City of London 2018/19

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PEEL: Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy 2018/19 – City of London Police

Matt Parr, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary

HMI's observations

I am satisfied by most aspects of City of London Police’s performance. But the force needs to make improvements in its legitimacy to provide a consistently good service.

The force is good at preventing and investigating crime. It works effectively with partners to identify and protect vulnerable people.

The force understands demand well. But further work is needed to address the budget gap over the rest of the medium-term financial plan and the force’s workforce plans need to be completed.

The force continues to uphold an ethical culture and promote standards of professional behaviour well. But the force has more to do to assure itself that it has the capacity and capability to root out corruption.

Also, the force should make sure it has the necessary systems in place to reassure the public that it carries out stop and searches legitimately.

I am encouraged by the progress that City of London Police has made. I look forward to a more consistent performance over the coming year.

The force is good at preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour. This judgment has been carried over from our last inspection in 2017/18.

The force is also good at investigating crime. Its economic crime victim care unit provides excellent support. However, its victim satisfaction rate has fallen this year as officers have less time to spend with victims.

The force has a comprehensive understanding of vulnerability in its area. A specialist nurse supports officers in dealing with incidents related to mental health.

The force’s handling of domestic abuse has improved during the last year. However, it still needs to improve how it shares information with schools about children who may have witnessed domestic abuse.

In relation to tackling serious and organised crime, the force does some particularly good work on fraud and cyber-enabled crime.

However, it needs to improve its understanding of other forms of serious and organised crime, particularly drug dealing and county lines.

View the five questions for effectiveness

The force is good at meeting current demand and using its resources.

We have carried this judgment over from our last inspection in 2017. However, the force needs to improve how it plans for the future. In particular, it needs to show how it will address the gap in its budget over the next five years.

The force has a good understanding of how demand for its services is likely to change over time.

The force consults the public well. It has a good understanding of what skills it will need for the future and is good at developing its people.

The force works well with a range of other forces and organisations.

The force’s plans are ambitious and innovative and should put it in a strong position for the future. But this can only happen once the force achieves a balanced budget.

View the two questions for efficiency

The force requires improvement in the legitimacy with which it treats the public and its workforce.

Its leaders understand and value the benefits of community engagement. There is a positive culture around ethics and fair decision making, both internally and in dealings with the public.

However, a major problem for the force is a lack of external scrutiny. The local independent advisory group and the community scrutiny group have not been functioning for some time.

The force’s supervision of stop and search has improved during 2018, as has its monitoring of stop and search data. However, it could also do more to analyse its use of these powers.

In relation to ethical and lawful workforce behaviour, the force requires improvement. It needs to improve its anti-corruption assessment and control strategy, which are currently of a low standard. It also needs to improve the capacity and capability of its counter-corruption units.

View the three questions for legitimacy

In addition to the three core PEEL pillars, HMICFRS carries out inspections of a wide range of policing activity throughout the year. Some of these are conducted alongside the PEEL inspections; others are joint inspections.

Findings from these inspections are published separately to the main PEEL reports, but are taken into account when producing the rounded assessment of each force's performance.

Complaints and misconduct file review 2018 – City of London Police – published 25 January 2019

City of London Police – Joint inspection of police custody – published 26 March 2019

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Key facts – 2019/20

Force Area

1 square mile

Population

0.431m people - workday population

Workforce

83% frontline police officers

92% national level

3.12 per 1000 population

3.69 national level

7% 10yr change in local workforce

5% 10yr national change

Victim-based crimes

0.01 per person

0.06 national level

39% Local 5 year trend

9% National 5 year trend

Cost

61p per person per day local

59p per person per day national

Proposed policing inspection programme and framework 2025–29: For consultation

City of London 2018/19

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HMI's observations

Effectiveness

How effectively does the force reduce crime and keep people safe?

Efficiency

How efficiently does the force operate and how sustainable are its services to the public?

Legitimacy

How legitimately does the force treat the public and its workforce?

Other inspections

How well has the force performed in our other inspections?

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