Minutes:
On behalf of the Committee, the Chair welcomed Acting Chief Inspector Ed Baildon of the Metropolitan Police NW-CU (North West Command Unit) to the meeting. The Chair also welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Community Cohesion and Crime to the meeting.
The Chair added that since the death of George Floyd in the USA, the operations of the Police had come under increased scrutiny around the world. In Harrow, Councillors had felt that in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement, it was timely for the Committee to discuss their impact on policing and to address the following key points:
- enforcement of the lockdown and changes as lockdown measures were being relaxed;
- impact on general crime and disorder and Community Safety in Harrow;
- impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities, including the inequalities they faced;
- partnership working.
The Director of Strategy as the lead officer on Community Safety welcomed the opening remarks made by the Chair and recognised the need for an open dialogue. He referred to the significant challenges faced by the BAME communities during the pandemic both internationally and nationally and cited the example of the disproportionate representation of BAME communities in areas such as the criminal justice system.
The Director referred to the need to work together to help understand the issues and to create better outcomes for Harrow’s communities. The Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Crime referred to Harrow’s diverse community which had pulled together during the pandemic. The Portfolio Holder spoke about a leaflet which set out how the different communities of Harrow could protect themselves and that this had been translated in different languages for circulation to the residents of Harrow.
Members of the Committee were invited to ask questions of the Police, Portfolio Holder and Officers.
Question 1:
In Harrow, the Black Community was seven times more likely to be Stopped & Searched than other Communities. Was this justified?
The Acting Chief Inspector reported that Stop & Search was not based on ethnicity. Various types of crime, intelligence and demographics of an area ought to be factored into this. Parts of Harrow had different demographics and all aspects, including age and ethnicity, would be examined.
In response to additional questions on whether there was a statistical error rather than a systematic issue, the Acting Chief Inspector explained that he was not saying that there was a statistical error but that additional information also needed to be factored in. He reported that, in Harrow, 1294 White people and 1474 Black people had been Stopped & Searched for the period July 2019 to June 2020. Whilst this did not equate to seven times, it was disproportionate in terms of the population of Harrow.
Question 2:
Allegations had been made that BAME Police Officers were more likely to be the subject of misconduct investigations. How were they supported? How was the representation of the BAME communities being increased within the Police Force?
There were 1597 Police Officers in the NWCU of which 329 were from the BAME Communities and this equated to 20%. The Metropolitan (Met) Police carried out recruitment drives with a view to increasing representation from the BAME Communities. Across London, representation of BAME Communities in the Police Force was lower than in the NWCU. A number of schemes had been put in place to support officers and to also increase female representation in all aspects of the Met.
The Portfolio Holder for Community Cohesion and Crime reported that Harrow was the second safest borough in London with very low levels of crime and this needed to be recognised.
Question 3:
What challenges did the Police face in policing the protests and Covid-19?
The Acting Chief Inspector reported that during the lockdown, London as a whole had experienced an increase in anti-social behaviour (ASB) although the overall level of crime had dropped significantly. Reports on anti-social behaviour mainly related to social distancing issues in parks and other places. He acknowledged that the Police had been slow in using various forms of IT available to communicate with its communities but changes were now in place to replace older forms of communication such as street briefings and face to face meetings. However, some of the traditional methods of communication would still be required, such as face to face meetings.
In terms of staffing levels, these had been maintained as levels of holidays taken and training courses attended had reduced. The powers derived from Covid-19 legislation had been enforced and the levels of fixed penalty notices issued in Harrow had been the lowest in London and only 36 arrests had been made in the whole of London which had related to Covid-19 issues. Members were informed that there had been a decline in overall crime in Harrow and 1039 incidents had been recorded for April 2020, the lowest figure since 2016. However, since April, there had been an increase but it was below the average. Police Officers in Harrow had supported their colleagues in central London and in other parts of the country which they were used to accustomed to doing prior to the pandemic.
Question 4:
What were the biggest challenges for the Police and did these require additional resources and training?
The Acting Chief Inspector reported that the Police Force had learnt to evolve with reduced staff. More recently, a number of trainees had joined the North West Command Unit. Overall, training had to be adapted to suit the new ways of working and changes made to the development of the new recruits as work due to a reduction in the street patrols.
In due course, a period of reflection would become necessary together with a review of the methods employed during the pandemic in order to ascertain which areas needed to be prioritised. Lessons would also need to be learnt. Digital communication methods could become the norm.
Question 5:
How were the leaflets in different languages being distributed? As Community Centres had been closed, it was important to clarify the distribution of the leaflets. Had the Police and the Council become detached from the community?
The Portfolio Holder for Community Cohesion and Crime undertook to provide the leaflets produced to Councillors.
The Director of Strategy reported that as part of the Test, Track and Trace System, the Council was currently working with the Somali community. Posters had been produced, including a video, and it was intended to roll out this method of communication to other communities in Harrow. This method of communication would become particularly relevant should a local lockdown become necessary. The Council needed to work with its diverse communities and manage communications with them.
The Director added that the Council was keeping in contact with Harrow’s faith communities and the previous work carried out with temples would be resumed.
In response to additional questions from Members, the Director explained that the video produced was specific to the Somali community but it was intended to replicate it for other communities.
Question 6:
Reports indicate that there had been an increase in domestic violence during the lockdown. What was the Harrow perspective?
What had been the impact of efficiency savings?
The Acting Chief Inspector reported that there had been concerns that the levels of domestic violence would rise during the lockdown. This concern had been based on the experiences during the Christmas break when levels of domestic violence normally rose as a result of families being together at home for a longer period of time during the holiday. He undertook to provide the statistics for Harrow.
The Director of Strategy informed the Committee that incidents of domestic violence in Harrow had increased and were above the general trend. However, there had not been a spike in domestic violence in Harrow. Incidents of domestic violence cases involving injury had remained static. The Director acknowledged that it was also important to consider the impact fear of domestic violence had on families and reported that the Council worked with the Police in this regard and to support victims. He added that MOPAC (The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) had funded a post which was based at Northwick Park Hospital on the basis that the majority of domestic violence cases would present themselves at A&E (Accident & Emergency).
The Committee was informed that the funding would be reviewed and the commissioning process reviewed/conducted at the end of this Calendar Year.
Members were informed that the work of Police officers was ‘close and personal’, such as when making arrests. Police Officers had been provided with appropriate PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) such as face masks and hand sanitisers. Risk management exercises had also been undertaken. Additionally, officers had to attend to Covid-19 deaths, alleviate social distancing, assist with Track and Trace Systems. More and more of the back office functions were being carried out by colleagues working from home.
Question 7:
Community Outreach – The perception was that the community and the Police were not on good terms and this had been particularly evident since the death of George Floyd in the USA. The young people in London did not feel safe around the Police. How were the Police going to rebuild and rekindle the relationship with the community?
Knife Crime – There had been a decrease in violent crime during the lockdown but this was likely to alter. What measures were the Police looking at to slow down violent crime and ensure that knife crime was not prolific as had been the case before the lockdown?
The Acting Chief Inspector stated that he did not recognise the picture with regard to the poor relationship between the Police and the community and it was not what they were hearing from the different communities of London. The Acting Chief Inspector challenged the view expressed by the questioner and stated that it had not broken down along the lines being portrayed. He acknowledged that the Police did not always get it right and reported that the Police would be seeking the advice of the Independent Advisory Groups (IAG), set up in each borough, in this regard and to provide feedback. The IAG for Harrow was being revamped.
The questioner – a representative of Harrow Youth Parliament (HYP) - remained of the view that there had been a level of breakdown in relations between the two bodies and that it had largely been due to external factors. However, the problem needed to be acknowledged as, in Harrow, black people were seven times likely to be stopped by the Police.
In response, the Acting Chief Inspector reported that public attitude surveys were conducted by the Police and that these had shown a high level of confidence in the Police. Victims of crime had also felt satisfied with the work carried out by the Police. He referred to the IAG and suggested the setting up of a Youth IAG in order to get feedback from the younger generation. The representative of HYP welcomed this proposal and offered to assist in this regard as he too wanted to ensure a good level of communication between the two parties.
The Acting Chief Inspector acknowledged that under the new normal, crime levels were expected to increase, including knife crime. Instead of merely looking at enforcement and Stop and Search measures, the Police were looking to educate and increase engagement with the youth. The representative of Harrow Youth Parliament welcomed this response.
Question 8:
The Police response in Hatch End Ward during the encampment of travellers had been exemplary. How did the Police approach and manage similar issues, particularly during the pandemic?
The Acting Chief Inspector reported that Police Offices put their lives at risk at all times. In terms of the pandemic, Police Officers had been trained on safety measures, the need to ‘give’ distance, how to keep safe from physical attacks and staying out of the breathing range of others. Police Officers had also been training during the Ebola and Swine Flu epidemics and periodic ad hoc training was always being carried out.
Members were invited to report criminal activity – drug dealing and enclaves – in their Wards which would be addressed by the SNTs (Safer Neighbourhood Teams). There were a number of ways to report such crimes - telephoning the 101 Service or Crime Stoppers and reporting the crime online. The Police also had the remit to look at the underlying problems and why particular areas/locations were being targeted by drug dealers. There was a need to ‘design out’ such crimes and the Police relied on intelligence.
Prior to his summing up, the Chair stated that there appeared to be some conflict between the Police and the communities they served. The Black community in particular experienced more incidences of Stop & Search. He cited the recent example of the Police Officers taking pictures of the women who had been killed following a horrific incident in NW London and releasing these online and that this had resulted in confidence levels in the Police dropping further. The Acting Chief Inspector accepted that the Police behaviour in respect of this incident had been unacceptable and confirmed that the Police Officers involved had not served in the NW-CU.
In summing up, the Chair thanked the Acting Chief Inspector for his attendance at the meeting and welcomed the proposal to set up a Harrow Youth IAG. He remarked that the borough was safer because of the work done by the Acting Chief Inspector and his colleagues who worked long hours and put themselves in danger in order to protect the public whilst under increased public scrutiny and criticism. Harrow was proud to be served by those under the his leadership.