London Crime Reduction News
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act received Royal assent on 15 September 2011. Chapter 2, parts 4 and 5 apply specifically to the London region (Metropolitan Police District).
Part 4, which will probably be implemented in December 2011, establishes the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC). The Act will make the Mayor (and the Deputy Mayor, if the Mayor chooses to appoint a Deputy Mayor) directly accountable to the public for policing performance in London, under the scrutiny of the Greater London Assembly. This scrutiny will be undertaken through the Assembly's Police and Crime Panel (PCP)
Operational policing will remain the responsibility of the appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police but the Mayor or his appointed deputy will set the strategic 'direction'.
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be accountable for:
(i) the overall performance of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
(ii) setting the MPS's strategic direction
(iii) allocating resources
Linked to this change, the MOPC will be responsible for overseeing crime and disorder reduction activities across London. As a consequence of this it will act as a conduit for any funds coming from central Government for the purposes of crime and disorder reduction in the metropolis.
New Commissioner - A Political Appointment
The appointment of Bernard Hogan-Howe as the new chief police officer of the Metropolitan Police is a political act. To quote from The Telegraph newspaper "It is easy to see why Bernard Hogan-Howe appealed to Conservative politicians looking for a new Metropolitan Police commissioner." Mr Hogan-Howe cannot be blamed for his popularity amongst the politicians of the right but, because of his 'blue rinse attraction' he will need to prove to both his colleagues and the communities at large that he is not merely a political stooge.
 Boris Johnson confirming the appointment |
Teresa May's support for Bernard Hogan-Howe was the clincher, it clearly got him the post and may be a further indicator of the policy shift (see below) aiming to wrest control of the Metropolitan Police away from local government. But on a day to day basis the Home Secretary will be of little help if his colleagues and his police authority see him as an also ran who has been imposed upon them. He will need to work exceptionally hard to prove that he has the skills, experience, knowledge, ability and subtlety to take on this complex post and not just the ability to portray London as a city in need of heroic and muscular policing.
The Future of London Crime Reduction
The
development of both London borough (local) services and regional
services will be significantly affected in the next two years. The
resources made available to crime reduction by central government will
rapidly reduce and the priority placed on crime reduction at a local
level will be the deciding factor as to what level community safety and
crime reduction will continue to exist in each of the 33 local goverment
areas of London.
The
reduction of 20% in the central government Community Safety Fund given
to each borough in 2011-12 and the further reduction of 40% in 2012-13
will rapidly reduce the available resources. This in combination with
the reduction in available policing resources has the potential to
decimate locally based crime reduction partnership work.
The Mayor of London and Local Community Safety Service Delivery
From April 2011 the Mayor of London take on the role of Policing and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for London and will be responsible for the allocation of community safety funding made available by central government. The Community Safety Fundfor London - replacing the Area Based Grants provided by central government to the individual London boroughs will need a structure to manage the allocation approval and it is quite possible that this will be undertaken either by the London Crime Reduction Board or one of its sub committees.