Memorandum submitted by the Metropolitan
Police Service and the Metropolitan Police Authority
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
London policing has received substantial investment
in recent years. Staffing levels within the Metropolitan Police
Service (MPS) have increased and real improvements made in tackling
crime. But the forward financial and policing landscape is challenging.
The MPS and the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) are addressing
this strategic challenge but need to work with Government, the
Mayor and other key partners to do so effectively.
INVESTMENT
1. The MPS and MPA recognise and welcome
the substantial investment in London policing, including increases
in funding from central Government grant and the GLA precept (the
latter now standing at £649 million for 2007-08). Our budget
now stands at £3.3 billion for 2007-08—up from £1.8
billion in 2000-01.
ACHIEVEMENTS
2. Set against this investment, we have
made real gains in tackling crime. Overall crime in London has
reduced by 9.2% over the past two years, a drop of nearly 100,000
offences. And the number of crimes being detected has risen for
the fifth consecutive year, to just over 21%. Criminals are now
seven times more likely to have their assets seized than five
years ago. And public trust and confidence in the MPS is increasing.
We are conscious that delivering national improvements in reducing
crime is dependent on London's continuing success.
3. MPS staffing has increased. At the end
of March 2007, police officer numbers had risen to 31,075; there
were 3,682 police community support officers providing a visible
presence across London; and 13,980 police staff playing vital
roles including, for example, forensic and intelligence analysis.
Our success in reducing crime is down to a collective effort by
the whole workforce.
4. We have introduced Safer Neighbourhoods
teams across London with a team in every ward now, and larger
teams in 87 wards by July. We have also worked innovatively with
our partners. With the help of funding from Transport for London
for example, we are introducing new Safer Transport teams to 21
areas this year and have driven the Kickz Football Project, a
national social inclusion and youth diversion programme, working
jointly with the main football bodies.
5. Our improving performance has been driven
not only by additional investment but by the integrated nature
of the services the MPS provides. Londoners want safer neighbourhoods;
they want their police service to deal with major crimes; and
they want effective counter terrorist policing. So the way we
operate—and the resources which underpin it—must reflect
this "seamless" approach.
6. We fully recognise our responsibility
of making the most efficient use possible of tax-payers money.
In the last three years, we have made savings totalling some £203
million with plans to achieve a further £95 million in 2007-08.
CHALLENGES
7. Given the financial settlement for the
Home Office for 2008-09 to 2010-11 and our anticipation of the
likely GLA precept, current projections indicate that the MPS
is facing a very significant strategic funding challenge for 2008-11.
8. Against this, we have several significant
policing challenges including:
— further reducing crime, increasing
people's satisfaction with the service we provide and bringing
more offenders to justice (recognising particular challenges around
combating robbery and violent crime—especially youth violence);
continuing to combat the real and direct threat to London and
the UK from international and home-based terrorism; and tackling
the evolving threat from serious and organised crime in and around
London (in the first four months of 2007 alone for example, we
have dealt with 22 kidnaps). Our drive for a more "citizen
focused" service is crucial to our approach in all this;
— addressing the significant financial/technical
challenges new technologies pose for our covert policing and intelligence
gathering capability;
— policing more large-scale public
events in the capital given London's growing position as a world
city and economic, financial and cultural hub (the re-opening
of Wembley Stadium alone means an extra 30 large scale events
per year). We are also, of course, preparing now to deliver safely
the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games;
— doing all the above whilst pursuing
major reform programmes within the organisation—such as
improving our intelligence and covert policing functions and revamping
our 999 system—to give London a more efficient and accessible
police service.
WHAT MPS/MPA ARE
DOING
9. We are examining a range of options to
address the strategic financial challenge of delivering a balanced
budget in a very tight resource environment in 2008-09 and beyond
whilst delivering sustainable improvements to the policing service
Londoners receive. We have developed some new budget principles
which stress: better alignment of resources with our strategic
priorities; improving outcomes and minimising the unit cost of
delivery; and the protection of public facing services. We will
have to take some difficult decisions about where our money goes—particularly
since some of our grant money is, effectively, "ring fenced"
for specified uses over which we have little flexibility; and
the fact that around 80% of our budget relates to workforce costs.
10. Productivity is central to our approach.
Recognising the importance of strategic partnerships, we have
brought together a group of senior figures from the MPS, MPA,
Home Office, HM Treasury, HMIC and the National Policing Improvement
Agency under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner to assist
us. We are focusing on a wide range of process reviews; exploring
what further savings can be made within our modernisation programme;
undertaking a thorough review of our corporate overheads; considering
opportunities for savings from outsourcing and in the area of
sustainable development; and placing more focus on benefits realisation.
WHAT WE
WOULD LIKE
TO SEE
FROM GOVERNMENT
11. All major political parties have now
suggested that they accept policing should be measured by outcomes,
rather than by a simple focus on officer numbers. We would like
to see this approach embedded in the debate around policing so
that the focus going forward is on performance, visibility and
accessibility, not just staffing.
12. We are already fully engaged in contributing
to the review of policing being carried out by Sir Ronnie Flanagan
and welcome the stress on managing resources and reducing bureaucracy
in a way which will really make a difference.
13. We would, however, like to see Government:
— look seriously at the definition
and funding of the national, international and capital city dimensions
of the MPS's responsibilities. We estimate that in 2005-06, the
commitment of MPS resources to these functions appears to have
exceeded income by some £156 million;
— look at further relaxing the
strictures and rigidity around some funding—in terms of
"ring fences" and specific grants—to provide local
flexibility on how money is spent;
— transparently fund activities
required by Government eg Dedicated Security Posts;
— really delivering on the stated
ambition to rebalance the relationship between Government and
delivery partners with genuine freedom for managers to manage
and local flexibility for delivering improved outcomes;
— having an overall performance
regime which has robust directional targets rather than rigid,
over-prescriptive ones; and
— instituting a new PSA framework
which reinforces the above positions.
8 May 2007
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