Memorandum submitted by Association of
Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
1.1 The Police Service has a strong record
of CT delivery and a clear plan to build on this success by establishing
a co-ordinating infrastructure that will ensure that the best
and broadest use of national and local assets is secured.
1.2 This operational intention is echoed
and confirmed at the strategic level—for example, ACPO's
National CT Co-ordinators have been realigned from functional
roles to reflect the CONTEST themes directly so that the service
may benefit from comprehensive strategic coverage contiguous with
the UK's overarching CT Strategy.
1.3. These significant changes are already
in the process of realisation and beginning to yield dividends—a
number of initiatives across the relevant CONTEST themes are highlighted
below.
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 This note is provided to support the
appearance of Robert F. Quick QPM before the Sub-committee. As
Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations in the Metropolitan
Police Service (MPS) and head of the Association of Chief Police
Officers' Terrorism and Allied Matters Business Area, Mr Quick
is uniquely well-placed to represent the police service on matters
relevant to counter-terrorism.
2.2 It may also be helpful to provide an
outline introduction to a number of terms used regularly within
the below submission:
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
The Association of Chief Police Officers is an
independent, professionally led strategic body. In the public
interest and, in equal and active partnership with Government
and the Association of Police Authorities, ACPO leads and co-ordinates
the direction and development of the police service in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland. In times of national need ACPO, on
behalf of all chief officers, coordinates the strategic policing
response.
ACPO's 341 members are police officers of Assistant
Chief Constable rank and above, and senior police staff managers,
in the 44 forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and other
forces such as British Transport Police and States of Jersey Police.
The ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters Business
Area (ACPO (TAM))
ACPO is comprised of a number of Business Areas
that in aggregate provide oversight and direction across the breadth
of policing themes.
The Terrorism and Allied Matters Business Area,
ACPO (TAM), leads the development of the capability and supporting
infrastructure within the police service to reduce the risk to
the UK and its interests overseas from the threat of terrorism
and domestic extremism.
Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU)
CTUs are regionally located national assets whose
personnel support the forces in their region (and beyond) in respect
of counter-terrorism (CT) and Domestic Extremism (DE). These substantial
Units are comprised of staff drawn from a number of disciplines
including highly skilled detectives, community contact teams,
financial investigators, intelligence analysts and high tech investigators.
The CTUs are largely "self-sufficient"
and can effectively co-ordinate "routine" enquiries
and operations without compromising the commitment of local forces
to day to day policing.
Counter Terrorism Command (CTC)
This Metropolitan Police Unit resulted from the
merger of the MPS Anti-terrorist Branch and Special Branch in
2006. In effect, the CTC mirrors CTU functionality, but has additional
capacity and capabilities to enable the Metropolitan Police Service
to discharge its particular local, national and international
CT responsibilities.
Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit (CTIU)
While still substantial, these regionally located
national assets are smaller in scale than the CTUs and are focussed
upon the development of CT intelligence rather than the investigation
of relevant offences.
ACPO Counter Terrorism Network
The CT Units outlined above represent the core
of the "ACPO CT Network"—each of the nine ACPO
regions across England and Wales is host either to a CTU (three
regions, soon to be four once the conversion of the South East
CTIU to CTU status is complete) or a CTIU (five regions, soon
to be four through the conversion of the S.E. Unit), while the
London region is covered by the CTC. The Units are coordinated
nationally and managed locally by a "lead force".
The ACPO CT Network and the wider police service
undertake the work to prevent and counter terrorism in full and
active partnership with communities and a range of other partners
including the Security Service, local authorities and CT policing
structures in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
2.3 The remainder of this submission offers
a brief rehearsal of current and anticipated developments in the
police service's approach to Counter Terrorism, both in general
and in respect of the CONTEST themes that the Sub-committee has
indicated will be the focus of its Inquiry.
3. CONTEXT AND
OVERVIEW
Delivery of Capacity
3.1 Historically, the great majority of
the police service's CT personnel, experience and resources have
been located within the MPS. In the last two years, there has
been a considerable development of the resource base within and
outside the capital. For example, the establishment of the CTU
and CTIUs has resulted in the recruitment of more than 1,000 officers
and staff. Taking the CTC into account, the core "ACPO CT
Network" is currently comprised of more than 3,000 personnel.
3.2 In addition, the service was able to
realise these crucial resource increases significantly ahead of
schedule.
Current Developments
3.3 As identified in part by the "Co-ordinating
Pursue" report produced by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of
Constabulary in 2008, the challenge for ACPO (TAM) and the police
service more widely is to ensure that the increase in CT resources
yields as full and broad an increase in capability as practicable.
3.4 In October 2008, ACPO (TAM) provided
a paper making a number of wide-ranging and significant proposals
for the development of the ACPO CT Network to Chief Constables
Council, the police service's "premier" executive decision-making
body, whose membership includes the Chief Constable of each force
in England and Wales. Council unequivocally endorsed TAM's proposals
and this has provided a strong mandate for implementation.
3.5 In essence, the proposals seek to build
on the successful establishment of the CTC, CTUs and CTIUs in
order to draw together and fully "activate" a responsive
CT policing Network that effectively connects endeavour across
England and Wales (and the wider UK) in a way which is consonant
with the core values and "constitution" of policing.
3.6 In particular, the proposals cover the
following broad areas:
Invigorated Co-ordination and Collaboration
— The role of the National Co-ordinator
Terrorism Investigations (NCTI) should be reframed to include
an imperative to maintain a comprehensive overview of, and as
necessary co-ordinate, significant operational CT activity across
England and Wales.
In recognition of this broadening of role and
remit, the post should be re-designated "Senior National
Co-ordinator (Counter Terrorism)" (SNC (CT)).
— The creation of an ACPO CT Co-ordination
Centre (from within existing resources) to assist the SNC (CT)'s
work of day-to-day co-ordination by maintaining a comprehensive
and current overview of relevant CT demands and corresponding
activity.
In addition, the Centre will facilitate a collaborative
approach to tasking and co-ordination at the national and regional
levels across a wider tranche of priority intelligence/investigative
work than at present and where relevant, provide for the co-ordinated
progression of policing activity across the breadth of the CONTEST
themes.
— Formally defining and, as a result
strengthening, the relationship between Forces, CTU/CTIUs and
national-level CT structures in order to ensure that each Force
and in particular, each Special Branch unit, should take its place
as an essential constituent within a fully "activated"
and responsive police CT Network.
Ensuring effective Strategic "fit" and
oversight
— Re-shaping the roles of the ACPO
(TAM) Assistant Chief Constable ranked National Co-ordinators
from a functional to a thematic basis that accords with the CONTEST
strands of PURSUE, PROTECT, PREPARE and PREVENT to ensure that
the police service benefits from comprehensive strategic coverage
and leadership contiguous with the UK's overarching CT Strategy.
For example, the functionally designated "National
Co-ordinator Ports Policing" has become the "National
Co-ordinator PROTECT".
— Development of an ACPO (TAM) Business
Improvement Unit to build and bolster business planning as well
as "internal" police service performance monitoring
and management.
3.7 Work is ongoing to deliver these and
other key changes in a phased way that will accrete functionality
rapidly and incrementally. For example, the ACPO CT Co-ordination
Centre is entering delivery via a "proof of concept"
phase; the principles for defining the relationship between the
regional CT units and local forces have been determined and in
addition, relevant National Co-ordinators are establishing their
revised, CONTEST-based portfolios and are working to define their
future programmes.
3.8 In essence, the programme of change
that is now underway is designed to achieve a more fully co-ordinated
future for the Network of CT policing resources that will deliver
enhanced coherence at national, regional and local levels and
so enable the police service and its key operational partners
to meet relevant threats in a fully joined up way that is consistent
with the current and emergent CONTEST Strategy.
3.9 This wider work underpins and facilitates
that being undertaken by the police service in respect of the
individual CONTEST themes and those themes of particular interest
to the Sub-committee are briefly reviewed below.
4. "PURSUE"
4.1 Recognising the police service's need
to enhance its capability at the earliest opportunity, ACPO (TAM)
re-evaluated its budget planning and delivered the CTU and CTIU
units in 2008, a year ahead of schedule.
4.2 This resulted in the early delivery
of key capability and capacity in respect of CT investigations
and corollary enhancements in the management of information/intelligence.
4.3 In summary, the number of police officers
and staff dedicated to CT work across the service has risen by
more than a third since October 2006 and a very broad indication
of the success of subsequent police CT activity is given by a
range of statistics including the comparatively high 83% conviction
rate in respect of relevant offences that was achieved in 2008.
4.4 It has proved particularly important
that the CTC/CTU/CTIU units include embedded Security Service
(SyS) personnel as this allows for the collation of the most complete
depiction of the threat and vulnerability within each region and
in turn facilitates optimal management of the risk by police,
SyS and other partners.
4.5 In respect of enhanced working with
local partners, ACPO (TAM) has recently been instrumental in producing
national guidance to assist the appropriate sharing of sensitive
material between the CT community and key agencies such as local
authorities to assist in preventing people from becoming terrorists
or supporting violent extremism—work to enhance the synergy
between PURSUE and PREVENT is a particular focus for the respective
National Co-ordinators.
5. "PROTECT"
5.1 A number of key themes are briefly rehearsed
below.
Crowded places
5.2 The National Counter Terrorism Security
Office (NaCTSO) works to raise awareness of the terrorist threat
and measures that can be taken to reduce risk and mitigate the
effects of an attack.
5.3 NaCTSO co-ordinates, trains and "tasks"
the network of around 240 local police Counter Terrorism Security
Advisors (CTSAs) located across the UK. Crowded Place risk assessments
are carried out by CTSAs.
5.4 NaCTSO also enhances Crowded Places
activity through its production and targeted distribution of tailored
guidance on counter terrorist protective security for specific
sectors. This is supplemented by a scenario-based training exercise
aimed at providing businesses with counter terrorism advice on
protective security, resilience and hostile reconnaissance. NaCTSO
is progressing variants of the exercise aimed at night-time economy
businesses, as well as planners, architects and property developers.
Hazardous Sites and Dangerous Substances
5.5 A new Hazardous Sites and Dangerous
Substances work stream has been established to take forward the
recommendations of the relevant West review and co-ordinate the
various security initiatives in this area.
5.6 In addition, NaCTSO liaises with industry
to provide specialist advice on the security of hazardous substances
and the sites which handle them. The "Know Your Customer"
campaigns raise awareness about the "dual-use" of certain
products and encourage suppliers to be more enquiring of new customers
and to report suspicious enquiries.
5.7 Through its network of CTSAs, NaCTSO
has, as at January 2009, delivered bespoke security advice to
nearly 2,000 sites storing hazardous material. Of these, 77% have
implemented improvements and CTSAs continue to work with the remainder
to improve security—no sites are currently assessed as "unsatisfactory".
Border Security
5.8 This issue is a particular current focus
for the National Co-ordinator and work is ongoing to develop proposals
for the "active enhancement" of Border Policing to ensure
that, for example, SB Ports activity is connected with the wider
ACPO CT Network in an explicit and thoroughgoing way so that the
effective flow of CT information to and from Ports is guaranteed
and enhanced in the future.
5.9 More broadly, PROTECT colleagues will
be engaged in the first phases of the "roll out" of
the e-Borders programme that will increase the number of passengers
screened as they cross the UK border to 190 million by December
2009 as well as other developmental work, such as the production
of refreshed guidance for Ports officers in their use of Schedule
7 Terrorism Act powers.
6. "PREPARE"
6.1 The developing police PREPARE programme
includes within its scope ACPO (TAM)'s engagement with the 2012
Olympics as well as an increasing emphasis on the management (as
opposed to investigation) of terrorist "crimes in action"
and, as a corollary, the development of the interoperability between
forces and partners that will enable an effective response to
significant incidents.
6.2 In support of the current and anticipated
CONTEST priorities, ACPO will lead work to:
— Continue to build capabilities and
determine the level of readiness to ensure that the policing response
to an attack should be comprehensive and co-ordinated.
— Establish Organisational Learning
and Development processes that will effectively deliver Organisational
Learning and Knowledge Management in a Networked CT Community.
— Provide an integrated CT training
programme for police CT professionals, the wider service and delivery
partners.
— Review the wider police exercise
programme to ensure its relevance to the National Resilience Planning
Assumptions (NRPA) and that learning from exercises is validated.
— Examine police business functions
and processes to ensure "internal" and "external"
interoperability.
— Develop multi-agency CT networks
with "Cat 2" and other resilience partners.
7. CONCLUSION
7.1 ACPO (TAM) and the police service as
a whole have a strong record of delivery in respect of Counter
Terrorism and a strong plan for the future that seeks to consolidate
and significantly enhance the gains in capacity and capability
already made by ensuring that the opportunity and appetite to
collaborate in a co-ordinated fashion is fully seized.
7.2 The intention, which is already in the
process of realisation, is to move from an effective, "PURSUE-oriented",
series of dedicated Units to a fully articulated Network that
co-ordinates and informs the breadth of significant CT endeavour
from the national to the local, with the ability to connect Strategy
with "the street".
7.3 This approach will not only maximise
the police service's capacity to deliver across the full breadth
of "CONTEST 2", but most importantly, will help to ensure
that, in line with the public's legitimate expectations, police
CT work should be broad and preventative in scope and fully integrated
across the police service.
February 2009
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