Correspondence

Crime and policing news update: December 2013

Published 19 December 2013

1. Modern Slavery Bill

On 16 December, the draft Modern Slavery Bill was launched by the Home Secretary at an event she jointly hosted with Frank Field MP. The draft legislation aims to expose the hidden crime of slavery by enhancing the law enforcement response, bringing more perpetrators to justice, and protecting and supporting more victims. It forms part of a government white paper setting out action needed to eradicate slavery from the UK. The draft Bill will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny, with the aim of publishing a full Bill in the spring that could be passed and on the statute books by the end of the parliament.

Frank Field was asked by the Home Secretary to lead a series of evidence sessions over the autumn. His report, which was also published on 16 December, will inform both the pre-legislative scrutiny process for the Modern Slavery Bill and the government’s wider, longer-term response to tackling slavery.

Action is already being taken on a number of fronts, including training and guidance for front line staff such as the police, immigration officers, asylum case workers and health workers, to improve the way potential victims are identified and supported. Tackling slavery is a key component of the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy which was published in October, and a priority for the newly formed National Crime Agency.

Read the Written Ministerial Statement on the Bill.

2. Serious and Organised Crime – local multi-agency partnerships

The government recently published the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy which coincided with the launch of the National Crime Agency. A key priority is to ensure that across England and Wales local law enforcement action against serious and organised crime draws on the information and powers of many agencies and departments – including local authorities, education, health and social care. Police and crime commissioners will have a leading role in making this priority a reality.

The Home Office has already been approached to discuss what support will be provided at a national level to help deliver against this priority. Organised crime policing leads, the National Crime Agency and the Home Office will therefore be running a series of nine regional workshops in the New Year to further engage with practitioners on this issue. Details will be circulated to partner organisations shortly.

3. Closure of the National Fraud Authority

On 2 December the Home Secretary announced the closure of the National Fraud Authority (NFA). The NFA has played an important role in increasing awareness of fraud. Now, the emphasis is changing to strengthen the national strategic and operational response to fighting economic crime, and so we have established the Economic Crime Command as part of the new National Crime Agency.

As we streamline the counter-fraud landscape, much of the work of the NFA will continue but will move to areas where there is a natural fit. Responsibility for awareness-raising will transfer to the Home Office where it will be aligned with broader initiatives to protect the public sector, the private sector and the public as a whole against other serious crime threats. Responsibility for developing the Counter Fraud Checking Service will be led by the Cabinet Office. The operation of Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting centre moves to the City of London Police to be integrated with the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau so that responsibility for the whole process from victim reporting fraud, analysis of the intelligence, and developing packages for investigation is with one organisation rather than being fragmented.

Read the Home Secretary’s statement.

4. Online fraudsters out to spoil your Christmas

Every year more and more of us are searching and buying our gifts over the internet, rather than battling the crowds in the high street, and every year fraudsters are finding new ways to move our money into their pockets. During the Christmas period last year, consumers lost over £12.4m to fraudsters through online shopping and auction scams and over 8,000 were defrauded by bogus websites.

The City of London Police, Action Fraud and Get Safe Online provide advice to help avoid becoming a victim of fraud. The Twelve Online Frauds of Christmas is a compilation of typical online-related frauds that the police suspect criminals may use over the festive period. Coupled with advice aimed at keeping the criminals at bay, the Twelve Online Frauds of Christmas is designed to help prevent people from becoming a victim of this type of crime.

By being aware of these cons and scams, people can avoid their savings ending up in the pockets of fraudsters rather than being spent on gifts for friends and family. You can keep up with what City of London Police, Action Fraud and Get Safe Online are doing and support the campaign by searching #noteveryoneisasniceasyou on Twitter.

5. Border Force protects public from fake goods this Christmas

Border Force and Trading Standards have launched a public campaign warning festive shoppers to be careful about what they buy and where they buy it from, to avoid fuelling the illegal trade in counterfeit goods.

Border Force officers have stopped millions of pounds worth of fake goods from entering the UK in the run-up to Christmas.

During the past month alone, officers based at postal centres, ports and airports across the country have stopped tens of thousands of counterfeit goods from crossing the UK border.

Goods detained by Border Force officers this year include counterfeit clothes, handbags, sunglasses, toys and DVDs. You can see a video and photos of some of the counterfeit goods seized by Border Force here.

6. Concerted programme of enforcement activity on ‘legal highs’

Beginning on the 25 November, the Home Office worked with law enforcement partners, prisons and Border Force on a concerted programme of enforcement activity against new psychoactive substances (NPS), also known as ‘legal highs’.

Police forces across the country and the National Crime Agency targeted traders who were suspected of dealing in illegal NPS, executing 73 warrants and making 44 arrests. Moreover, police made 274 visits and issued 574 letters to individuals who had bought NPS online and ‘head shops’ selling NPS, to warn them of the potential consequences of their actions. Enhanced searches for NPS were also carried out at two prisons (HMP Elmley and HMP Ford), whilst at Heathrow airport, inspections were conducted on freight arriving from NPS-source countries such as China and India.

In order to tackle NPS dealing locally and send a clear message that dealing in NPS is not acceptable in the UK, the Home Office has also published guidance setting out the range of options available for local authorities to address the issue of head shops in their area.

You can find further information on the action the government is taking on NPS here.

7. Ending Gang and Youth Violence Annual Report 2013 and Review of Year One published

On Friday 13 December, the Home Secretary published the Ending Gang and Youth Violence Annual Report 2013, and a review of the programme’s achievements during 2012 – 13. Both documents highlight the contribution that work by the government, policy, health professionals and community projects is making to reducing in gang violence.

The Ending Gang and Youth Violence Programme was set up in November 2011 in response to the riots across England. It identified 33 local authority areas where gang culture was deemed to be an issue, and these areas received funding to improve the way they respond to youth violence.

The programme has delivered a system of young people’s advocates who provide direct and dedicated support to young women in areas affected by gangs and have been victims of, or are at risk of, sexual violence or exploitation. A team of 70 gang experts, including youth offending officers, community activists and social workers, are also now working across the areas to help target gang members.

8. This is Abuse campaign

The “This is Abuse” campaign launched on 5 December, and aims to prevent teenagers from becoming either a perpetrator or a victim of an abusive relationship by encouraging them to re-think their views of violence, abuse, controlling behaviour and what consent means within their relationships. The campaign directs teenagers to places for help and advice. The campaign will run until the end of March 2014.

The Home Office has worked in partnership with the MTV music channel, the soap opera Hollyoaks and Kiss FM to produce new adverts. In the MTV adverts, celebrities encourage teens to make a stand against abusive behaviour. The adverts will run across all MTV channels and online until the end of January 2014. MTV has also set up a dedicated micro site with information, interactive quizzes and links to further help and support. Kiss FM is also running a series of adverts which highlight abusive behaviours.

Over the past few months, Hollyoaks has been running a storyline with two characters, Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) and Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson), in an abusive relationship. We have worked in partnership with Hollyoaks to produce an advert with the two characters highlighting abusive controlling behaviour. This is being supported by extended online scenes to deliver more of our campaign messages which you can see on the This is Abuse website, social media posts and a specific timeline tab on the Hollyoaks Facebook page which allows viewers to go back and track signs of abuse in the relationship (click on the ‘This is Abuse’ logo on the page).

You can find out more about the campaign, along with details on how to order the support materials, by emailing VAWGCampaigns@homeoffice.gov.uk to request a campaign brief.

9. New sentencing guideline for sexual offences

On 12 December, the independent Sentencing Council published a new sentencing guideline for sexual offences to help ensure appropriate and consistent sentences for sex offenders. The guideline will come into force in courts in England and Wales in April 2014 and replaces existing guidance.

Applying to all adult offenders and covering 54 offences including rape, child sex offences, indecent images of children, trafficking and voyeurism, the guideline brings significant changes to how offences are considered by the courts:

• it simplifies the system the police use for assessing indecent images of children which will make analysis of imagery much easier when evidence is being compiled against a defendant.

• it takes a wider approach to how courts assess offenders, looking at the full context of offending behaviour and motivation in committing any offence.

• it brings increases in sentencing starting points and sentencing ranges for some offences.

The Sentencing Council is now working closely with the College of Policing to ensure that the changes are fully embedded into the national curriculum for policing and relevant national learning and development programmes. An assessment will also be made of the most appropriate vehicle to update existing staff. Further information on this training is available from andy.kay@college.pnn.police.uk.

The new sentencing guideline is available to download here.

10. Police duties under new victims’ code

Keeping victims informed about the progress of a criminal investigation is one of the many duties placed upon the police in the revised Code of Practice for Victims of Crime which came into force on 10 December.

The code means victims will have more help and support whilst navigating the criminal justice system, from the moment they report a crime, to support after the trial. It also contains a section outlining the duties on service providers such as police.

On 10 December the Ministry of Justice also published the new Witness Charter which has been revised in line with the victims’ code. The Witness Charter highlights the types of special measures that could be used to support vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence to the police as well as in court.

Under the new code, all victims who make a witness statement are, for the first time, entitled to make a victim personal statement (VPS) and are given the opportunity to say whether they would like to read it out in court if the offender is found guilty. The VPS gives victims a louder voice by letting them explain to the court how a crime has affected them. Police officers are one of the groups who can take these statements and guidance is now available on how to do this.

The revised code places a new duty on criminal justice agencies and police and crime commissioners to include information about the victims’ code on their websites to raise awareness more broadly of victims’ entitlements.

11. Punishment now included in all adult community sentences

From December 2013, all adult community sentences have to include an element of punishment, which could be in the form of a fine, unpaid work, curfew or exclusion from certain areas.

This is the latest step in a wide range of sentencing reforms from restrictions on the use of cautions for more serious offences to the introduction of a mandatory life sentence for the most serious repeat offenders.

Approximately two thirds of community orders currently contain some form of punishment. Last year more than 130,000 community sentences were given and it is expected that the announced changes will affect roughly 40,000 offenders each year. Research suggests the inclusion of a punitive requirement alongside supervision in community sentences can be more effective in reducing reoffending than supervision alone.

You can find out more information here.

12. Transforming rehabilitation reforms underway – focus on partnership working

The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Transforming Rehabilitation reforms are now well into the implementation and delivery stages as the transition date of 1 April 2014 approaches. From this date, the rehabilitation of offenders across England and Wales will be managed and delivered by 21 regional Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the new National Probation Service (NPS).

The NPS will be responsible for directly managing those offenders who pose a high risk of serious harm to the public, or who have committed the most serious offences. It will also have responsibility for advising courts on sentencing, conducting risk assessments at the outset, determining the allocation of cases, responding to potential escalations in risk and, where appropriate taking enforcement action. CRCs will be responsible for managing all medium to low risk offenders.

The NPS will deal with Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) cases but CRCs will be contractually required to cooperate with MAPPA. More details on this and the other statutory partnerships and responsibilities that CRCs and the NPS will be subject to are set out in the Statutory Partnerships and Responsibilities paper which has been published on the MoJ website.

Local competition teams are now in place and are meeting with police and crime commissioners, local authorities, and other strategic partners to discuss priorities and existing partnerships, including Integrated Offender Management arrangements under the new structure.

13. Innovation through collaboration event

On 10 December, police and crime commissioners (PCCs), chief constables and other police partners met for the ‘Innovation through collaboration’ event at the Home Office. The event was well attended and included colleagues from the College of Policing and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The event was opened by the Minister for Crime Prevention, Norman Baker, who set the scene for the day. Presentations from PCCs and chief constables described the lessons learned from a wide range of collaborations between forces and with local partners.

HMIC provided their perspective, as did the national policing lead for the Finance and Resources Business Area, chief constable Nick Gargan. Delegates also discussed bids for the 2014/15 Police Innovation Fund, and heard some initial feedback on the bids submitted for the 2013/14 precursor fund. The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Damian Green, gave the closing speech, urging participants to build on what they had seen and heard during the day to further innovate and collaborate to transform the way policing is provided in their areas.

The Home Office will make available copies of the presentations, responses to questions raised, and details of suggestions made at the event, to all who were invited.

14. Technology fair to improve policing

A ‘Technology and innovation fair’, organised by the College of Policing, provided an opportunity for suppliers and police forces to discuss how the latest digital technology can transform policing. The fair is the latest in a series of events planned by the College to create a community of forces that can support and collaborate with each other to successfully implement digital technology.

The event was part of the Digital Pathfinder Initiative which aims to see all forces becoming digital by 2016. It also allowed delegates to learn more about the Home Office’s Police Innovation Fund to improve digital working and support police and crime commissioners to invest in a range of innovative solutions to improve policing.

Representatives from the newly established Evidence Based Decision Support (EBDS) service also attended. EBDS explained details of a contract which enables forces to access a consortium of relevant technology and change experts from the private sector and academia to help define their technology requirements, and included a case study from the British Transport Police who have recently taken this opportunity.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary is hosting the next event at its Huntingdon headquarters on 29 January 2014, which will explore in-depth Cambridgeshire’s wholesale change programme to transform its processes using digital technology.

Further information about the technology fair and planned future events is available on the POLKA (police online knowledge area) service delivery and business transformation community. If you have a pnn or gsi email account, you can register for POLKA.

15. Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme

On 29 November, the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) held a briefing event to inform industry on developments across a number of the programme’s work streams. Representatives from 66 supplier organisations, and ESMCP’s senior management team and business change assurance managers attended the event.

Delegates were updated on progress made on defining the commercial operating model; gathering user requirements; drafting the outline business case ahead of entering the formal assurance process in the New Year; and defining the plan when the new Emergency Services Network replaces the current TETRA network.

Further information on the ESMC Programme can be found here.

16. Police Pensions

On 19th November, the Home Office published an update on reforms of police pensions which will come into effect from April 2015. The Home Office circular is available here. This sets out further information on key areas since the framework for reform was announced by the Home Secretary in September 2012. It includes clarification on the impact of reforms for those with part-time service, more details on how transitional protection will work, and information related to the commutation of pension into a lump sum payment.

Further information will continue to be made available as more detail of the changes are developed. The online police pensions calculator is available for individuals to check what the reforms mean for them and will continue to be updated, for example to take into account the new information on part-time service, in illustrating officers’ future pension entitlement.

17. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s future publications

The next few months will see HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) publish two significant pieces of work. The Chief Inspector of Constabulary has a statutory obligation to submit an annual assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in England and Wales to the Home Secretary and parliament. Early in 2014, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor will be publishing his first assessment of this kind. This will be based on both his observations of the police service, and the findings of HMIC inspections over the last 12 months. Mr Winsor has also asked a number of stakeholders to provide their views on what they feel are the most significant issues and difficulties the police service in England and Wales has faced in 2012/13, and how well the service has responded to them.

This will be followed by the first report in the inspectorate’s programme of work looking at the police’s response to child protection issues. This will focus on online child sexual exploitation and look at how technological advances facilitate the way in which offenders commit their crimes; assess how well the police service is currently dealing with these issues; and examine how other bodies can assist the police service in identifying and preventing these offences.

To be kept informed of the work of the Inspectorate and to receive copies of our reports, please contact HMIC Press Office.