Agenda item

Examination of crime statistics received from MOPAC to include:

 

(a)  Recorded Crime;

(b)  Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB);

(c)  Public Confidence & Victim Satisfaction;

(d)  Complaints against Borough Officers/Staff;

(e)  Stop and Search

Acting CI Andy Port gave the following updates:

 

Recorded Crime

 

·         Enfield had been achieving a reduction rate in MOPAC 7 crimes of just below or above 15%.  The MOPAC target was 20%.

·         Enfield had achieved a 21% reduction in rolling 12 month figures from year 11/12 to present.

·         Theft from the Person had not reduced significantly but the number of offences was very low and consequently, difficult to influence.

·         Violence with Injury had experienced a promising reduction in the last 12 months; Enfield was only one of 3 London boroughs to do so.

·         Robbery continued to a concern (figures included both personal and commercial robbery).  There had been a spate of robberies from bookmakers in the borough over the last 3-4 months but arrests and convictions in this regard had now been made.

·         Burglary, despite the reductions, continued to be a challenge particularly in the winter months and in the period just before Christmas.

·         Good reductions had been achieved in car crime (Theft of and Theft from Motor Vehicles).

·         Criminal Damage covered a variety of offences which made it difficult to influence (for example, graffiti, smashing windows).

 

An attendee asked if the statistics for Violence with Injury included domestic violence, and asked that these be separated for future reports if this were the case  ACTION: Acting CI Andy Port.

 

Acting CI Andy Port confirmed that these were included.

 

Cllr Maguire also commented that the Board would like to review crimes additional to the MOPAC 7, for example, rape or assault. 

 

Acting CI Andy Port responded that these could be included.  It was acknowledged that there might be increased figures for crimes such as rape and domestic violence, due to increased reporting from victims.

 

Cllr Dines asked if detection rates could also be included in future reports.

 

Acting CI Andy Port responded that these could be provided, and that there may well be increased focus on outcomes when targets were set for the year in April.

 

The Chair commented that it was also important to see which offences of domestic violence were repeat offences, but acknowledged that this data was being presented at appropriate forums elsewhere.

 

Acting CI Andy Port acknowledged that crimes such as domestic violence, which posed a real risk to an individual’s safety and wellbeing, could receive greater focus.  It was noted that domestic violence formed the largest proportion of offences involving violence and was a significant factor in crimes such as murder.

 

Stop and Search

 

·         There had been a significant reduction in the number of searches undertaken during December 2015 compared to the previous month.

·         Of the 459 searches over half were for drugs and approximately a quarter for stolen property.

·         A positive outcome rate of 20% had been achieved (stop and search resulting in arrest).

·         The predominant age group for stop and searches remained 15-24 year olds.

·         Neighbourhood Crime – Enfield remained below the target of 40% for searches undertaken in respect of neighbourhood crime (motor vehicle crime, criminal damage and theft from the person).  However, such figures perhaps demonstrated that ultimately, the right people were being stopped for the right reasons.

·         Further to the request of the Board at the last meeting, more detailed ethnicity data had been provided with the February report.  56% of those searched during the period defined their ethnicity as White.  There was a 5% difference, however, between the arrest rate for individuals who defined themselves as White (18.6%) and those who defined themselves as black (23.7%).

·         There had been 5 complaints made in the last 12 months against officers as a result of stop and search.  Of these, 1 had been withdrawn and the remainder disproved. 

 

It was NOTED that there would be a rollout of body cameras to all officers in September which would assist in such investigations.  Body cameras would also be of assistance in investigations for other offences, particularly domestic violence.

·         Enfield did not appear to have any current ‘prolific searched subjects’.

 

It was asked why this was the case and should known gang members be targeted?

 

Acting CI Andy Port responded that, although the Police wished to disrupt gang activity, grounds were still required to carry out any stop and search.  He added that, however, the figures provided in the report did not include ‘stop and account’ and this was a useful tool in this respect.

 

A Board Member asked if stop and account was monitored in the same way as stop and search.  Acting CI Andy Port confirmed that it was.

·         The Stop and Search Community Monitoring Group had met on 1 February but there was a need for its reinvigoration.  It was mentioned that Vicky Dungate had expressed an interest in joining the Group; Acting CI Andy Port would check as to whether she had/would be invited to meetings ACTION: CI Andy Port.

 

Anti-Social Behaviour

 

·         There had been a slight increase in calls made regarding ASB in December 2015 compared to December 2014.

·         Enfield had recently run an ‘Autumn and Winter Nights’ operation with a focus on ASB reduction.  The Police also continued to work with schools and provide extra resourcing during school breaks.

 

Public Confidence

 

·         Enfield had experienced a fall in public confidence to 59% against an MPS average of 67%, the second lowest in London.  The Police were working to address this and were looking to target more resources into engagement, particularly in the Edmonton area.

·         It had been recognised that the Police also needed to improve on informing communities on its successes and what it was doing to tackle crime. 

 

It was AGREED that the issue be discussed further under Any Other Business.

 

Victim Satisfaction

 

·         Overall satisfaction in Enfield was at 79% against an 80% MPS average in Quarter 2.

·         It was a concern that there was a 5% point gap in satisfaction levels between white and BME victims.

 

Complaints Against Borough Officers/Staff

 

·         Enfield currently had 31 open cases, which had been open an average of 90 days (this appeared to be a long time, but investigations were quite a complex process and these figures compared favourably with other boroughs).

·         Enfield had recorded a total of 502 public complaint allegations over the last 12 months.  This was quite high (in the top 3 boroughs in London).  It had been difficult to determine why this was the case but it was important to note that, of the 502 allegations made, only 7 had been deemed as having a case to answer.

 

The following questions were then taken:

 

Q:        Are there stages of complaint?

A:        Yes, there is a ‘local resolution’ stage which looks to resolve complaints quickly and directly with the officer/s concerned for more minor matters.  Other than these, some complaints that proceed to investigation will be investigated within the borough, more serious complaints will be investigated off-borough.

 

Cllr Maguire commented that perhaps improved engagement may help to reduce the numbers of complaints made.

 

Q:        Has there been any particular work done on recruiting locally, or within BME communities to ensure local policing is properly representative of the population in Enfield?

A:        The MPS is working hard to address this but is not quite where it wants to be as yet; for example there have been recent campaigns to recruit candidates with more than one language, or who had lived in London for a given period of time.  With regard to the latter, it is sometimes difficult to recruit Police Officers into a borough in which they live.

 

Q:        Were the 502 complaint allegations made by separate individuals?

A:        No, there were a number of repeat complaints.  Also, the category ‘Disapplication’ in the report refers to those complaints identified as malicious.