns, it is they who ultimately have the responsibility
for setting entry and promotion requirements. The emphasis is now moving from the design of such
requirements to realisation of them.
Bill Skelly asked that Council does not agree to the cut-off point for the Initial Police Learning and
Development Programme. He argued that the funding situation necessitates such a stance.
Lincolnshire has a structural deficit and he doesn't want to reduce officers providing policing services
to the public. This view was supported by Jon Boutcher. Peter Goodman spoke as an advocate of the
three entry routes but noted that having examined the curriculum he considered that abstraction
levels would be higher. Mike Cunningham accepted this but explained that the role of constable is
now more complex than ever. He identified a cultural issue where training is seen as a cost rather
than an investment and reiterated that whilst he is genuinely seeking support from chiefs this
remains a College of Policing decision. Craig Guildford agreed that from his force's experience there
would be more abstraction but that absences would be considerably diminished in year three.
Chiefs also discussed the equality impact of the proposed entry route changes. These points included
the practical difficulties for non-degree holders joining with lower pay than their previous jobs. Jon
Boutcher also suggested that some people who would otherwise have joined the service may be put
off doing so because of the degree requirement. Craig Guildford indicated that there is limited
evidence of any effect on diversity, although the Nottinghamshire experience is based on only a
small cohort.
Mike Cunningham advocated the attraction of earning whilst learning to younger people, and
undertook to consider a suggestion from James Vaughan about fast-tracking high quality degree
holders. Dave Thompson and Simon Cole raised concerns about the service acting in haste due to
the availability of the apprenticeship levy and about the possibility of a seasonal recruitment profile
linked to academic institutions that may not meet public need. Chiefs generally sought additional
detail to be worked up on how prior experience would be treated and the precise costs associated
with the new entry routes.
Mike Cunningham thanked chiefs for their feedback and summarised his position. He remains sensitive
to the implementation challenges and wants to be supportive. The specific implementation period for
the entry route changes requires consideration so he will take that issue away and it give it due
thought.
The Chair concluded the conversation by noting the decisions made. Chiefs had considered the
outline position and supported the direction of travel. Some chiefs had asked for an extension of
IPLDP beyond 2020 but it was agreed that no date would be set at this Council.
A concern was raised on behalf of Mike Griffiths about the loss of officers from the Civil Nuclear
Constabulary into Home Office forces.
Action: Mike Cunningham to review and recirculate existing instructions regarding movement from
non-Home Office forces to Home Office forces.
19. POLICE REFORM
The Chair provided an update to Council on the police reform and transformation agenda. This
included the development of a Portfolio Management Team to report on the projects funded through
the Police Transformation Fund, and a Portfolio Board with representation from the service to
scrutinise and manage in-year expenditure. She updated chiefs on discussions from the last
Reform and Transformation Board meeting and away day. More money has been supported for the
development of Specialist Capabilities dashboards to provide a better understanding of supply and
demand of those capabilities. The Chair also set out decisions on the hosting of the Forensic
Capabilities Network which will initially be through Dorset as lead force with ongoing examination of
NCA as a long-term possibility.
In addition, the Chair gave an update on the likely commitment of the Police Transformation Fund
for 2019/20, and the possibility of underspend in the current year. There is unlikely to be a bidding
process for next year with investment instead building on what has already been achieved. A reserve
list of projects that might utilise underspend prior to the end of March 2019 is being compiled
however and the Chair explained the process for accessing this money.
20. PAY REFORM
Francis Habgood summarised the principles and direction of travel for pay reform that have been
brought to previous Councils. In particular he highlighted the issues arising out of the pay uplift of
2%. He asked chiefs to note that HM Government did not agree the recommendations from the
PRRB for a second year.
He recapped that chiefs had previously asked for flexibility in recognising either challenging or hard
to fill roles (dependent on rank) and provided an update on progress in this area. His view is that an
application process by individuals should not be used and he invited chiefs to consider what
proportion of posts might be eligible for additional reward. Francis Habgood stated that he was
seeking to maximise consistency of approach across all ranks, and that he foresaw practical
difficulties arising from efforts to backdate the payments beyond 1 April 2018.
Chiefs discussed if bonus payment should be the exception rather than paid to all. It was suggested
that before a decision was made, national moderation could be used to assist. Chiefs also advocated
a cohesive approach that incorporated wider issues of bonuses and allowances. Francis Habgood
requested each chief could make a provisional decision on their outline approach within six weeks
and then he would run a survey, carry out analysis and give more rounded feedback to chiefs on the
national picture. It was also agreed that an additional question in the survey would be included on
any preference regarding backdating of the payments. He also informed chiefs that at their annual
conference the superintendents had indicated a desire for greater flexibility to work compressed
hours, to receive on-call allowance, and to receive recompense for rest days having been worked
rather than losing them at year-end. He asked chiefs to let him know their views on these points.
On the broader pay and reward framework, Francis Habgood explained the high level approach.
Levels of competence for constables are starting to be defined and modelling is underway looking at
the impact on police officer pay budget at a national level. A more detailed analysis using data from
forces will test the accuracy of the assumptions and modelling, including testing against other
sectors including the ‘P’ factor. He explained that the assumption is that the programme is cost
neutral, subject to anything within the CSR, there is no new funding for this and but individuals will
not see base salary reduce. The new model will require officers to demonstrate additional
competence to increase pay rather than just time served as at present.
Francis Habgood explained there are four different categories of variable pay emerging. These are
geographical location, additional skills, outstanding/unpleasant work, and role-based recognition. He
suggested that there will be salary assessment points linked to entry, apprenticeship, and
foundation constable status. There is likely to be a range at each point dependent on the candidate’s
skills and experience on entry.
Chiefs were grateful for the work carried out to date on their behalf. A number of chiefs raised
fairness as a critical issue, and were reassured by Francis that an equality impact assessment would
be undertaken. It was accepted that breaking the link between time served and reward is the right
thing to do but it presents many practical challenges. The governance over decision-making should
be clear. It was agreed that no decisions were required at this point.
The next steps will be to present to January’s council a more detailed and complete set of
recommendations based on the skill and rank analysis on pay reform for chiefs to agree. The Home
Office is working to model what this will mean in terms of total pay budget and Francis has linked in
with Alex Murray to ensure that the progress of pay reform and the financial impact form a key part
of the spending review submission.
The Chair summarised that chiefs recognised that pay reform was the right course of action but that
implementation was difficult. Chiefs should demonstrate a commitment to maximising the public
investment in policing, and Francis Habgood confirmed that he wished to prioritise expenditure
towards frontline service delivery. It was agreed that a detailed paper would be provided for Council
in January where chiefs would be asked to support our submission to the Police Pay Review Body.
Action: A further detailed paper regarding pay reform to be submitted to Chiefs' Council in January
2019.
21. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The Chair informed Chiefs that this would be Chris Shead's last Council meeting and thanked him for
his hard work in leading NPoCC.
Ian Hopkins encouraged all chiefs to attend or send a chief officer to represent at the joint APCC,
NPCC and College of Policing conference for Policing our Diverse Communities taking place on 22
November 2018. Simon Cole highlighted the next Light the Lakes charity walk would take place on
the 21-23 June 2019 and encouraged participation.
Chiefs were informed that the next National Problem Solving Conference exploring problem solving
and demand reduction initiatives would take place on the 27-29 March 2019.
Francis Habgood updated chiefs on the latest position on pay and reported that the Police
Federation would be applying to judicially review (JR) the decision of the Home Secretary on pay
award. Chiefs agreed not to join this JR and stick to the current position already communicated out.
Dave Thompson sought agreement from chiefs for the provision of £110000 to pay for the post
examining the impact of pension changes. This was agreed.
Ian Dyson announced that the Action Fraud National Intelligence Bureau system will be launched
and go live this weekend. It was reported this system would be far more responsive than the
previous system and forces will be able to access data direct and be able to report into this.
Communication has been sent to all force SPOCs.
Lynne Owens reported that on 31 October the National Economic Crime Centre would go live and
the NCA were collaborating with forces on the launch. The NCA have also secured the first
Unexplained Wealth Order which would significantly help to identify and take action against illicit
finance in the UK.
Mike Cunningham highlighted the next performance of the British Police Symphony Orchestra would
take place on 11 May 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall, London and would be a charity concert and
encouraged all chiefs to attend.
Dee Collins requested opportunity at the January 2019 Council meeting to discuss further the
implications of papers presented at this meeting on pay, finance and budgets and pension issues.
This was agreed by all chiefs.
James Vaughan reported further to the paper at July's Council on the risks related to the
achievement of fingerprint bureau accreditation. He encouraged all forces to maintain progress
towards accreditation and if this cannot be achieved then look towards the nearest accredited lab.
He would be giving evidence on 9 October in the House of Lords on these issues.
The Chair thanked the NPCC team and South Wales Police team for organising and hosting
yesterday's evening dinner at the Principality Stadium and for arranging the Cardiff Choir who were
exceptional. A good amount of money was raised for the charity and thanked Chiefs for supporting.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on 16-17 January 2019.
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Return to Agenda
Date of Council Paper Title Item Number Action Description Action by Date Action Owner Allocated To Status Progress Date Closed
03-Oct-18 Minutes 2 NPCC Team to update the attendance list in the 11-12 July 2018 minutes to reflect
Simon Bailey’s apologies for this meeting.
10-Oct-18 NPCC Team NPCC Team Closed Minutes were amended and re-
published.
06/12/2018
03-Oct-18 Action Log 3 National Police Wellbeing Service - A high level business case for the national
service including costs is being prepared for the January 2019 Council meeting.
14-Dec-18 Andrew Rhodes Andrew Rhodes Open The business case is currently being
constructed which will go to the
Policing Portfolio Board on 14 January,
Mr Cunningham is the SRO. The
approved business case will then be
brought to CCC in April 2019.
03-Oct-18 Action Log 3 Undercover Officer Claims - All chief constables to check their own force’s position
in respect of the payment of overtime to undercover officers.
14-Dec-18 All Chief Constables All Chief Constables Closed Forces have been liaising with CC
Pughsley and a further update was
circulated on ChiefsNet in December
2018.
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 Action Log 3 Briefing on Unison/LSE of Economics Sexual Harassment Survey - Julian Williams
progressing action plan following the report on sexual harassment in the
workplace and this would be presented at the January 2019 Council meeting.
14-Dec-18 Julian Williams Julian Williams Open Initial action plan has been created and
consultation held with staff
associations. As a result of feedback
the plan has been amended and there
is a further meeting to be held in
January with a view to bringing the
completed action plan back before
Council in April.
03-Oct-18 Chair's Update 4.1 Chief Constables Tenure Report - Consolidated report and the latest position after
the 8 October meeting to be circulated on ChiefsNet.
11-Nov-18 NPCC Team NPCC Team Closed Latest position was circulated via
ChiefsNet on the 2 November.
06/12/2018
03-Oct-18 Delivery Plan Q2
2018/19 Update
4.1 Richard Cooper to work with Mike Barton and Simon Bailey to ensure any
emerging product from Crime Coordination Committee is reflected in Police
Transformation Reform Board (PRTB) discussions.
14-Dec-18 Richard Cooper & Mike
Barton
Richard Cooper & Mike
Barton
Open An update would be provided in the
January Council meeting.
03-Oct-18 Delivery Plan Q2
2018/19 Update
4.1 Letter on the future of the non-emergency 101 service to be published on
ChiefsNet.
11-Nov-18 Simon Cole Simon Cole Closed Letter was circulated on ChiefsNet on
the 5 October to all forces.
06/12/2018
Date of Council Paper Title Item Number Action Description Action by Date Action Owner Allocated To Status Progress Date Closed
03-Oct-18 International Policing
Update
4.1 Andy Marsh to link in with Bill Skelly who will coordinate with all forces the
provision of the following information: (1) Mapping of diaspora communities
within force boundaries, (2) Crime types/issues which have an international aspect
to them and represent an increased demand on forces.
14-Dec-18 Andy Marsh & Bill
Skelly
Andy Marsh & Bill
Skelly
Open There is currently a comprehensive
Home Office review on non-operational
international policing taking place, as
such JIPH have agreed it would be
prudent to close this action for now,
with a view to re-instigating it at some
appropriate point in the future when
HMG has made its position clear. The
Demand team reported a high level
paper has been developed that outlines
the potential impact of Brexit on
expected police demand. This includes
but is not confined to specific crime
and disorder categories, the impact of
significant shifts in future austerity on
the public sector and individuals and
the potential demand shift resulting
from legislative changes. This paper will
be presented at the All Forces
Performance Group on 7 January for
views and a final product will be
circulated to Council in the near future.
03-Oct-18 Regional Papers 4..3.4 Adoption of Minimum Standards for 'In Service' Drones Training - Charlie Hall to go
back to West Midlands and North West regions on feedback provided.
11-Nov-18 Charlie Hall Charlie Hall Closed Charlie Hall confirmed he has
responded to the West Midlands and
North West regions feedback.
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 Regional Papers 4.3.5 Electronic Monitoring - The Chair summarised the position of Council by
confirming that the pilot needs to be fully evaluated and costs understood before
rollout. Nick Ephgrave, as Chair of the Criminal Justice Coordination Committee,
will write to the MoJ reflecting the position of Chiefs’ Council.
14-Dec-18 Nick Ephgrave Nick Ephgrave Closed An update paper has been submitted
to the January Council meeting.
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 Regional Papers 4.3.6 Pre-Charge Bail Update - Guidance to be presented at the January 2019 Council
meeting for chiefs’ review.
14-Dec-18 Darren Martland Darren Martland Closed A paper with the guidance will be
submitted to the January Council
meeting.
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 Regional Papers 4.3.8 Royal Mail Protocol - Chiefs agreed the implementation of the protocol - will be
published on ChiefsNet to all forces.
11-Nov-18 Gareth Wilson Gareth Wilson Closed Update circulated via ChiefsNet to all
forces on the 26 November.
06/12/2018
03-Oct-18 Regional Papers 4.3.10 A Pilot Practice Direction for Forced Marriage and FGM Protection Orders - once
the pilot had been completed at the end of January 2019 that a full evaluation
would take place and a paper brought back to Council covering the assessment of
cost and resource implications. Paper to be brought back to the April 2019 Council
meeting.
14-Dec-18 Simon Bailey Simon Bailey Open The proper evaluation of this pilot has
been formally applied for, and the
result of the submission is still
outstanding. A requested 6 months
extension has been made to the
Ministry of Justice. The working group
have also made a bid through the
College of Policing for a formal
evaluation at a later date - call for
practice. Work is progressing.
03-Oct-18 Regional Papers 4.3.11 Information Exchange re Victims of Crime who have No Leave to Remain - Chiefs
supported the paper and will be communicated via ChiefsNet to all forces leads.
11-Nov-18 Shaun Sawyer &
Jeremy Burton
Shaun Sawyer &
Jeremy Burton
Closed Update circulated via ChiefsNet to all
forces on the 26 November.
06/12/2018
Date of Council Paper Title Item Number Action Description Action by Date Action Owner Allocated To Status Progress Date Closed
03-Oct-18 Technology Update -
ESMCP
7 ESMCP - Francis Habgood to share the ESMCP full business with the chiefs’
reference group. In respect of costs and resources, we completed computations to
support this pilot (based on the resources of the VCC and myself), and submitted
these costings as an addendum to our NCOCC paper.
11-Nov-18 Francis Habgood Francis Habgood Closed A draft Full Business Case has been
shared with all police regional
representatives, and latest thinking on
the FBC will be discussed further at the
Chief Constables’ Reference Group on
17 December. Chief Constables will be
updated on the latest FBC at Council on
16/17 January, and asked to take a
position in relation to operational
advice to the Home Office.”
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 Technology Update -
ESMCP
7 ESMCP - Francis Habgood to write to the Permanent Secretary highlighting the
risks described but with clear and detailed reference to the outline full business
case and the evidence that is contained within it.
11-Nov-18 Francis Habgood Francis Habgood Closed Francis Habgood has had further
discussions with Bryan Clark,
Programme Director, and discussions
on how best to respond to the Home
Office in relation to the FBC continue
with Chief Constable colleagues, linked
to Action 1
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 NPCC Finance
Coordination
Committee Update
12 The letter regarding 2019/20, the letter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and
the submission to the Public Accounts Committee from CC Thompson all to be
shared with chiefs.
11-Nov-18 David Thompson David Thompson Closed Letter shared with all Chiefs on the 10
October via ChiefsNet.
09/01/2019
03-Oct-18 NPCC Finance
Coordination
Committee Update
12 The Chair / NPCC Finance Lead to reply to the Minister’s letter regarding the
changes to the public sector pension discount rate.
11-Nov-18 Sara Thornton & David
Thompson
Sara Thornton & David
Thompson
Closed Response sent to the Minister's letter
on the 21 November and 2 January.
09/01/2019
04-Oct-18 Review of Policing
Operations to Support
Visit of POTUS
13 Paper to be brought back to the January 2019 Council meeting on the moderation
and coordination work around multi-force public order and public safety
operations.
14-Dec-18 Chris Shead Chris Shead Closed A paper has been submitted to the
January Council meeting.
09/01/2019
04-Oct-18 Air Support
Operational
Requirement
14 The Chair summarised that the general air support user requirement appears right
but the cost should be considered in a further paper to be brought back to Council
by Dee Collins. Paper to be submitted to the January 2019 Council meeting
providing an assessment of the investment required to meet the air support user
requirement.
14-Dec-18 Dee Collins & Rod
Hansen
Dee Collins & Rod
Hansen
Closed A paper has been submitted to the
January Council meeting.
09/01/2019
04-Oct-18 Resourcing of
Operation Elter
17 Andy Cooke to include both 'core grant distribution' and 'net budget' charging
models within the UCPI and Elter funding requests for January Chief Constables'
Council.
14-Dec-18 Andy Cooke Andy Cooke Closed Papers have been submitted to the
January Council meeting.
09/01/2019
04-Oct-18 Resourcing of
Operation Elter
17 Dave Thompson to bring a summary of the issues relating to the national
distribution of charges from the Finance Coordination Committee to the January
Chief Constables' Council meeting.
14-Dec-18 David Thompson David Thompson Open An update will be provided in the
meeting.
04-Oct-18 Workforce
Transformation
19 Some chiefs had asked for an extension of IPLDP beyond 2020 but it was agreed
that no date would be set at this Council.
A concern was raised on behalf of Mike Griffiths about the loss of officers from the
Civil Nuclear Constabulary into Home Office forces.
Mike Cunningham to review and recirculate existing instructions regarding
movement from non-Home Office forces to Home Office forces.
11-Nov-18 Mike Cunningham Mike Cunningham Open An update will be provided in the
meeting.
04-Oct-18 Pay Reform 21 A further detailed paper regarding pay reform to be submitted to Chiefs’ Council in
January 2019.
14-Dec-18 Francis Habgood Francis Habgood Closed A paper will be submitted to the
January Council meeting.
19/12/2018
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Return to Agenda
Item 4.1 – Chair's Update
Return to Agenda Official - Sensitive
Chief Constables' Council Q3 NPCC 2018/19 Delivery Plan update
16 January 2019 / Agenda Item: 4.1
Security classification: Official - Sensitive Author: Lee Milton – Strategic Planning and Risk Manger Force/organisation: NPCC Date created: 08/01/2019 Attachments @ Paragraph: N/A – Full set of Returns are on ChiefsNet to download
1. PURPOSE
1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide chief constables with an update on third quarter progress against the NPCC 2018/19 Delivery Plan (the Plan). It will also consider risk to delivery of the objectives within the plan, both those that are new and those that have been carried forward from last year.
1.2. Chief constables are asked to note this update and assessment of risk.
1.3. This report will focus on progress (milestones) against objectives, significant issues (by exception) and risk assessment of programme delivery.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1. The Plan was agreed at Chief Constables' Council in April 2018. It is intended to complement national work undertaken by the College of Policing, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Home Office and other law enforcement agencies to ensure a coordinated national response to the challenges faced by policing and wider law enforcement.
2.2. The NPCC Delivery Plan is structured around five ‘reform strands', with 38 overarching objectives, developed to support the delivery of the eight outcomes of the Policing Vision 2025 (the Vision).
2.3. All updates have been provided by operational portfolio leads and been submitted to the NPCC via the coordination committee chairs. These have been collated and are undergoing further analysis by the NPCC central office.
3. Q3 PROGRESS UPDATES
3.1. Within the Plan’s 38 objectives, 317 progress milestones have been set.
3.2. From Q3 updates,
117 (36.9%) milestones have been reported as complete (Q2 - 75 completed milestones, 25.2%).
52 (16.4%) milestones have been reported as overdue, indicating some timeline slippage in 15 (39.5%) of 38 objectives.
1
Official - Sensitive
Of the remaining milestones, 88 (27.8%) have been reported as due for completion in Q4, with 51 milestones (16.1%) set to be completed beyond the end of 2018/19.
9 (2.8%) milestones have been set, but without a target date.
3.3. Significant progress has been made against objective milestones in Q3; however the majority of milestones (200, 63.1%) remain incomplete heading into Q4
1.
4. REVIEW OF DELIVERY STATUS AND RISK TO COMPLETION
4.1. Coordination Committees have reviewed their objectives and provided a status update and an assessment of the overall risk of the objective being achieved within timescales, listed below. Where the risk has been assessed higher than ‘Amber’ additional detail has been provided. It is also noted where the assessed risk has changed from the previous quarter. Where the assessed risk has increased; the primary risks to delivery have been reviewed and included by exception.
4.2. A full report containing significant further detail on each objective is available through ChiefsNet.
4.3. Local Policing (Overview)
Ref. Objective (short heading) Risk to Delivery
1.1
********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
2
Official - Sensitive
1.9
4.4. Specialist Capabilities (Overview)
Ref. Objective (short heading) Risk to Delivery
2.1 ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
4.4.1. ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
4.5. Workforce (Overview)
Ref. Objective (short heading) Risk to Delivery
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3
Official - Sensitive
4.5.1. ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
4.6. Digital Policing (Overview)
Ref. Objective (short heading) Risk to Delivery
4.1 ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4
Official - Sensitive
4.7. National Enablers (Overview)
Ref. Objective (short heading) Risk to Delivery
5.1
********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5
Official - Sensitive
5. FURTHER INFORMATION
5.1. All the returns from the coordination committees will now be subject to analysis by the NPCC Central Office to identify links and themes, ensure consistency of risk reporting standards, and follow up with committee staff officers as necessary.
5.2. In collating Delivery Plan updates for Q3, a number of opportunities have been identified to simplify and improve the effectiveness of the delivery plan update process.
5.3. The NPCC Central Office will look to review the methods of updating progress against the Plan, streamlining returns and reporting, where possible, and providing further guidance and assistance relating to risk assessment.
6. ACTION REQUIRED
6.1. Chief constables are asked to note this update and current assessments of risk.
6.2. Where necessary, additional mitigating action should implemented to best ensure delivery of objectives during 2019/19 Q4.
6.3. NPCC Central Office to review the methods of collecting, collating and reporting the Plans’ quarterly updates and update committees as necessary.
Sara Thornton Chief Constable, NPCC Chair
6
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Return to Agenda
Chief Constables’ Council
Personal Development Review for the Chair of the NPCC
16 January 2019 / Agenda Item: 4.1
Security Classification Papers cannot be accepted without a security classification in compliance with the Government Security Classification (GSC) Policy (Protective Marking has no relevance to FOI):
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE
Freedom of information (FOI)
This document (including attachments and appendices) may be subject to an FOI request and the NPCC FOI Officer & Decision Maker will consult with you on receipt of a request prior to any disclosure.
Author: CC Olivia Pinkney
Force/Organisation: Performance Committee
Date Created: 10/01/2019
Attachments @ para N/A
Information Governance & Security
In compliance with the Government’s Security Policy Framework’s (SPF) mandatory requirements, please ensure any onsite printing is supervised and storage and security of papers are in compliance with the SPF. Dissemination or further distribution of this paper is strictly on a need to know basis and in
compliance with other security controls and legislative obligations. If you require any advice, please contact [email protected]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-policy-framework/hmg-security-policy-framework#risk-management
1. PURPOSE
1.1 The purpose of this paper is to brief Chief Officers on the process undertaken to complete the Chair of the NPCC’s PDR for the period 2017/2018.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 When the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was established in 2015 the legal basis for this body was set out in the section 22A NPCC Collaboration Agreement.
2.2 Schedule 2 of this agreement describes the governance structure for the NPCC as well as the accountability mechanism in relation to the chair.
2.3 The specific intention is that the strategic governance of the activities and outcomes of the NPCC are kept separate from the management and accountability of the chair; the latter being remitted to the Performance Committee.
2.4 The Performance Committee consists of 4 members of the NPCC (Chief Constables Olivia Pinkney, Simon Cole, Dee Collins and ACC Jeremy Vaughan), and an independent member, Carolyn Dhanraj.
3. UPDATE
3.1 At the start of the financial year 2017/2018, the chair of the NPCC with the agreement of the Sub- Committee set out her personal objectives.
3.2 The Performance Committee has received the chair’s personal assessment of her performance against those objectives and has also assessed the chair’s performance.
3.3 The Performance Committee met on 4 December 2018 and confirmed that the Chair had met all of her objectives and agreed a performance rating of Exceptional.
3.4 The Chair has no business interests. All of her expenses, hospitality and media contacts were confirmed to be in order and all are available for public scrutiny on the NPCC website.
4. DECISIONS REQUIRED
4.1 No decision is required.
4.2 Chief Constables are invited to note the above update.
Olivia Pinkney QPM MA Chief Constable, Hampshire Constabulary Chair of the NPCC Performance Committee
National Police Chiefs’ Council
Return to Agenda
National Police Chiefs’ Council
National Police Vetting Update – Contractor Vetting
16 January 2019 / Agenda Item: 4.1
Security Classification Papers cannot be accepted without a security classification in compliance with the Government Security Classification (GSC) Policy (Protective Marking has no relevance to FOI):
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE
Freedom of information (FOI)
This document (including attachments and appendices) may be subject to an FOI request and the NPCC FOI Officer & Decision Maker will consult with you on receipt of a request prior to any disclosure.
Author: CC Martin Jelley
Force/Organisation: Warwickshire Police
Date Created: 10/12/2018
Coordination Committee: Workforce Coordination Committee
Portfolio: Professional Standards & Ethics
Attachments @ para N/A
Information Governance & Security
In compliance with the Government’s Security Policy Framework’s (SPF) mandatory requirements, please ensure any onsite printing is supervised and storage and security of papers are in compliance with the SPF. Dissemination or further distribution of this paper is strictly on a need to know basis and in
compliance with other security controls and legislative obligations. If you require any advice, please contact [email protected]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-policy-framework/hmg-security-policy-framework#risk-management
1. INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE
1.1. The purpose of this paper is to highlight growing demand on National Police Vetting and to make NPCC portfolio leads aware of the need to consider Police Vetting at an early stage when planning new work streams or national projects.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1. The Vetting Code of Practice introduced in October 2017, sets out the vetting standards which are to be applied by police forces in England and Wales. The Code has been developed to help achieve, implement and maintain minimum national standards and ensure those standards are consistently applied across the police service.
2.2. Individuals who are not appointed or employed by the police service, but require unsupervised access to police assets (on site or remote, including information, systems or premises), must comply with the vetting process. Unsupervised access is not granted until vetting clearance has been obtained. This is because the vetting process can uncover information which shows that the individual is unsuitable to serve in, or on behalf of, the police service.
2.3. The National Police Chiefs Council lead for vetting has agreed that Warwickshire Police will vet all national police contractors to a level appropriate to the requirements of APP Vetting, through the National Vetting Contractor Scheme.
2.4. Over the last 12 months, there has been a significant increase in demand through the National Vetting Contractor Scheme, much of which is as a result of new national policing projects.
2
3. ACTION REQUIRED
3.1. In order to avoid undue delay in police business and to ensure clearances are processed in a timely manner, portfolio leads should ensure that vetting is considered at the earliest possible opportunity when commissioning projects where police vetting will be required.
3.2. Specialist advice regarding vetting requirements can be obtained through the National Police Vetting Portfolio or the National Vetting Contractor Scheme.
4. APPROVAL OF THE COORDINATION COMMITTEEE
4.1 This paper was noted by the Workforce Coordination Committee on the 22 November.
5. STATEMENT/DETAILS OF COST OR RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS
5.1 There is no direct cost or resource implications and the extent of any commitments are a matter for individual forces.
4. DECISIONS REQUIRED
4.1. No decisions are required.
4.2. Chief Officers are invited to note the above update and considerations.
Chief Constable Martin Jelley QPM NPCC Lead for Professional Standard and Ethics and Police Vetting
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Chief Constables’ Council
College of Policing – December 2018 – Professional Committee Update
16 January 2019 / Agenda Item: 4.2
Security Classification Papers cannot be accepted without a security classification in compliance with the Government Security Classification (GSC) Policy (Protective Marking has no relevance to FOI):
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE
Freedom of information (FOI)
This document (including attachments and appendices) may be subject to an FOI request and the NPCC FOI Officer & Decision Maker will consult with you on receipt of a request prior to any disclosure.
Author: Harbinder Dhaliwall
Force/Organisation: College of Policing
Date Created: 08/01/2019
Attachments @ para N/A
Information Governance & Security
In compliance with the Government’s Security Policy Framework’s (SPF) mandatory requirements, please ensure any onsite printing is supervised and storage and security of papers are in compliance with the SPF. Dissemination or further distribution of this paper is strictly on a need to know basis and in
compliance with other security controls and legislative obligations. If you require any advice, please contact [email protected]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-policy-framework/hmg-security-policy-framework#risk-management
1. College of Policing update
1.1 This paper provides a summary of discussion and decisions made at the last Professional Committee meeting held on 12 December 2018 and provides a College business update.
2. Professional Committee Update
Priorities for College guideline development (Nerys Thomas)
2.1 The committee were updated on findings of College research looking at ‘perennial problems’ in policing where action is needed to drive improvement for the public across a range of contexts, rather than for a particular crime type or operational area of policing. Committee members supported using a more ‘thematic’ problem based approach to inform priorities for the development of guideline and standard setting activity as well as wider college priorities. The benefits of more ‘system wide’ solutions that go beyond the provision of guidance and training and include a focus on the wider criminal justice process, core investigative doctrine, crime prevention and problem solving.
Workforce transformation implementation support (Simon Nickless)
2.2 The Committee supported the College’s programme of work to assist forces with implementation of workforce priorities outlined in its plan on a page and agreed at Chief Constables’ Council. Phase one of the ongoing ‘enablers’ work provides a range of practical support for first line supervisors and identifies examples of good practice that can be shared across all forces. Opportunities to build in the learning into the Strategic Command Course and inform the development of peer support in this area are also being considered.
Appropriate personal relationships and behaviours in the workplace (Julian Williams)
2 Official []
2.3 The Committee approved a revised version of guidance relating to appropriate personal relationships in the workplace, subject to amendments raised by Committee members. These included a redrafting of section 11 following comments made on reporting responsibilities; and amendments to section nine covering ‘relationships involving tutors, line managers and senior officers’, to clarify the support available to those at the bottom of any power imbalance.
Force Management Statements (Sir Thomas Winsor)
2.4 Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary updated Committee on HMICFRS’s force management
statements process and how it has been used to inform their inspections on efficiency and effectiveness. Force self-assessments are intended to help identify expected demand; changes and improvements forces need to make to best manage demand including workforce reform; and to support efficiency and value for money improvements. Sir Thomas stated that analysis of current statements shows that increasing demand is putting continued strain on policing and that this trend was likely to continue. There was a discussion on data quality and requirements, to allow comparisons to be made and the need for clear analysis to predict future trends and potentially inform future comprehensive spending reviews.
HMICFRS Hate crime report (David Tucker)
2.5 The Committee reviewed and accepted the recommendations made by HMICFRS for the College in its recent inspection report on hate crime. This included updating existing operational guidance by July 2019 rather than the suggested six month time period to enable a full and fundamental review. It was agreed that the College’s existing evidence based training on vulnerability addressed the HMICFRS’ recommendation for separate and specific hate crime training. The committee also supported the view that the College’s work looking at the evidence on risk assessments when responding to the vulnerable and the development of ‘practice guidelines’ in this area satisfied the recommendation for a separate hate crime victim risk assessment.
Early harassment notices (David Tucker)
2.6 The Committee reviewed the College’s position on Early Harassment Notices (EHN) and considered
the new national policing lead’s proposal to abandon the use of Police Information Notices (PINs) and their equivalents and to review the impact of doing so after 12 months. The Committee felt a broader approach to transform how this type of crime is dealt with was required to best understand and develop interventions for tackling minor harassment through to extreme cases of stalking with the most serious of outcomes. The committee agreed to invite the national policing lead, DCC Paul Mills, to the next Professional Committee to discuss the range of measures that could be used to deal with stalking and harassment and ensure a joined up approach. This would enable a more informed decision on stopping any use of PINs.
Authorised Professional Practice on post incident procedures (PIP) to be adopted following a death or serious injury (DSI) subsequent to police contact (Richard Bennett)
2.7 The Committee supported the DSI-PIP Authorised Professional Practice and recommended that the
APP and associated implementation plan was shared as part of regional papers for the next Chief Constables Council to better understand implementation issues, particularly on cost and resourcing. The draft APP reflects the procedural principles of the existing armed policing APP, whilst recognising the operational and contextual differences. The IOPC’s ‘Draft statutory guidance for the police service on achieving best evidence in DSI matters’ is largely consistent with the DSI-PIP APP, where a key sticking point had previously been around the separation of witnesses. Committee felt the rationale for not viewing body worn video before making an initial account needed to be spelt out and that greater proportionality was needed given the innate differences with firearms incidents, as well as the differences in numbers of occurrence.
National Police Chiefs’ Council
3 Official []
Operation Hydrant Advice (David Tucker)
2.8 The Committee approved the Operation Hydrant Advice document for public consultation subject to
the College clarifying the position on belief and decisions to investigate allegations of crime where the suspects are deceased. The need to be mindful of ongoing legal proceedings in the scheduling of the public consultation was recognised.
Neighbourhood policing guidelines (Richard Bennett)
2.9 The Committee noted the update on the publication of the neighbourhood policing guidelines and
supporting work with the national policing lead to implement the guidelines.
College Business & CDG Update (Mike Cunningham)
2.10 Members noted the update on current College business and decisions from its Coordination and
Development Group.
Chief Constables’ Council Update (Sara Thornton)
2.11 Members noted the update from the October Chief Constables’ Council meeting
3. College Business Update
3.1 The update below provides an overview of the College’s work. It is not an exhaustive list, but is intended to highlight the breadth and range of current activity across the College.
3.2 The College has been asked to provide relevant guidance and other appropriate material to the
Coroner leading the inquest following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
Crime and Criminal Justice
3.3 The public protection and safeguarding leaders’ learning programme will share initial learning in early 2019. The College is seeking volunteer forces to take forward learning within the licence to practise model. Extending the model to other areas is also being explored and could include senior investigating officers (SIOs).
3.4 Phase 1 of the CJ Review on disclosure is near completion. A training gap analysis report has been published. Two events to support force disclosure champions in their roles have been undertaken, further are planned. The CJ review project will be moving into its next phase looking at victims and witnesses.
3.5 Five forces will be trialling the new first responder Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment process as a
replacement for DASH. The pilots in three BCUs indicated that officers preferred the new tool and that it was better at encouraging disclosure of coercive control. The project will support testing of the new tool and will seek more forces to join the test if it proves to be more effective as a risk assessment tool across the larger and more diverse populations.
Uniformed Policing
3.6 The College Public Order and Public Safety (POPS) team were asked by Police Scotland to look at
POPS training, accreditation and CPD in Scotland as part of a wider review of event policing. The POPS team are working with the review lead to document the results.
3.7 The College’s plan to carry out qualitative research on the role of sergeants has received wide ranging stakeholder support and fieldwork has been completed in the first of five sample forces.
National Police Chiefs’ Council
4 Official []
College researchers supporting the NPCC lead on Use-of-force have finished preliminary work on the national data from 30 forces which has been cleaned and shared with academics for analysis. The College is working with Bedfordshire to design and pilot a College-developed one-day de-escalation training package in support of the safer resolution guidelines.
3.8 The College has been working with the NPCC Lead for Mental Health, CC Collins (Dyfed-Powys), who
has recently written to all Chief Constables to highlight the advice in relation to movement of people from police cells to health based places of safety. In January 2019 the College will facilitate a discussion on the benefits of street triage taking into account the various operational models across forces. Chief Inspector Michael Brown, will also be working to produce guidance for forces on the use of restraint in health settings.
3.9 Following a series of events held by DCC Adrian Hanstock, the College will be looking to share Stop and
Search best practice from forces that have seen improvements in disproportionality rates and maintained effectiveness in the use of the power.
Professional Development, Integrity & Organisational Development
3.10 A Leadership Review Progress Summary report was presented to the Workforce Transformation
Group in September. A gap analysis will be carried out to establish what further action needs to be taken against the original aims of the Leadership Review recommendations.
Education and Professional Development
3.11 Dates for the production of the Interim and Final Day One Evaluation Reports have been revised to
February 2019 and October 2019 respectively to allow data from more pilot forces to be included in the Reports.
3.12 The first Role Profile Review and Maintenance Panel was held on 4th October and 57 profiles were reviewed. PDR for Special Constables Pilot started in October and initially began with 6 forces and others may join the pilot at a later date.
Knowledge, Research & Practice
3.13 The College continues to work with NPCC colleagues on the Vulnerability and Violent Crime
Programme. Over 100 interventions were submitted to our initial call for practice and 15 interventions were shortlisted for further consideration by our programme board in October. We are working with forces to progress selected interventions in preparation for future independent evaluation.
3.14 The College has recently published a Policing Evaluation Toolkit. The toolkit brings together
evaluation design and implementation strategies that can be used by practitioners and researchers alike to ensure evaluations are designed in such a way that strong statements of causal impact can be made. The toolkit was developed with support from the Police Transformation Fund and has APCC and NPCC support.
4. DECISIONS REQUIRED
4.1 Council members are invited to note the outcomes and decisions arising from the College’s December 2018 Professional Committee meeting and the update on the College’s work.
Chief Constable Mike Cunningham CEO College of Policing
National Police Chiefs’ Council
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National Police Chiefs’ Council
Police Dogs Working Group Update
16 January 2019 / Agenda Item: Regional
Security Classification Papers cannot be accepted without a security classification in compliance with the Government Security Classification (GSC) Policy (Protective Marking has no relevance to FOI):
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE
Freedom of information (FOI)
This document (including attachments and appendices) may be subject to an FOI request and the NPCC FOI Officer & Decision Maker will consult with you on receipt of a request prior to any disclosure.
Author: CC Rod Hansen
Force/Organisation: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Date Created: 13/12/2018
Coordination Committee: Operations Coordination Committee
Portfolio: Conflict Management Portfolio
Attachments @ para Apps 1, 1a and 1b
Information Governance & Security
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1. PURPOSE
1.1 This paper seeks to provide an update to members on the current structures, issues and developments within the provision of dog policing services.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 Dog Policing (with the exception of dangerous dogs) is a constituent part of the NPCC Conflict Management, Public Order and Public Safety Portfolio reporting to the NPCC Operations Coordination Committee.
2.2 Dog Capabilities are delivered through the deployment of General Purpose, Specialist Policing and Counter Terrorism Support Dogs. A breakdown of national capability is set out at appendix 1, 1a and 1b.
2.3 General Purpose Dogs, mostly German/Belgian Shepherds, Dutch Herders and Rottweilers provide the
following capabilities:
searching for vulnerable people, preserving life and preventing serious harm, with the benefit of being able to search large and challenging areas
public order tactical option, such as football matches, protests and large scale disorder
searching for property and offenders, bringing offenders to justice at the earliest opportunity, reducing victimisation and deterring criminality
support to firearms operations, minimising risks to the public and suspects whilst maximising the safety of those involved in dealing with incidents
dealing with non-compliant people, through the ability for passive attack.
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2.4 Specialist Police Dogs, primarily gun dog breeds (Springer Spaniels, Labradors, and Cocker Spaniels) provide a variety of capabilities grouped as follows:
counter terrorism – detection of explosives and ancillary items, dealing with suspect devices and defensive/responsive searching, including body screening for explosives
forensic support – including victim recovery, scene identification, screening of clothing, blood and seminal fluid detection; this early screening supports faster identification, targeted activity and reduced costs
organised crime - drug detection, USB stick, cash and weapons (firearms) recognition
night time economy – wide area screening, passive search.
2.5 CTSFO support dogs (MPS only) are German or Belgian Shepherds. They have a particular range of capabilities appropriate to the CTSFO role.
2.6 Dog Capacity and Capabilities; dog policing across England, Wales and Scotland is delivered through force
structures, either alone or in collaboration with other forces. As of 1 October, there are 1236 general purpose dogs and 837 specialist police dogs distributed as shown below:
The charts below show the breakdown of capabilities for General Purpose and Specialist Dogs assets held by forces:
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2.7 ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
2.8 ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
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2.9 Dangerous Dog Control
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2.10 National Canine Training and Accreditation Scheme
The National Canine Training and Accreditation Scheme (NCTAS) has just been formally approved. This initiative is Home Office led focussed on improving the interoperability and effectiveness across the police, military and private sectors in using dog assets through all parties working to a single set of guidelines. The first section introduced is the Explosive Detection Dogs Search Module with other areas under development. The structure is very thorough and will be phased in over the next 12 months so forces can get used to operating under this new system. Implementation will allow greater quality assurance over performance and interoperability.
2.11 Laser Targeting Explosive Detection Dog
To assist with an enhanced firearms response during an MTFA incident, this tactic provides the ability to target a specific object/ person, limit the time and exposure of a police dog team in a hostile environment and provide a higher level of reassurance for a progressing firearms team. The dog is trained to rapidly deploy to a given point, clear it and return to eliminate the threat. This tactic has been developed specifically in respect of warm zones to minimise risk and neutralise any threat in quick time. A paper is being prepared to highlight this capability with a view to enhance further understanding by firearms teams.
3. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
3.1 Police dogs and their handlers have built a significant following on social media for their units (e.g. West Midlands Dogs Twitter account has over 21,900 followers) and individually (e.g. PD Stella the Staffie has over 13,100 followers). Police dogs feature in several high profile public events including:
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Crufts - running over 3 days in March each year, it includes an award for the Operational and Humanitarian Action of the Year, presented on live television just before the Best in Show Award (viewed by an estimated 2.5 million people)
National Police Dog Trials – the trials will be hosted in 2019 by Gwent Police and comprise 3 separate activities: (a) Tracking & Property Search; (b) Person Search; (c) Obedience, agility and Criminal work. The event is heavily sponsored and highly regarded.
3.2 Notable media articles in recent months include:
‘Hero Manchester Arena police dog Mojo awarded animal OBE’ - following the Manchester Arena bomb, PD Mojo worked through the night to search the Arena and the adjoining Victoria train station for explosives. PD Mojo and his handler Police Constable Phil Healy cleared the ground of discarded rucksacks/ bags in order to allow AFOs to search and secure. PD Mojo suffered from PTSD and retired soon afterwards. PD Mojo received the PDSA Order of Merit and the National Police Dog Action of the Year Award
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3.3 National K9 Memorial - ‘Courage without Ferocity’ - The National K9 Memorial is being established in Chelmsford, Essex. It is the first memorial of its type in the UK, recognising the service and sacrifice of police dogs to the maintenance of law and order. The Bronze sculpture will be unveiled by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner on 12 April 2019.
4. SHARED LEARNING
4.1 ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
4.2 I********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
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risk management - the risks involved in purchasing adult dogs
record keeping - the importance of comprehensive record keeping (dogs, handlers)
animal welfare – the use of technology to improve monitoring of animal health
4.3 The National Dog Working Group has commissioned a review of the national training structure and the regional school status (accreditation, training syllabus, operating processes).
Victim Recovery Dogs
4.4 Work has been progressing with the Human Tissue Authority regarding the use of human tissue for training purposes. It has now been confirmed that there are no legal issues and the Home Office are now progressing further;
looking at DSTL trials with human tissue – training to establish whether the capability is any different to dogs trained on pig tissues
research shows that pig decomposition odour is very different to humans and therefore the results could potentially be significantly different
work on live donors, subject to 2019/ 20 Home Office funding, including DSTL providing written guidance around the safe handling, storage and disposal
local interaction with NHS Trusts with due consideration around ethical consent.
5. NPCC SUPPORT REQUESTED
5.1 The Dog Policing Manual of Guidance was developed in 2011 as a first attempt to draw together the various curricula and lesson plans in use in order to standardise the national approach to dog training and operational deployment. There is now the opportunity to work with the College of Policing to develop this into Dog Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP).
5.2 If you require further information do not hesitate to contact me or the national secretary of the national
Police Dog Working Group, James Larner: ********S31(1)(a)(b)*********
6. APPROVAL OF THE COORDINATION COMMITTEEE
6.1 This paper was agreed by the Operations Coordination Committee on the 29 November 2018.
7. DECISIONS REQUIRED
7.1 Chiefs are requested to note the update and agree the support requested.
Rod Hansen MBA, MSc (Hons), Dip Appl Crim Chief Constable, Gloucestershire Constabulary NPCC Lead for Police Dogs Working Group
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National Police Chiefs’ Council
Mounted Policing Working Group Update
16 January 2019 / Agenda Item: Regional
Security Classification Papers cannot be accepted without a security classification in compliance with the Government Security Classification (GSC) Policy (Protective Marking has no relevance to FOI):
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE
Freedom of information (FOI)
This document (including attachments and appendices) may be subject to an FOI request and the NPCC FOI Officer & Decision Maker will consult with you on receipt of a request prior to any disclosure.
Author: CC Rod Hansen
Force/Organisation: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Date Created: 19/11/2018
Coordination Committee: Operations Coordination Committee
Portfolio: Conflict Management Portfolio
Attachments @ para Information Governance & Security
In compliance with the Government’s Security Policy Framework’s (SPF) mandatory requirements, please ensure any onsite printing is supervised and storage and security of papers are in compliance with the SPF. Dissemination or further distribution of this paper is strictly on a need to know basis and in
compliance with other security controls and legislative obligations. If you require any advice, please contact [email protected]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-policy-framework/hmg-security-policy-framework#risk-management
1. PURPOSE
1.1 This paper seeks to provide an update to members on the current structures, issues and developments within Mounted Policing.
1.2 Mounted policing is a constituent part of the NPCC Conflict Management, Public Order and Public Safety Portfolio (NPOPS), reporting into the NPCC Operations Coordination Committee.
2. NATIONAL MOUNTED STRUCTURE AND CAPABILITY
2.1 Mounted policing across England, Wales and Scotland is delivered through a network of 13 force-based mounted units, ranging in size from the Metropolitan Police (110 horses) to Gloucestershire (4 horses), and including Greater Manchester, Lancashire, City of London, Avon and Somerset, West Yorkshire, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Merseyside, Northumbria, Thames Valley and Police Scotland (set out in graphical form at appendix 1).
2.2 The table below shows the total number of staff and horses across the 13 units and the variation over recent years:
2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Officers 359 265 266 271 262 225
Staff 134 91 98 91 54 56
Horses 318 243 252 240 248 242
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2.3 Mounted Officers provide unique capabilities, the main three (as highlighted in the University of Oxford and RAND research paper ‘Making and Breaking Barriers, the True Value of Mounted Policing’), being:
Non-confrontational close protection particularly for addressing latent CT threats at high profile events. This was particularly evident during the royal wedding in Windsor where mounted officers flanked the royal carriage throughout its public journey along crowded streets.
Open area search and security, including deployment into arduous environments, such as flooded areas or uneven terrain (or wooded areas) which are inaccessible to vehicles or closed to aviation due to inclement weather.
Enhanced public engagement with research evidencing that mounted officers are significantly (estimated at 6x) more likely to be approached by the public than any other form of police activity. This level of engagement can be particularly effective during public order, where mounted staff can facilitate crowd management and support commanders through enhanced observation.
2.4 In addition, mounted policing supports the daily policing effort through:
Crime operations – a key part of force response to crime issues, such as moped and gang based violence, targeting volume crime /problem areas, ASB and knife crime hot spots. In addition to providing a significant street presence to catch/deter offenders and reassure residents, it has been noted that the approachability of mounted policing is a particular asset in intelligence gathering. Locations of drugs and weapon caches have been identified through members of the public notifying mounted officers about crime related hiding places that were previously unknown to local officers
Criminal justice – a programme of visits to stables for ‘disenchanted victims of crime’ has been established, leading to increases in (or re-establishing) confidence in policing from those who have suffered the personal impact of crime and increased vulnerability
Finance - cost savings have been realised through mounted officers being used instead of beat officers at events or routine deployments (e.g. night time economy).
International – mounted policing in the UK continues to hold the respect of police forces around the world, with recent requests for support including from Qatar to build mounted capability for the FIFA 2022 World Cup, exchanges with officers from Poland and approaches from Denmark and Austria wishing to create their own units. In addition, the demand for mounted courses from other countries, particularly to qualify as an Instructor, attest to the international value of UK mounted policing.
Local policing – mounted staff across the country are daily involved in policing communities through directed activity, educational inputs and visits, reassurance patrols and targeting ASB hotspots
Counter Terrorism – mounted police assets are a key part of ceremonial operations, ‘owning the policing footprint’ from the outset due to their imposing presence and using height advantage to monitor people attending for suspicious behaviour, such as through applying Operation Servitor principles. In addition, police horses regularly provide reassurance and deter offending around transport hubs, concert venues, crowded and iconic sights
Welfare - equine therapy has been used as a therapeutic tool to support PTSD affected officers and staff; initial results show this approach has delivered a positive impact on those involved, reducing the recovery period and allowing them to return to work earlier than would normally be expected. In a similar vein, a mounted officer (GMP) attended a vulnerable male at risk of suicide on a motorway bridge who was persuaded to safety by his desire to meet the police horse. A number of forces work with voluntary and third sector providers to make use of police assets (when not on patrol) for assisted learning with vulnerable groups such as children close to exclusion from school, and vulnerable adults
Public order – in addition to deploying on horseback, staff from mounted units regularly act on foot (e.g. as Football Liaison Officers) or as public order tactical advisers
Road Safety – mounted units participate in a number of road safety initiatives, including Operation Considerate (educating drivers on vulnerable road users) and Operation Lose the Blinkers (Police Scotland initiative using riders to address inconsiderate and dangerous driving).
3. MEDIA
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3.1 Mounted officers have built a significant following on social media – for example West Yorkshire Police Horses Twitter account has over 21,700 followers. News reports have focussed on the role of mounted capability at various events including Royal Ascot, the Royal Wedding, demonstrations (Million Mask March) and Trooping The Colour as well as local initiatives linked with NPCC campaigns in conjunction with roads policing and the British Horse Society.
4. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT – THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE EXPERIENCE
4.1 In 2016 Gloucester Constabulary established a new mounted unit as a result of the University of Oxford/Rand study that evidenced a 10% advantage in community confidence delivered by a mounted officer over other policing approaches. Initially using 2 horses this has been increased to 4 mounts, with their primary role being to support neighbourhood policing. An assessment of the unit has shown an increase in community confidence and reassurance, with cost savings delivered through their deployment into the night time economy in Gloucester and Cheltenham, thereby reducing the need for (and the costs of) foot based resources. A large sponsorship event is planned for January 2019 to attract sufficient funds to create a similar sized unit, dedicated to policing rural areas.
5. MOUNTED ADVICE TO FORCES AND DEVELOPING WORK ONGOING
5.1 A suite of guidance has been developed by mounted units to assist forces, including a framework for deploying Special Constables, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Police Support Volunteers on privately owned horses in rural areas and a guide for the training of senior officers on police horses for ceremonial and accompanied patrol duties
5.2 Mounted policing continues to develop in order to meet the organisation needs and actively seeks opportunities to enhance service to the public. Each of the 13 mounted units are represented on the Mounted Working Group which coordinates development work nationally. Current work ongoing includes:
Mutual aid provision – ensuring the network can meet all national requirements via NPoCC
Performance framework to identify best practice in mounted policing and demonstrate value for money
Collaboration with the British Horse Society (BHS) to accredit policing training standards, offering additional career pathways in and out of the service.
6. NPCC SUPPORT REQUESTED
6.1 The Mounted Policing Manual of Guidance was developed by the Mounted Working Group in 2012, followed by the Standard Equitation Certificate (SEC) Trainers’ Guide in 2015. This, for the first time, drew together the various curricula used by forces in order to standardise the national approach to mounted training. There is now the opportunity to work with the College of Policing to develop this into the National Police Curriculum as Mounted Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP). Support from the College is forthcoming. If you require further information do not hesitate to contact me or the national secretary of the national Mounted Working Group, James Larner: [email protected]
7. APPROVAL OF THE COORDINATION COMMITTEEE
7.1 This paper was agreed by the Operations Coordination Committee on the 29 November 2018.
8. DECISIONS REQUIRED
8.1 Chiefs are requested to note the update and agree the support requested.
Rod Hansen MBA, MSc (Hons), Dip Appl Crim Chief Constable, Gloucestershire Constabulary NPCC Lead for Police Dogs Working Group
Appendix 1
Mounted Units – Location by force
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