PEEL: Police effectiveness 2015 An inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service February 2016 © HMIC 2016 ISBN: 978-1-911194-96-5 www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic Contents Overview – How effective is the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime? ....................................................................................................................... 3 Overall judgment..................................................................................................... 3 Summary ................................................................................................................ 3 Force in numbers ..................................................................................................... 7 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 9 How effective is the force at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour, and keeping people safe? ............................................................................................. 11 How well does the force work to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, and keep people safe? ................................................................................................ 13 How well does the force work with partners to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour and keep people safe? ......................................................................... 16 Summary of findings ............................................................................................. 17 How effective is the force at investigating crime and managing offenders? .... 18 How well does the force investigate crime and keep victims safe and informed? . 20 How well does the force identify and manage offenders to prevent re-offending? 24 Summary of findings ............................................................................................. 26 How effective is the force at protecting from harm those who are vulnerable, and supporting victims? ........................................................................................ 27 Summary of findings ............................................................................................. 27 How effective is the force at tackling serious and organised crime, including its arrangements for fulfilling its national policing responsibilities? ................ 30 How well does the force understand the threat and risk posed by serious and organised crime? .................................................................................................. 32 How effectively does the force respond to serious and organised crime? ............ 33 How effectively is the force working with partners to prevent serious and organised crime? .................................................................................................. 35 How effective are the arrangements in place to ensure that the force can fulfil its national policing responsibilities? ......................................................................... 37 Summary of findings ............................................................................................. 37 Annex A – HMIC judgments .................................................................................. 39 2 Overview – How effective is the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime? Overall judgment1 Requires improvement HMIC judges that overall the Metropolitan Police Service requires improvement in the way it keeps people safe and reduces crime. It responds effectively to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour and works well with partners to keep most people safe, although it could improve the consistency of how it keeps safe vulnerable people,2 particularly children. The quality of some crime investigations and the implementation of integrated offender management requires improvement. The force is good at understanding and tackling serious and organised crime, including gangs. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their overall effectiveness so comparison of their year-on-year effectiveness is not possible. Summary The Metropolitan Police Service is committed to preventing crime and anti-social behaviour. Officers and staff throughout the force generally understand well this commitment, working well with partners to solve problems early to prevent escalation. Delays in allocating crimes to officers for investigation, together with a shortage of trained detectives and some basic equipment for frontline officers, is undermining the force’s overall investigation performance. The force is managing the highest risk offenders effectively and preventing them re-offending. But the force's management of volume crime3 offenders across London boroughs is inconsistent. The force is good at tackling serious and organised crime. It has a well developed understanding of the threat and risks posed by it; and has in place plans and mechanisms to target the most harmful and dangerous crimes and offenders. The force generally provides a good service in identifying vulnerable people and responds well to them, so the public can be confident that many victims are well supported. However, we found several areas where improvement is needed to 1 Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate – see Annex A for definitions. 2 A vulnerable person is someone who is in need of special care, support, or protection because of age, disability, or risk of abuse or neglect. 3 Volume crime often includes priority crimes such as street robbery, burglary and vehicle-related criminality, but can also apply to criminal damage or assaults. 3 ensure the service is consistent, and the force keeps vulnerable people safe, particularly children. The Metropolitan Police Service requires improvement at keeping people safe and reducing crime. How effective is the force at How effective is the force at preventing crime and investigating crime and anti-social behaviour, and managing offenders? keeping people safe? Good Requires improvement The Metropolitan Police Service is good The Metropolitan Police Service's at preventing crime and anti-social investigation and management of behaviour and keeping people safe. offenders requires improvement. Force priorities reflect the commitment to Delays in allocating crimes to officers for crime prevention, partnership working investigation, together with a shortage of and keeping people safe in London. This trained detectives and basic equipment commitment is generally well understood for front line officers, is undermining the throughout the force, particularly by force’s overall investigation performance. officers in leadership roles. However for The force has restructured successfully some front line officers who fulfil its forensic services and works hard to emergency response roles, crime meet the increased demand for digital prevention and tackling anti-social forensic services; but we found that behaviour are not a priority. capacity is still limited and delays in The force has the right systems and producing evidence are occurring. processes in place at force and The force manages the highest risk neighbourhood levels, alongside a range offenders well and is effective at of powers and tactics, to work together preventing them re-offending. However, with partner organisations to tackle anti- its management of volume crime social behaviour and keep people safe. offenders across London boroughs is While there is an issue that emergency inconsistent because it has introduced response officers are not considering the new ways of working without clear importance of crime prevention routinely central direction and control. We found during their duties, the public can feel little resilience for officers managing confident that the force overall is working offenders in boroughs with a risk that effectively to prevent crime and anti- avoidable re-offending will occur due to social behaviour, and keep people safe. staff shortages. 4 How effective is the force at How effective is the force at protecting from harm those tackling serious and who are vulnerable, and organised crime, including supporting victims? its arrangements for fulfilling its national policing responsibilities? Requires improvement Good HMIC found that the Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service is good Service (MPS) generally provides a good at tackling serious organised crime service in identifying vulnerable people (SOC) and is well prepared to meet its and it responds well to them. But there national policing responsibilities. This is are specific areas that the force must the first year HMIC has graded forces on improve to provide a satisfactory service their effectiveness at tackling serious and to protect some of the most vulnerable organised crime, including a force’s people. The force uses a broad definition arrangements for ensuring that it can of vulnerability which means that a large fulfil its national policing responsibilities, number of victims are in the vulnerable so no year-on-year comparison is category. This creates high demand and possible. difficulties in prioritising the most The force has a well developed vulnerable people. The force needs to understanding of the threat and risk ensure that it is satisfied that this is a posed by SOC. Specialist officers definition that allows it to make decisions investigating gangs and organised crime about how to prioritise according to levels groups (OCGs) provide the necessary of risk. insight on the threat and risk posed