hot to trot - Metropolitan Police

4 News | In focusRace and equalityIAGs get Met closerto communitiesPolice and advisers still have“more to do” to engage with youthsThe Met’s IndependentAdvisory Groups (IAGs)have played a crucialrole in building relationsbetween the police and London’sdifferent communities since they werecreated following the death of StephenLawrence. However, they still havesome way to go to engage with youngpeople, a day-long gathering of IAGmembers in London heard recently.The members met to discuss howfar the Met has come in removingprejudice and instilling communityconfidence over the last ten years.Maqsood Ahmad, equality anddiversity lead for the Home Office,said that much has improved in allUK forces over the last ten years.He said that more senior officershave made diversity a top priorityand have improved their training andpolicy-making to bring it forward.He referred to the Home Secretary’sGreen Paper, which stresses thatpolice must gain the trust of thecommunity. One way of doingthat will be the creation of the firstAdvisory groups havemade a positiveimpact but want tomake young peoplefeel less alienatedEquality Standard for the service, hesaid, which is happening this year.He also challenged the IAGs to getmore involved with young people sothat they can help officers engagethem in ways that build confidence.“A lot of people in this audiencedon’t understand young people,” addedSophie, a 16-year-old Tower Hamletsresident who was invited to present ayoung person’s point of view. “I’ve comehere to prove that young people arecapable and do have a lot of respect,if you give them the opportunity.”Both she and another youngman criticised stop-and-searchprocedures, which they felt createda self-fulfilling prophecy: if you treatyoung people as criminals, they’lleventually slip into that role.“Most of the time we’re just sittingaround with nothing to do and the policewill come around and stop and searchus,” said Sophie. “I don’t feel respected.”In a later workshop session,most attendees agreed thatmore needed to be done to bringyoung people into the IAGs.“It is very important that StephenLawrence’s legacy includes theincreased engagement with youngpeople and their contribution toinfluencing strategy and policy whichdirectly or indirectly affects them,”John Azah, who vice-chairs therace IAG, said later. “We’ve set upthe Youth IAG, yet all IAGs need towork harder at recruiting more youngpeople into their membership.”However, the IAGs were laudedfor the community cohesion thatthey have been able to foster.Commander Steve Allen, deputydirector of HR, took on the diversityinitiative in 2003, and has workedclosely with IAG members to ensurethat the Met stays on the right trackregarding diversity and communityissues. In 2005 IAG advisors helpedhim liaise with family membersof Asian tsunami victims.“I couldn’t have done that withoutindependent advisors walkingaround with me and saying whatthe families would be feeling,”he told those in attendance.the job | june 2009

In focus | News5More good buysThe Met intends to save moneywith a new purchasing guideThe purchasing ofgoods and services inthe MPS is set tobecome substantiallymore efficient following theintroduction of a project aimed atsaving money which can then beput back into front-line policing.Launched by the ResourcesDirectorate as part of itsDeveloping ResourceManagement (DRM) programme,the Purchase to Pay (P2P) projectinvolves improving levels ofpurchasing compliance across theorganisation by promoting bestpractice for purchasing goodsand services, as well as guidelinesfor purchasing through supplierspreferred by the Met.Kirsten MacDonald, DRMChange Manager, says there is aneed to improve levels ofpurchasing compliance across theMet. “We need to cut down on‘maverick buying’, where officersand staff who need a piece ofequipment or a service buy it froma non-approved supplier orthrough a non-compliant route, ifwe have preferred suppliers whowill deliver efficiently and arecheaper than others,” she says.“Therefore, we have launched the‘How 2 Buy’ guides for purchasinggoods and services. These areavailable on the intranet. At themoment only around 60 per centof our purchases are compliant.As a business we are committedto improving on this. Ultimately, wewill save money that can be spentelsewhere in the MPS.”In addition, it is expected that animprovement in purchasingcompliance will reduce latepaymentcharges, achieve greaterdiscounts from preferredsuppliers, make goods easierto obtain and reduce overspendon budgets.“Better information on spendwill also allow us to improve ourcontracts and ensure value formoney,” adds Anne McMeel,Director of Resources.Staff will have an opportunity tofind out more when Kirsten’s teamlaunches a campaign includingworkshops, roadshows andcommunication via the intranet.The DRM programme bringstogether seven projects aimed atimproving MPS services “througheffective governance, byminimising the risk of controlfailures, and maximising cashableefficiencies to support front-lineservice”. There’s more informationon the intranet. From thehomepage: Structure > ResourcesDirectorate > ResourcesProgramme Office > DevelopingResource Management.Front-line boost: it ishoped savings made frompurchasing can be putback into policing Londoninfocus:Performance targetsThe new confidence target for measuringperformance in the Met has now been set by theHome Office and will require the MPS to boostconfidence among the public by 12 per cent overthe next two years.Home Secretary Jacqui Smithannounced the introduction ofa new performance measurein March. This will apply to allforces and will be shared withlocal authorities. It does awaywith all previous measures,replacing them with a singleconfidence target to make itmore focused.The Met says the target is anambitious one. The currentlevel is 47.4 per cent. However,the MPS will be expected toreach 55.4 per cent by the endof March 2011. The overalltarget, set for the end of March2012, expects 59.4 per cent ofthe London population to beconfident that the anti-socialbehaviour and crime issuesthat matter locally are beingaddressed by police.Positive interactions with thepublic are key to securingpublic confidence. Adheringto the promises set out to thepublic in the Policing Pledgeand following the CitizenFocus Quality of ServicePrinciples will have an impacton public confidence.The Government hopes thenew measurement system willbuild public confidence inpolicing. Officers will havemore time to focus on localpriorities, it says, asbureaucracy will be reducedas a result of the other HomeOffice performance targetsthat are being abolished.It means that police andlocal councils will address theissues that matter locally tothe public while promotingfurther partnership working.While it will still be up to theMet to develop theseOfficers will have more timeto focus on local priorities,says the Governmentpartnerships locally for thepublic benefit, the LocalGovernment Association willbe assisting.The target will be measuredby the British Crime Survey,which asks whetherrespondents agreethat the police and localcouncil are dealing withthe crime and anti-socialbehaviour issues thatmatter in their area.The measures will look athow the police and localcouncils are handlinganti-social behaviourjune 2009 | the job

6 News | In focusalamy, getty images, rex features, tiina tervoSexual offencesSapphire building teamsNew command seeks experienced officersAs Sapphire moves to anew command this year,the Met is looking for theright people to form theteams who will be responsible forinvestigations into rape and serioussexual violence in the capital.The command will start moving fromTerritorial Policing into Specialist Crimein September and is now known asSCD2, though it will still commonly bereferred to as Sapphire. The SapphireImplementation Team (SIT) has hireda dedicated senior management team,which is now seeking officers and staffwho will deliver the service locally.“Each team will have a dedicateddetective inspector, two or threeChild abusedetective sergeants, detectiveconstables who are trained ininvestigating sexual offences,plus a dedicated office manager,”says Caroline Bates of the SIT.The teams will be based throughoutLondon and will investigate rapeand serious sexual offences only.“We’ll be looking for experienceddetectives, and probably peoplewith recent experience of workingin a Sapphire team,” says Caroline.“We’ll be accepting applicationsfrom across the Met.”Officers and staff who are interestedshould contact the SIT at: SCD2Mailbox – Sapphire ImplementationTeam, or ring them at extension 61268.CATS to help fight abuseNew child-abuse research centre will helpprevent offences and target internet imagesAnew research centre offeringvital help in the fight againstsexual abuse and othercrimes suffered by childrenhas been welcomed by the Met.The Centre for Abuse and TraumaStudies (CATS), a partnership betweenexperts at Kingston Universityand Royal Holloway, University ofLondon, will carry out research intochild abuse and ways to combat it.Commander Peter Spindler, fromthe Specialist Crime Directorate,says: “There has never been a moreimportant time for the academiccommunity to step forward and providetheir perspective on the challengingworld of child abuse. Professionalsare so immersed in addressing thesymptoms and manifestations ofabuse that they rarely have the time orresources to analyse the issues andtailor their response accordingly. I amconvinced CATS will be a valuableasset to this never-ending fight forthe most vulnerable in society.”With the centre now up and running,its academic research and knowledgeare already being used to help trainfront-line officers and staff. Child andadolescent psychiatrist Dr ArnonBentovim says: “We are training socialworkers to use approaches basedon valid, well-researched methods.Instead of a tick-box approach, theyare empowered to use approacheswhich have been demonstrated to givean accurate picture of the needs ofabused children and the risks posedby parents and family members. Thismethod helps them to intervene toprotect children and to help thoserecovering from trauma and violence.”CATS will also help to prevent childabuseimages appearing on the internetby working with the Children’s Charities’Coalition on Internet Safety. John Carr,chair of the coalition, says: “We reallydo need CATS to give us a picture aboutwhat is happening in this country.”Call handlingNew standardsfor callsChange to call categoriesand how response times aremeasured brings the Met into lineThe Met aligned with all the other constabularies inEngland and Wales last month when it adoptedthe new National Call Handling Standards (NCHS).Previously calls were graded as ‘I’(immediate), ‘S’ (soon), ‘E’ (extended), ‘R’ (referred)or ‘P’ (police generated). But from last month ‘P’ceased to exist. Those calls are now being categorisedinto the four codes below. The practice of settingresponse codes according to call type also ceased.The Met aims to respond to immediate(emergency) calls within twelve minutes,significant calls within sixty minutes andextended calls within forty-eight hours.The changes required to the CADsystem to support this change willbe made as soon as the currentprogramme of system updatesallows. All staff must ensure that theynow use the NCHS definitions.In brief:the new definitions…Although the grade identifiers are not changing,the way in which they are used is, based on thecircumstances. The new definitions will be:I (Immediate) Those calls where the immediatepresence of a police officer will have a significantimpact on the outcome of the incident. If theofficer is not required immediately, then the ‘S’grade should be applied.S (Significant) The majority of calls requiringa police response within an hour will attract thisgrade. These are priority calls and this grade mustbe considered before the ‘I’ gradeis used.E (Extended) Any call which requires a policeattendance that can be scheduled will be dealtwith by appointment, which will be agreed withthe caller and take place on the day of the callor the day following it. This is to ensure that anappropriate response is made within 48 hours.R (Referred) This grade will continue tobe applied to calls which do not require theattendance of a police officer.the job | june 2009

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8 Feature | Mounted Branchthe Bestin showThe Met’s Mounted Training Establishment is celebratingits 90th birthday. We went along to find out what makes itthe best police horse training facility in the world…Down in the picturesquesuburb of Thames Ditton, anunlikely relationship hasdeveloped. After 18 monthsliving side by side, two lovebirds arenow preparing for a long retirementtogether. The pair have served 30 yearsbetween them in the Met, and there’snothing too unusual about that.However, this couple are horses from theMet’s Mounted Training Establishment(MTE), who have found a mutualaffection for one another after beingplaced in adjacent stables. Vincent andUrsula, as they are known, will move toa quiet life at the same farm in Sussexwhen they hang up their reins.Their tale is far from the only goodnews story to come out of the MTE,however. During its 90 years, it hasbecome known as the finest police-horsetraining centre in the world.Perfect surroundingsThe training facility at Imber Court inThames Ditton was built in 1919 afterthe commissioner of the time beganreassembling the Mounted Branch,following the First World War. Itreplaced the old Remount Depot atAdam and Eve Mews in Kensington,and it was at the new facility thatthe modern-day Mounted Branchemerged, trained in riding and horsemanagement and with new crowdcontrol tactics, which still largelyhold to this day.Chief Inspector Bob Barker explains:“The Met bought the land specificallyto develop the facility and it waspurpose-built for training anddeveloping our horses and the tactics.Bits have been added to the facilityover the years, but what you see todayis pretty much whatwas here then, becausethe facilities were sowell planned.”The Met has sevenoperational stables,located at GreatScotland Yard,Hammersmith,West Hampstead,Bow Road, Kings Cross, Lewisham andWandsworth. However, all of the Met’s120 Mounted Branch horses and 148officers will have spent six months at2the MTE for their initial training period.It is also from here that horses are sentto suitable retirement homes.Equipped for the jobInspector Alan Hiscox has been with theMounted Branch for 26 years, the past12 of which he has spent at the MTE. Hesays the quality of training there andthe professionalism of its staff are whathave made it “the best in the world”.“There is no doubt that this is themost professional and highly skilledpolice-horse facility,” he says. “That’swhy police from all over the world visitus to learn from our training techniquesand view our facilities.”Those facilities now include top-classstables and riding areas. There are tworiding schools run within the MTE andrecently the team added smokemachines and sound capabilities – highpoweredspeakers used to pipe in thesounds of public-order events so thathorses can train in and becomeaccustomed to those situations.In addition, the MTE ishome to the only PC in thecountry – and most likely inthe world – who is also a134The Mounted TrainingEstablishment at a glance● There are 148 officers and 120horses in the Mounted Branch● Horses are normally five orsix years old when they arepurchased and will serveapproximately 15 years in theMounted Branch● When horses retire fromservice, they are looked afterby one of the Met’s approvedkeepers, who cares for them.The Met retains ownership● Horses go through four shoesa month, on average● This year is the 90thanniversary of the MountedBranch Training Establishmentat Imber Court, Thames Ditton,but the Met has had horsessince the 1790sthe job | june 2009

Mounted Branch | Feature9qualified equine dentist. PC Jon Allanwas already with the Mounted Branchwhen he decided to take his interest incaring for horses a stage further. Hetook time out to travel to Idaho in theUS, where he enrolled in an equinedentistry course. Ten years on, he is stillbased at Imber Court. “I’m proud to bethe only equine dentist in the Met andestablished police-horse service, in factthey are simply ceremonial now and donot actually carry out any public-orderwork,” explains Insp Hiscox. “But theystill come here to view us as an exampleof best practice and to learn from us. Ofcourse, we learn from them, too, but it’sa sign of how highly regarded we areand how strong our reputation is.”Our training has been used by manyforces around the world. We also learnfrom those who come to learn from usit’s a valuable and unusual resource,too, I guess. It shows the breadth ofoutside skills across the Met.” It alsosaves the Met money by reducing theneed to bring in outside help.Just recently, the MTE has had visitsfrom the Japanese police service,officers from Australia, Europeanofficers and Canada’s Mounties – orthe Royal Canadian Mounted Police,to give them their full title. “Whilethe traditional view might be that theMounties are the most famous andCh Insp Barker adds that, despite thepassing of 90 years since the MTE wasestablished, many things have remainedas they were back then. For example, thebridle and saddle used on horses forgeneral patrol work looks much thesame as they did all those years ago.Despite this, Insp Hiscox says his teamis working constantlyto improve itspractices and tactics.“Our training hasbeen picked upCh Insp Bob Barkersays people feel atease approachinga mounted officerand used by many police forces aroundthe world, but many of them havedifferent systems and processes,” heexplains. “So we haven’t shut our eyesto that. We make sure we learn fromthose who come to learn from us, too.“In addition the Met’s Commander,Bob Broadhurst, is the ACPO lead forthe Mounted Police Working Group,which means we are at the centre ofdiscussions around tactics.”On the front lineThe bulk of police-horse workcontinues to centre on public-orderevents. By far the two biggest andmost demanding are the NottingHill Carnival and the New Year’sEve celebrations.But Insp Hiscox says that theuse of horses at public-order eventshas evolved. Traditionally usedto deal with rioting or threateningbehaviour, they are now used tocontrol crowds and as a “strongvisual presence”, he explains.“At Wembley, for example, they areused to help filter the crowds throughto the Tube station after games.” Inaddition, the Branch has a high1075689111213Who’s Who atImber Court1. PC Paul HydeMounted officer2. ALISON WEBBLeading hand3. LYNDA FISHERStable hand4. PC JON ALLANHorse trainer andequine dentist5. ADAM MILLSHorse trainer6. MADELEINE KILLEENAdministrative officer7. ALAN HISCOXInspector8. LISA CANDLINStable hand9. PC Wendy JacksonMounted officer10. PC HEATHER ANSELLMounted officer11. karen hockadayInstructor12. GARRY GARCIASaddler13. LIBBI RAMSDENHorse trainerjune 2009 | the job

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Human resources | Feature13issues will be made more easilydigestible and will be a few mouseclicks away. A new team of HRprofessionals, based at Empress StateBuilding, will be on hand 24 hours aday, seven days a week, to deal withqueries. But that doesn’t mean thatlocal HR support will not be available.In fact, HR Operational Support(HROS) teams will be on hand invarious sites across London and willprovide face-to-face HR advice andsupport to managers.Information on demandThe new PeoplePages intranet site,which provides a huge range ofjargon-free information online, hasalready replaced the old HR site.Users who log on will find the latestnews on HR topics of interest, suchas recruitment, information aboutterms and conditions of employment,easy guidance on issues such aswork-life balance and safety at work,career development information andadvice, and guidance about managingbehaviour at work, conduct,performance and attendance.Gone is the corporate speak onemight expect on a website dealing withHR matters. Instead, topics arepresented in a light, conversationaltone so that they’re easily understood.“We are dedicated to providinga site that is customer-focused,consistent, clear and reliable,” saysCarol Spinks, who is responsiblefor the development of PeoplePages.“The pages contain an overview foreach topic, provide some commonlyasked questions with answers, aswell as a toolkit that will containrelevant documents for thatprocess, such as policy, standardoperating procedures and otherrelevant forms.”Before the site was redesigned,Carol’s team went out and askedofficers and staff what they wantedand implemented many suggestions.“We will continue to develop andimprove the site with the needs ofHR Business PartnerTony Gill (left)outlines the changesat a recent road showofficers and staff in mind,” says Carol.Officers and staff can emailtheir suggestions for improvementsto: HR Mailbox – intranet.Once the new PeopleServicesfunction is running on 1 December,the site will be updated withinformation relating to the new wayof doing things, including access toonline forms and My HR SelfService.Easing bureaucracyMy HR SelfService will be an intranetbasedservice that enables staff toview and amend their personal andwork-related information and carryout some HR-related tasks that usedto require laborious form filling.Business Change Manager DougFuller says that the key benefitsof this will include a reduction inpaperwork and a more efficientway of doing things.We will save more money each yearand should be saving £15m bythe third year of the programme“These changes will reduce someof the bureaucracy,” he says. “We areall much more IT-literate these days.We book our holidays online and useonline banking, for example. Using thesame principles, if you want to applyfor special leave, you will be able toaccess information on whether you areeligible and how to go about doing it.“You will fill in a form online,decisions will be taken by managersfaster and you will be able to trackwhere your request is. At the moment,you fill in the form and you are neverquite sure whether HR has receivedit, whether they have approved it andwhat happens next.”Know the factsMythMet managers willno longer haveface-to-face supportto help them managetheir peopleQueries will be passedaround from pillarto postAll of HR is now goingto be based at EmpressState BuildingOne HR person on myBOCU/OCU/Business Unitisn’t enoughThe HR intranet isunhelpful as youcan’t find anythingLine managers areconcerned that in the“new world” they aregoing to be asked to doHR tasksThere won’t beany continuity withongoing HR issues, forexample long-termabsence andunderperformanceFactThe PeopleSupport teamis committed to meetingthe needs of managers and,when face-to-face supportis really needed (for example,in the case of long-termabsence or performancemanagementissues), itwill meet managers andprovide practical adviceand coaching. This supportwill help them managetheir people effectively,fairly and consistently.Nearly 80 per cent ofenquiries will be resolvedby the first point of contact.For other enquires that needspecialist knowledge orface-to-face support, theright person to handlethe case will be allocated.Although most of thePeopleSupport team will bebased at ESB, recruitmentwill be at Hendon and theoperational support team willbe deployed from eight basesacross London. There will alsobe 60 strategic HR advisersbased out in the Met units aswell as business partnerswithin the business groups.All support, admin and advicewill be the responsibilityof the PeopleSupport team.The locally based HRrepresentative will besolely working with the SMTto support performance andplanning and to make surethat the PeopleSupport teamis delivering the HR servicethat’s needed.The HR intranet has beenreplaced by PeoplePagesand was redesigned to focuson the needs of staff andofficers. It is now mucheasier to navigate and findthe information needed. Takea look at PeoplePages andprovide feedback.The responsibility for linemanaging is not changing.The PeopleSupport team willstill provide the advice andguidance to help managerswith their responsibilities.The new technology willmake it easier and faster formanagers and staff to submitand authorise requests, whichwill reduce the paper trailand the need for personaldelivery of documents.Someone from thePeopleSupport team willbe allocated to each caseand they will manage thecase from beginning to endto provide the continuityneeded to support managersand staff.june 2009 | the job

14 Feature | Human resourceshannah edwards, nick griggStaff will have access to theirown secure electronic records andbe able to update some of their owninformation, while line managerswill have access to the records oftheir team members.“Some front-line officers wouldoften travel four or five miles fromtheir unit to drop off paperwork totheir HR unit,” says Doug. “That is anincredible waste of their time. So thisnew approach is a lot more efficient.”Always someone on handWith so much emphasis on technology,some people may be asking themselveswhat’s become of the “human” elementof “human resources”. Changes aretaking place there, too.Currently, most of the Met unitshave their own dedicated localHR unit, which means HR servicesranging from staff absences todisciplinary issues are deliveredby more than 60 different teams.From December, these will bereplaced by a single HR team, whichmeans everyone will benefit from theconsistency of a single source ofadvice, no matter where they arein the Met, says Doug.With the creation of a newPeopleSupport centre, anyone whoneeds guidance on HR matters willbe able to speak to an HR professionaladviser day or night. They can alsoget a response by email or face-to-facesupport when it’s really needed.Doug explains the benefits of thenew centre: “Because we are a 24-hourservice, there will always be timeswhen line managers have a significantpeople issue that happens outsidenormal office hours. PeopleSupportmeans, if you can’t get what youneed from the new user-friendlyPeoplePages, there will always be anHR adviser to answer your query.”Martin emphasises that round-theclockaccess to HR information isan essential part of providing anefficient, modern police service.“I am struck by the view thatpolicing takes place 24 hours a day,52 weeks of the year, yet somehow wehave this quaint view that employeeissues can only take place Monday toFriday, nine to five,” he says.“These changes mean officers andstaff will be able to get appropriateadvice at any time, so managers willbe able to speak to HR, whetherthey finish their shift at seven in themorning or 11 in the evening. If theissue is more complex, they will be putin touch with an HR specialist later.”Local supportWhile the changes mean that a lotmore HR business will happen online,by email or over the telephone, therewill always be on-the-ground supportfor those who need it.Detective Chief Inspector JerrySheppard, from Greenwich, is oneof more than 90 change managersresponsible for making sure thechanges go smoothly at a local level,and for feeding back issues andconcerns raised by officers and staff.From left: JerrySheppard, DougFuller, Carol Spinksand BushraBenserghin aresome of the keypeople involved inthe programmeFrom the intranethomepage:Structure> HumanResources“It is my job to communicate thechanges so that everyone understandswhat the impact will be,” he says.“So I speak to people in the boroughthrough things like training daysor through our monthly newsletter.“I believe that PeopleServices willenable better access for all of us inthe organisation. People I’ve spoken tohave been very positive. They see thebenefits that the programme is tryingto achieve.“But one of the concerns that hasbeen raised by officers and staff isthat they are going to lose their HRstaff. PeopleSupport ensures thatthere is assistance on the groundthrough HR Operational Support.”HROS will be based in sites aroundLondon and will provide personal helpfor complex and difficult cases.Bushra Benserghin is one of thepeople who will take up a new rolewithin HROS in December.“Our team of experienced HRprofessionals will provide the qualityface-to-face support that managerswant,” she says. “We’ll come to themand provide practical advice andcoaching to enable them to managetheir people effectively, fairlyand consistently.”Benefits into the futureThe advantages of PeopleServices areevident, creating better accessibility,consistency and efficiency in HRmatters for all employees across theMet. But the boon doesn’t end there,as any cost savings created will be putback into policing.Martin says that the changes willeventually free up £15 million a year.“That will be diverted directly intofront-line policing, which will helpus do what we do best: make Londonsafe,” he explains.The HR team is working hard tomake sure that PeopleServices is thebest that it can be, designed with Metcolleagues in mind, Martin adds.“Our people are our greateststrength,” he explains. “We have a lotof expertise in our HR team, and thereorganisation will help to draw uponthat knowledge.“The changes are designed toprovide the Met with a first-classservice that allows people to accessthe information and advice they needquickly and simply, and enables themto get on with their day jobs.”the job | june 2009

Human resources | Feature13issues will be made more easilydigestible and will be a few mouseclicks away. A new team of HRprofessionals, based at Empress StateBuilding, will be on hand 24 hours aday, seven days a week, to deal withqueries. But that doesn’t mean thatlocal HR support will not be available.In fact, HR Operational Support(HROS) teams will be on hand invarious sites across London and willprovide face-to-face HR advice andsupport to managers.Information on demandThe new PeoplePages intranet site,which provides a huge range ofjargon-free information online, hasalready replaced the old HR site.Users who log on will find the latestnews on HR topics of interest, suchas recruitment, information aboutterms and conditions of employment,easy guidance on issues such aswork-life balance and safety at work,career development information andadvice, and guidance about managingbehaviour at work, conduct,performance and attendance.Gone is the corporate speak onemight expect on a website dealing withHR matters. Instead, topics arepresented in a light, conversationaltone so that they’re easily understood.“We are dedicated to providinga site that is customer-focused,consistent, clear and reliable,” saysCarol Spinks, who is responsiblefor the development of PeoplePages.“The pages contain an overview foreach topic, provide some commonlyasked questions with answers, aswell as a toolkit that will containrelevant documents for thatprocess, such as policy, standardoperating procedures and otherrelevant forms.”Before the site was redesigned,Carol’s team went out and askedofficers and staff what they wantedand implemented many suggestions.“We will continue to develop andimprove the site with the needs ofHR Business PartnerTony Gill (left)outlines the changesat a recent road showofficers and staff in mind,” says Carol.Officers and staff can emailtheir suggestions for improvementsto: HR Mailbox – intranet.Once the new PeopleServicesfunction is running on 1 December,the site will be updated withinformation relating to the new wayof doing things, including access toonline forms and My HR SelfService.Easing bureaucracyMy HR SelfService will be an intranetbasedservice that enables staff toview and amend their personal andwork-related information and carryout some HR-related tasks that usedto require laborious form filling.Business Change Manager DougFuller says that the key benefitsof this will include a reduction inpaperwork and a more efficientway of doing things.We will save more money each yearand should be saving £15m bythe third year of the programme“These changes will reduce someof the bureaucracy,” he says. “We areall much more IT-literate these days.We book our holidays online and useonline banking, for example. Using thesame principles, if you want to applyfor special leave, you will be able toaccess information on whether you areeligible and how to go about doing it.“You will fill in a form online,decisions will be taken by managersfaster and you will be able to trackwhere your request is. At the moment,you fill in the form and you are neverquite sure whether HR has receivedit, whether they have approved it andwhat happens next.”Know the factsMythMet managers willno longer haveface-to-face supportto help them managetheir peopleQueries will be passedaround from pillarto postAll of HR is now goingto be based at EmpressState BuildingOne HR person on myBOCU/OCU/Business Unitisn’t enoughThe HR intranet isunhelpful as youcan’t find anythingLine managers areconcerned that in the“new world” they aregoing to be asked to doHR tasksThere won’t beany continuity withongoing HR issues, forexample long-termabsence andunderperformanceFactThe PeopleSupport teamis committed to meetingthe needs of managers and,when face-to-face supportis really needed (for example,in the case of long-termabsence or performancemanagementissues), itwill meet managers andprovide practical adviceand coaching. This supportwill help them managetheir people effectively,fairly and consistently.Nearly 80 per cent ofenquiries will be resolvedby the first point of contact.For other enquires that needspecialist knowledge orface-to-face support, theright person to handlethe case will be allocated.Although most of thePeopleSupport team will bebased at ESB, recruitmentwill be at Hendon and theoperational support team willbe deployed from eight basesacross London. There will alsobe 60 strategic HR advisersbased out in the Met units aswell as business partnerswithin the business groups.All support, admin and advicewill be the responsibilityof the PeopleSupport team.The locally based HRrepresentative will besolely working with the SMTto support performance andplanning and to make surethat the PeopleSupport teamis delivering the HR servicethat’s needed.The HR intranet has beenreplaced by PeoplePagesand was redesigned to focuson the needs of staff andofficers. It is now mucheasier to navigate and findthe information needed. Takea look at PeoplePages andprovide feedback.The responsibility for linemanaging is not changing.The PeopleSupport team willstill provide the advice andguidance to help managerswith their responsibilities.The new technology willmake it easier and faster formanagers and staff to submitand authorise requests, whichwill reduce the paper trailand the need for personaldelivery of documents.Someone from thePeopleSupport team willbe allocated to each caseand they will manage thecase from beginning to endto provide the continuityneeded to support managersand staff.june 2009 | the job

14 Feature | Human resourceshannah edwards, nick griggStaff will have access to theirown secure electronic records andbe able to update some of their owninformation, while line managerswill have access to the records oftheir team members.“Some front-line officers wouldoften travel four or five miles fromtheir unit to drop off paperwork totheir HR unit,” says Doug. “That is anincredible waste of their time. So thisnew approach is a lot more efficient.”Always someone on handWith so much emphasis on technology,some people may be asking themselveswhat’s become of the “human” elementof “human resources”. Changes aretaking place there, too.Currently, most of the Met unitshave their own dedicated localHR unit, which means HR servicesranging from staff absences todisciplinary issues are deliveredby more than 60 different teams.From December, these will bereplaced by a single HR team, whichmeans everyone will benefit from theconsistency of a single source ofadvice, no matter where they arein the Met, says Doug.With the creation of a newPeopleSupport centre, anyone whoneeds guidance on HR matters willbe able to speak to an HR professionaladviser day or night. They can alsoget a response by email or face-to-facesupport when it’s really needed.Doug explains the benefits of thenew centre: “Because we are a 24-hourservice, there will always be timeswhen line managers have a significantpeople issue that happens outsidenormal office hours. PeopleSupportmeans, if you can’t get what youneed from the new user-friendlyPeoplePages, there will always be anHR adviser to answer your query.”Martin emphasises that round-theclockaccess to HR information isan essential part of providing anefficient, modern police service.“I am struck by the view thatpolicing takes place 24 hours a day,52 weeks of the year, yet somehow wehave this quaint view that employeeissues can only take place Monday toFriday, nine to five,” he says.“These changes mean officers andstaff will be able to get appropriateadvice at any time, so managers willbe able to speak to HR, whetherthey finish their shift at seven in themorning or 11 in the evening. If theissue is more complex, they will be putin touch with an HR specialist later.”Local supportWhile the changes mean that a lotmore HR business will happen online,by email or over the telephone, therewill always be on-the-ground supportfor those who need it.Detective Chief Inspector JerrySheppard, from Greenwich, is oneof more than 90 change managersresponsible for making sure thechanges go smoothly at a local level,and for feeding back issues andconcerns raised by officers and staff.From left: JerrySheppard, DougFuller, Carol Spinksand BushraBenserghin aresome of the keypeople involved inthe programmeFrom the intranethomepage:Structure> HumanResources“It is my job to communicate thechanges so that everyone understandswhat the impact will be,” he says.“So I speak to people in the boroughthrough things like training daysor through our monthly newsletter.“I believe that PeopleServices willenable better access for all of us inthe organisation. People I’ve spoken tohave been very positive. They see thebenefits that the programme is tryingto achieve.“But one of the concerns that hasbeen raised by officers and staff isthat they are going to lose their HRstaff. PeopleSupport ensures thatthere is assistance on the groundthrough HR Operational Support.”HROS will be based in sites aroundLondon and will provide personal helpfor complex and difficult cases.Bushra Benserghin is one of thepeople who will take up a new rolewithin HROS in December.“Our team of experienced HRprofessionals will provide the qualityface-to-face support that managerswant,” she says. “We’ll come to themand provide practical advice andcoaching to enable them to managetheir people effectively, fairlyand consistently.”Benefits into the futureThe advantages of PeopleServices areevident, creating better accessibility,consistency and efficiency in HRmatters for all employees across theMet. But the boon doesn’t end there,as any cost savings created will be putback into policing.Martin says that the changes willeventually free up £15 million a year.“That will be diverted directly intofront-line policing, which will helpus do what we do best: make Londonsafe,” he explains.The HR team is working hard tomake sure that PeopleServices is thebest that it can be, designed with Metcolleagues in mind, Martin adds.“Our people are our greateststrength,” he explains. “We have a lotof expertise in our HR team, and thereorganisation will help to draw uponthat knowledge.“The changes are designed toprovide the Met with a first-classservice that allows people to accessthe information and advice they needquickly and simply, and enables themto get on with their day jobs.”the job | june 2009

16 Feature | Acquisitive crimeGettingacquisitiveAcquisitive crime – robbery, burglary and vehicle crime – is down25 per cent. We look at how the Met achieved this and how it plans to keepup the fight. Over the page, we look at how it’s targeting London’s burglarsOne of the Met’s mostimpressive successstories of recent yearshas been the progressmade in tackling acquisitive crime– robbery, residential burglary andvehicle crime – which has fallen by 25per cent over the past five years.It’s an astonishing statistic andmeans that, in all, 70,000 feweroffences took place last year comparedwith five years ago – and that fewerpeople are becoming victims of thesevery personal crimes.So what has been behind thisreduction, and how does the Met planto continue tackling acquisitive crime?Detective Inspector Dawn Hargadon,from the Borough Support Unitwithin the TP Violent CrimeDirectorate, says there have beenmany factors behind the reduction,with major operations often grabbingthe headlines.“Some of the major operations thathave been run to tackle acquisitivecrime in recent years have clearly hada massive impact,” she explains. “Forexample, the Met’s strategy fortackling violent crime has deterredstreet robbery by putting more officerson the streets and effecting moresearches of youths to check if theyhave weapons on them. It has generallymade the streets safer.”With regards to burglary, DI Hargadonsays that operations going back overfive years have clearly helped to reducethis area of acquisitive crime. (See page18 for a feature detailing the work ofOperation Spotlight around burglary.)Other influencesWhile major operations have clearlybeen a factor in the reduction of allserious acquisitive crime, other workFor many yearsthe Met hasworked with thecar industry anddoor and windowmanufacturers toimprove securityhas also contributed, explains DetectiveSergeant Peter Thackray, also from theBorough Support Unit: “There are otherthings, many of which are ongoing,which have also really helped.”At the centre of these, he says, arethe Safer Neighbourhoods (SN) teams,whose introduction to the Met coincidedwith the reduction of acquisitive crimes.“SN teams are a really valuable asset,”he explains. “They have a vital role toplay in keeping in contact with victimsof crime, because that really helps toboost confidence in the police and keepspeople informed of what we are doing.“However, the work they do inadvising local residents on protectingtheir homes, their cars and themselvesis preventing crimes from taking place.“They have the time and theinformation required to educate thepublic, and they can do that in a waythat doesn’t alarm or frighten them. Thepublic now expects contact with them,so it’s a reassuring presence rather thanone that raises concern.”In addition to this local work, othermethods have been used to encouragethe public to protect themselves.Regular advertising campaigns on radio,TV and public transport have all helpedto raise the awareness of crime andcrime-prevention techniques.And partnership work with privatebusinesses has also been important,adds Det Sgt Thackray. “For many yearsthe Met has worked with those in thecar industry and manufacturers ofdoors and windows to help themimprove security around their products,”the job | june 2009

Acquisitive crime | Feature17he says. “This has clearly helped reducecrime. Vehicles are more secure andUPVC doors and windows are moredifficult for burglars to get through.”But internally, too, the Met has beenmaking the most of what works best,adds DI Hargadon.“We’ve been doing a lot of work toshare best practice around the Met, totake what works and encourage othersto do the same, and also to help thosewho aren’t as up to speed in someareas,” she adds. “It’s a major part of ourrole as a support unit – to help train andeducate boroughs which will, in turn,improve performance across the MPS.”This work often includes boroughvisits by the Support Unit to look atperformance and performance issues,to highlight any problems and suggestbetter ways to present and analyseinformation and intelligence to helpidentify offenders, for example.Future challengesDespite the impressivereduction in acquisitivecrime rates acrossthe Met in recentyears, DetectiveSuperintendentMartin Rusling,who headsup the Borough Support Unit, saysthat there are still major challengesto be faced.“There are lots of things for us tocontend with and the challenges weface are constantly changing,” he says.“The improvements in car securitymean that thieves are looking atother ways to get their hands on them,so we have to monitor that. Inaddition, the success of initiativesagainst violent crime means someoffenders will inevitably look tocommit other types of crime as therisks of carrying out robberies andbeing caught have risen.”There are other pressures, too,adds DI Hargadon. For example,her team is concerned about theavailability of ‘bump keys’ (usedto break Yale locks), on internetauction sites. And, of course, theteam is monitoring the effects of theeconomic downturn, as offenderswho may be attempting to getthemselves out of criminality bysecuring work will find it harder tokeep their jobs, and may considerreturning to crime.“These are all things we need tothink about,” she says. “We knowdrugs are a major driver for mostacquisitive crime, but we will considerall factors because that is what ourrole is all about.”alamyCarrying on the good workDet Supt Rusling says that his teamwill continue doing what works, whilealso trying new methods that will tackleacquisitive crimes with the positiveresults it has seen in recent years.“We will continue to work withindustry and our partners in otheragencies to tackle these offences.But this process is also about helpingpeople to help themselves, so the workof SN officers in visiting residents toeducate them on how to protect theirhomes, cars and belongings willassume even greater importance astime goes on. People want to feel safeand these initiatives can really helpthem feel that way.”Changing challenge:The Met believesmany robbers aremoving into burglaryoverleaf…Turn over to read our in-depthreport on the Met’s OperationSpotlight, tackling burglaryjune 2009 | the job

18Feature | Burglaryin theSpotlightA new operation has seen a continued reduction in burglary– and made the public feel more confident, tooIt’s a memory that has stayedwith Paul ever since he becamea victim of crime. “It’s a horriblefeeling knowing these peoplehave been in your house and goingthrough your stuff,” he says. “Whatmade it worse was that my three kidswere asleep upstairs at the time.Thankfully, the burglars took what theywere looking for and left, but it couldhave been a lot worse.”In February Paul was the victim ofa burglary while he slept at his home.As a driving instructor, the fact theburglars also stole his car had thepotential to stop him from working.“It’s certainly a disruption to yourlife,” he adds. “Although I had insuranceand the police got the car back withina day, I could have lost my livelihood.Until you’ve been burgled, you don’trealise the problems and the worryit can cause.”Worrying trendsPaul’s case is by no means an isolatedone. Last year, the Met was becomingincreasingly concerned about burglaryrates in the capital. While the number ofburglaries was continuing to fall, thereduction was slowing down and, asSuperintendent Phil Kaye from TPHQ,explains, overall burglary rates mayhave recorded a year-on-year increase.“We looked at the trends and decidedto act before there was a rise,” he says.“With Christmas approaching, whenthere is traditionally a rise in activityin this and other acquisitive crimes,it was the perfect time to launch a newand coordinated operation.”Supt Kaye and his team launchedOperation Spotlight. Phase one of thetwo-phase operation began in Novemberof last year. It had three main aims: toreduce the levels of residential burglary,increase detections and, importantly,Scene of crime:burglary can makevictims feel violatedand anxiousincrease levels of victim satisfaction.To reduce burglaries and victims, andto catch more offenders, a number ofnew measures were introduced.Supt Kaye explains: “We wantedto boost performance across the32 boroughs of the Met, so we launcheda high level of operational activity.”This involved using boroughintelligence to identify burglarysuspects for arrest. Patrols andoperations were also set up in areasknown to be favoured by burglars,which served as a deterrent but alsomeant officers could respond morerapidly if a burglary was reported,increasing the chances of an arrest.While the operation ran across all32 boroughs, a targeted approach meantthat officers could tailor work to specificborough needs.Additionally, “burglary activity” weekswere launched to arrest outstandingthe job | june 2009

Burglary | Feature19suspects and “further disrupt prolificburglary offenders”, explains Supt Kaye.To secure more convictions, duringthe operation suspects could only bebailed or not proceeded with on theauthority of a senior officer.Results certainly appear to suggestthat these approaches were the rightones. In the first phase of the operation,which ran from November to January,1,457 people were arrested, 624 ofwhom were charged with burglary.A further 608 were charged withother offences.Boosting confidenceAlongside these efforts, the Met reallywanted to boost victim confidence.“In this operation, arresting andprosecuting offenders was a priority,but the primary focus was onsupporting victims. How we respondcan really affect the confidence peoplehave in us, so we wanted to lookat that, too,” Supt Kaye says.Much of the victim-focus workwas based around contact andcommunication. Prior to OperationSpotlight, contact for some burglaryvictims would come in the form of acall from the Telephone InvestigationBureau (TIB). As Acting Detective ChiefInspector Mark Page (from OperationSpotlight) explains, improving contactfrom officers had a major impacton confidence in how the Met handlesburglary as well leading to bettercommunity intelligence.“Burglary is a really serious crimeand victims can feel traumatised,violated and that their privacy has beenhugely invaded,” he says. “Therefore,victims often want officers to attend thescene and they certainly want to bekept up to date with developments.”With this in mind, OperationSpotlight determined that no residentialburglary allegations should be reportedby the TIB. Instead, it stated that theyshould be handled through IntegratedBorough Operations, with a requirementthat they acknowledge receipt of thecall and contact the victim within30 minutes to advise on what formthe police response will take.It also stated that a burglaryinvestigation car would attend allallegations of residential burglary.A/DCI Page says that, while this gavevictims an assurance that their crimewas being taken seriously, follow-upcontact was also put in place to ensurethey knew everything was being doneto catch the offender.“We also ensured that crime sceneinvestigators would attend all residentialburglary allegations within four hours,and that Safer Neighbourhoods teamswould visit victims within 72 hours tofurther update them and to pass onburglary-prevention material.“We created burglary packs andleaflets giving advice about protectingyour home,” adds Supt Kaye. “Prior tothe operation, burglary packs were nothanded out Met-wide to victims. Thisadded to their confidence in the police,because they were getting extra contactfrom us, and it also made them feelsafer, as we were able to help themprotect themselves against becomingvictims of this crime again.”Following the success of OperationSpotlight over the Christmas period,a second phase was launched in the newyear which ran until the end of March.The results were just as impressive.Overall, the two phases saw morethan 2,500 arrests, while the activityweek in March alone saw 124outstanding suspects arrested forresidential burglary offences and38 arrested for other offences.Research carried out among thevictims of burglary by MRUK duringthe operation showed victims weremuch happier with the service theyreceived from the Met.police satisfactionSatisfaction with police responseduring this period increased from 81per cent to 91 per cent. The percentageof residential burglary victims whofelt informed of what would happennext rose by eight per cent – to 93 percent. And the percentage of victimswho felt reassured by police increasedfrom 83 per cent to 93 per cent.Driving instructor Paul certainlyagrees that the response from officerswas all that he hoped for following theburglary at his home.He says: “I wasn’t expecting such aquick response and I was pleased withhow well the police kept us informed.Within a day they had retrieved my carand the Safer Neighbourhoods officerscame round to give us some advice.“It gave me confidence thatsomething was being done andI really appreciated that.”More to come...Operation Spotlight set outthat, moving forward, work shouldensure that:● The current victim-focusstrategy is maintained● The allegation-managementprocesses are maintained● Boroughs’ burglary profilesare maintained● Sanction detections aremaximised using best practice● A new operational phaseidentifying opportunities tocontinue burglary reductionis launched during 2009/10● All boroughs submit 2009/10burglary plans with analysisand funding● Areas for improvementare identified from victimsatisfaction analysisthe guardianjune 2009 | the job

20 Feature | ANPRDoingit bynumbersAutomatic Number Plate Recognition isnothing new. But the way it’s being used, totackle crimes from robbery to murder, is…Automatic Number PlateRecognition (ANPR)technology has only beenused by UK police on a widescale for about four years. But its abilityto net more and more criminals hasevolved as fast as a fleeing getaway caron the M25. Unlike many of those,however, police won’t be halting itsprogress any time soon.As the National ANPR Data Centre(NADC) – the UK’s repository for ANPRinformation – continues to gatherintelligence on vehicles that are beingdriven illegally or used for criminalpurposes, officers are using thatinformation to conduct proactiveoperations that zero in on law breakerswhile keeping other UK drivers safe.“The only limits to ANPR are theuser’s imagination, as long as there arecameras where you want to look,” saysDetective Inspector Ian Roberts of theCentral Operations Coordination andTasking Office (CaTO). The office deploysthe Met’s ANPR teams in support of anarray of different corporate operations.DI Roberts has been involved with thedevelopment of the Metropolitan MobileGateway (MMG), which will eventuallybe a receptacle for all ANPR reads madewithin the Met, be it from a vehicle,laptop or portable or fixed-site system.By late summer, the MMG will give Metanalysts powers that were onlyavailable through the national datacentre, including the ability to map outwhere a vehicle is in real time andwhere it’s been. Officers will evenknow what other vehicles aretravelling with the suspect’s car. If aregistration has been cloned and isbeing used on cars that are miles apart,this will be flagged up to Met officers.The MMG will load its information tothe national data centre, adding it to thebevy of other hits coming in from otherforces. In other words, criminals will betracked in real time anywhere in the UKfor the benefit of whatever operation thepolice might be conducting.“If we lose the trail, we can trackvehicles in a live scenario and put teamsback on to the subject vehicle,” says DIRoberts. “Senior investigating officershave already seen the benefit of usingthe technology to locate vehicles thathave been flagged up, which has helpedseveral operations enormously.”Proactive useThe technology is regularly used tobuild lifestyle portraits of criminals’activities, says CO15’s Inspector BrianDuffy, who manages the ANPR teamsdotted around the Met area. It storesvehicle indexes on databases, so it cantrace the time and date of vehicles’whereabouts. It has helped across theMet, from collision investigations tothose done by the major crime squads.“ANPR teams are regularly deployedin support of Met operations that dealwith gun crime, knife crime andburglary,” says Insp Duffy. “Intelligencerelevant to those matters is placed onSgt MaureenHayden, above, ona recent operationon the M25our database to help target specificcrime types, groups or individuals. It’sbecome a common method of work.“The CO15 ANPR unit has hadconsiderable results in disruptingcriminal networks, bringing offenders tojustice and recovering firearms, knives,cash, proceeds of crime and stolenproperty, including high-value cars.”The north-east ANPR Team, led bySergeant Simon Crump, was involvedin two successes last year. In OperationCarham, the team joined withneighbouring forces over eight nightsto bear down on car thieves on majorarterial routes. They shared intelligenceand coordinated efforts at strategiclocations. It ended with 51 arrests foroffences, including robbery, theft andassault. More than 54 vehicles wereseized, there were 15 firearms stops andfour stolen vehicles were recovered,including a £60,000 Mercedes. The teamhelped SCD7 crack down on cash-intransitrobberies during OperationBushbury in Newham. Suspects andvehicles were placed on the ANPRdatabase and Sgt Crump’s team usedcamera-mounted vehicles to help locateand arrest them.the job | june 2009

ANPR | Feature21Another good example comesfrom the other side of London.Dozens of arrests were made over twodays with the help of the south-eastANPR team, Bexley, led by SergeantEddie Tindall, who worked with Bexleyborough during Operation BrandsHatch. Intelligence loaded into theANPR system helped them catch andcharge more than 24 people withoffences ranging from drink-driving totheft, burglary and money-laundering.A suitable ‘Reaction’The Job recently caught up withSergeant Maureen Hayden of thenorth-west ANPR team, which wasembarking on a leg of OperationReaction. It’s a cross-border initiative,with Surrey and Thames Valley Police,aimed at stemming criminal activityalong the M25.In a giant temporary lot close toHeathrow Airport, dozens of policevehicles from the three forces gatherand then dispatch on to GreaterLondon’s famous motorway border. The100 or so officers involved are on thehunt for every level of criminal, from theusual uninsured driver to car thieves,213HOW ANPR WORKS...1. Passing vehicles’ registrations are scanned by theon-board camera to see if they are on the road legally2. Details of any discrepancies appear on the in-car monitor3. If drivers are unable to produce the relevant documents or provetheir vehicles are on the road legally, the vehicles are seized.gun runners and those alreadyon the run from the law.“We’re using databases on the ANPRsystem, so not only will the uninsureddrivers grab our attention, but so willthose driving lost or stolen cars, forexample,” says Sgt Hayden. “This wholesystem is evolving through a moresophisticated use of databases. Theinformation on each is being honeddaily. Our liaison with the MotorInsurers’ Bureau is much closer thanwhen we first started and, as we allknow, many of those willing to drivewithout insurance and withoutregistering their vehicles are also likelyto be involved in other crimes.”Insp Duffy has set up partnershipswith civilian court enforcement officerswho have access to the records ofindividuals with outstanding finesand warrants.Earlier in Operation Reaction, a malewanted for a sexual assault on an11-year-old girl was stopped after beingInsp Brian Duffy hasworked to gatherintelligence fromnew sourcesGetting it right“The ANPR database that weuse is only as good as theintelligence that is put on it,”says Inspector Brian Duffy of theCO15 ANPR Unit. “It is thereforevital that staff carefully considerif the information that theyput on their Crimint entries issuitable for inclusion.”Crimint entries are sometimesmarked on the system asnoteworthy, but fail to includecrucial information such asthe vehicle registration mark(VRM). Other noteworthy entrieshaven’t been marked as such,and so may slip between thecyber-cracks.Insp Duffy has thus createdsome changes to the Crimintentry screen, including amandatory yes/no field formarking an entry as noteworthy.“It has reduced the time spentweeding reports,” he says.“Those making the entriesneed to ask themselves whatthey would want the ANPRteam to do if they stopped thevehicle in question. If the answeris ‘nothing’, then it is not anoteworthy entry.”flagged for not having insurance. Hewas identified by an officer’s mobilefingerprint device and arrested.“We’ve also identified a man wantedfor murder and a number of burglars,to name a few,” she says. “We payspecial attention to vehicles that comeup as ‘no keeper’ because a lot ofcriminals won’t register to prohibitpolice from tracking them. So whereasofficers on borough might think thatstopping someone for ‘no keeper’ is aminor thing, we’re developing a lot ofintelligence from it.”In fact, Sgt Hayden makes regularvisits to the boroughs to teach theofficers what to look out for while outon their local streets.Indeed it would seem that the waysof using ANPR to fight crime areboundless. “The usefulness of ANPRtechnology in reducing crime and roadcasualties and preventing major-scalecriminal acts is being increasinglyrecognised,” says Insp Duffy.hannah edwardsjune 2009 | the job

22 News | On boroughOn boroughYour monthly round-up of news and eventstaking place across the boroughs…yrHaringeyHTTower HamletsGetting a taste for whatit’s like in the justice sectorYoung people play police and judges in programmeTeenagers and police recruitsare learning from each other in aninventive programme held in Haringey.In Kid Cop, students fromNorthumberland Park School recentlytook on the roles of police officers,gaolers, lawyers, suspects andwitnesses, as they acted out the judicialprocess, from the initial report of asuspicious person, through to stop andsearch, arrest, custody, fingerprinting,DNA swabbing, interviews andstatement-taking.The programme, which includedaround 100 pupils aged 13 to 14 yearsold, was designed to equip young peoplewith a greater understanding of how thelaw works and to improve relationshipsbetween them and the police.PC Bobette Ta-Min created Kid Cop,which runs in partnership withthe school, Haringey Council, theCommunity Justice Court andthe Crown Prosecution Service.“The only knowledge that a lot of thekids I work with have of the police iswhat they see on the TV or hear from arelative who might have run into somesort of trouble,” she says.Prior to the event, PC Ta-Min madepresentations about the right and wrongways to do stop and search and aboutthe law on carrying weapons in a publicplace. She also took some students tolocal courts and police stations to speakto magistrates, detectives and evenpeople being held in custody.“On a visit to one of the policestations, one of the students reallywanted to visit the custody area andspeak to a prisoner,” says PC Ta-Min.“He was curious as to what causespeople to make wrong choices. Thestudents took a lot from that experience.“But this has also been a really goodlearning experience for all involved, fromexperienced CID officers to new recruits.From left, HasanOrdu, JudithAmponsah,Chanice Gordon,and studentPC Kevin Blumerwith PC Ta-MinThe opportunity to engage on this levelwith people of this age group has reallyhighlighted that the overwhelmingmajority of our young people are goodkids that want to make somethingpositive of their lives.”Haringey Magistrate Chris Connop,who was chairman of the bench at themock court session, says: “It’swonderful that so many police officershave been willing to come and takepart. It’s so important that young peoplesee how police support them.”It is hoped that Kid Cop will be rolledout to other schools in Haringey, andmaybe even to other boroughs later on.“We want young people to fullyunderstand how the criminal justicesystem works,” says ChiefSuperintendent Dave Grant, HaringeyBorough commander. “While it mayseem like fun, it actually gets acrossa serious point that there are exactingand rigorous processes that we mustgo through when a crime is committedin order to determine who has donewhat. I hope that they understand whyall the different parts of the criminaljustice system do what they do. It wouldbe even better if all of this positiveinteraction urges them to considera career with the police.”First-handexperiencePublic sit in oncounter-terror opRepresentatives from avariety of organisations got a tastefor what police have to accomplishas a terrorist attack unfolds.All Communities Together (ACT)NOW is a tabletop exercise that givesparticipants a better understanding ofcounter-terrorism procedures anddemonstrates how communities andagencies can work together to defeatterrorism. The programme, whichbegan in West Yorkshire, made itsLondon debut in April.Tower Hamlets was designated asone of four pilot boroughs for Prevent,the Government’s counter-terrorismstrategy, and was given £1.3 millionto tender for local projects that wouldfurther that agenda. The winningbidders were invited to participatein the ACT NOW programme.“The event takes place in afictitious town called Sanford,” saysPC Iain Galloway of the TowerHamlets Prevent CommunityEngagement Team, which organisedthe exercise. “It put participants in therole of police officers – particularlythe investigation team. Their decisionsaffected how the event unfolded.”Participants acted out dealing withcommunity members, media and thefamilies of those arrested.“Hopefully this will be the first ofmany sessions to be run in the Met,”says team member PC Ian Kershaw.Detective SergeantBarry Walshfacilitated the ACTNOW scenariothe job | june 2009

On borough | News23lxLambethyrHaringeyQuestion Timedevelops tiesOfficers and young people learnfrom one another in discussionsPolice in Lambeth recently found that discussingstop and search directly with young people can dispel thepreconceived notions they might hold, build bridges betweenthe police and the community and even pave the way forbetter recruitment.Officers from Lambeth Police, Five Area TSG and theDirectorate of Professional Standards took part in Question Time– Police Encounters, a panel discussion at Lambeth Collegebased on the BBC programme Question Time. More than 40students attended to put their questions to the officers.PC Errol Patterson, Lambeth Police’s African-Caribbeancommunity liaison officer, delivered a presentation to thestudents, which included an explanation of what a stop is andhow a search should be conducted.“Most students are quite comfortable about stop and search,”says PC Patterson. “They wanted more explanation as to howthe law applies and the reasons why we do it.”The officers were asked why it is that certain people aretargeted for stop and search and how they gather intelligenceduring the operations.“I asked the police a question and they answered it in full,”says Antonio Rodrigues, an 18-year-old student from LambethCollege. “It was encouraging to sit down with the police andengage in conversation. For problems to be solved we need towork together and seek solutions together.”PC Patterson said that some of the students in attendancesuggested adding a young person to the panel the next time thatit’s held, which the officers are now considering.“Officers from other boroughs who want to implementsomething similar just need to contact their local colleges toget them on board and publicise it well in advance,” saysPC Patterson.After the event, a number of students expressed an interestin pursuing a career in policing, asking questions about salariesand what the job entails.Haringey recognisesacts of dedicationPolice and public receive commendationsfor keeping local communities safeSaving the life of a suicidalman, bringing local drug dealers tojustice, assisting in the detainment of anaxe-wielding male and rejuvenating theNeighbourhood Watch – these were justa few of the many of the acts by policeofficers in Haringey recognised at aceremony for demonstrating bravery,dedication and professionalism.The Haringey Borough CommanderCommendation Ceremony, held recentlyat the Police Sports Club in Chigwell,recognised over 50 people, includingmembers of the public, council staff,PCSOs and police staff, for makinga real difference to communities andcreating a safer Haringey.“This is an opportunity on behalf ofthe Met and the community of Haringeyto thank people for their hard work,”said Chief Superintendent Dave Grant,Haringey Borough commander.PC Mick Allen of Haringey’s SapphireUnit was presented with a CourtCommendation following the successfulconclusion of a trial for a sexual assaulton a 13-year-old girl.The Honourable Judge GuggenheimQC commended PC Allen for the way inwhich he conducted the interview of thevictim, in particular the simplicity andclarity of the questions asked. JudgeGuggenheim stated that she had seenmany interviews but seldom seen oneconducted so professionally andsuccessfully in the sense of obtainingsuch clear evidence from a young andvulnerable witness.Scenes of Crime Officers ClaireWinward and Fiona Charalambous werecommended for their professionalismand dedication to duty in obtaining vitalevidence that secured the conviction ofan individual who firebombed a Kurdishprotest at Finsbury Park. The officers, inso doing, strengthened the links betweenthe Met and the Kurdish community.Between April 2007 and March 2008,PC Nicholas Lloyd, a response teamofficer, arrested an impressive 121offenders, an outstanding performance,for which he received a commendation.Dozens of other police officers andstaff were commended for work onoperations and projects that helpedimprove the community. Inspector CraigMiddleton, Sergeant Mark Pearce, PCsRory Fraser, Marcel Baker, SeanDonohoe, Lee Barnes and Jane Scanlan,PCSOs Kerry Murphy and Yildiz Ali,ASBAT Officer Izzet Bicman and memberof the public and Reverend PaulineLijertwood, were commended for theirprofessionalism, commitment anddedication to duty in eradicating crimeand anti-social behaviour on the MiltonRoad Estate.PC Pamela White was commended forplaying a crucial role in the success ofthe Haringey Volunteer Police Cadets,while Inspector John Forde wascommended for producing a DVD foryoung people illustrating the tragicconsequences of carrying knives.Police and citizensshow their plaquesfrom the ceremonyin ChigwellPC Errol Patterson,CI Jon Kirkpatrickand the college’sShirley Chambersjune 2009 | the job

24 News | On boroughkfNewhamQAHarrowGames inspire green projectsStratford and New Town Safer Neighbourhoods pitch inaround Olympics site to improve the areaWhile the Olympics site might notbe much to look at right now, it’s inspiringsome improvements to the surroundingarea, thanks to a Met initiative.On a site adjacent to the Olympicspark, the Stratford and New Town SaferNeighbourhoods (SN) Team rolled up theirsleeves alongside a group of volunteers tocut overgrown vegetation, remove graffitiand improve the local canal pathway.“It’s a fantastic opportunity for SaferNeighbourhoods teams to work alongsideand support communities in making wardscleaner and safer,” says Acting SergeantJeff Wade of Strategic Engagement Team,Olympic strand.A/Sgt Wade has developed an area ofthe Olympics programme that looks at howthe Games can act as a catalyst for activitythat will have lasting environmentalPC Paul Ross lendsa helping hand tovolunteers near theNewham sitebenefits for London and other Gamesvenues nationally.Changing Places is one part of it andaims to involve local people to enhancepride and ownership in the development oftheir local areas.The programme will initially run in thefive Olympics and Paralympics hostboroughs, with plans to roll it out acrossLondon and to other venues outsidethe capital.Reach forthe StarsPolice footballersin Harrow have afriendly with localsPolice footballers in Harroware reaching out to the communitythrough their efforts on the pitch.The lads recently faced off againstthe Harrow Stars, a local team set up byformer semi-professional footballer,Ali Kamal, to give the growing numberof young Somalis in the area a positivechannel for their energy. The clubsupports its members by offering themcoaching qualifications and issupported by both Watford FootballClub and police in Harrow.“Some of these young people willhave come across the police in theirzdCROYDONBensham Manor is topsTeam of the Year named by the local WatchMet officers work hard toensure that their communities are safe,and while they don’t do it necessarily forthe kudos, it is nice when the communitymakes an effort to say “thank you”.In Croydon, the Bensham Manor SaferNeighbourhoods (SN) team waspresented with the George HammondPolice Safer Neighbourhoods Team ofthe Year Award for 2008.Croydon’s Neighbourhood WatchAssociation Committee made thedecision afterreceiving a numberof nominations.Residents who votedleft comments suchas “they bring asense of safety andsecurity to the area”and “they are anintegral part ofthe community”.the job | june 2009The Bensham ManorSN team with Watchmembers and familyof George HammondThe award was created two yearsago by the chair of Croydon’sNeighbourhood Watch AssociationCommittee (NWAC) to celebratethe positive relationship betweenmembers of the public and the SNteams in the borough.It was later renamed after GeorgeHammond, a former special constable,and a founding member of the NWAC,who died in October 2008.pyBROMLEYNew on the beatMayor’s pledge creates anotherteam for local transport hubsBromley has become the latest borough to benefitfrom the Mayor’s commitment to increase the police presence onand around public transport, with two new policing teamspatrolling around Bromley Town Centre and Crystal Palace.The teams aim to be a visible deterrent to crime and anti-socialbehaviour and will work closely with the existing SaferNeighbourhoods (SN) teams, British Transport Police, SaferSchool officers and local transport staff. Each team consists of asergeant, one PC and seven PCSOs.The most recent statistics show that, compared to the sameperiod last year, crimes committed on or around the bus networkin Bromley have been reduced by 38 per cent.“Our Safer TransportTeam has made atremendous impact on thebuses, reducing crime andimproving safety,” saysChief SuperintendentCharles Griggs, boroughcommander. “These twonew teams will enable usto make our buses andtransport hubs even safer.”The new teams jointhe other officersalready gettingresults in Bromley

On borough | News25rggreenwicheveryday lives,” says PC WaqasRehman, Muslim engagement officerwith Harrow. “For them to engage with usthrough a football match helps them viewthe police differently and to build andmaintain good relations.”The Stars gave the police team achallenging match but, after a tight firsthalf, the Met team eventually prevailed,winning 4-1. The Stars will have a chanceto get their own back as a rematch isalready being planned.Harrow Stars arealready lookingforward to a rematchwith the policeDon’t give them your numberGreenwich team helps drivers secure their car plates socriminals can’t steal themCar numberplates are thesecond most commonly stolen items fromautomobiles (behind satellite navigationsystems). To curb the problem in itsarea, the Thamesmead Moorings SaferNeighbourhoods (SN) team recently joinedup with local businesses to demonstrateto drivers how to make their numberplatesmore secure.Two tamper-proof screws are usedto fix numberplates, which subsequentlybecome so secure that they will haveto be broken up in order to be removed.Stolen numberplates can be mountedon to other cars, allowing car cloning. Carswith stolen numberplates enable thievesto drive away from petrol stations, avoidpaying the congestion charge, evadespeed-camera fines and even get awaywith other, more serious, offences.Fitting securescrews to platesmakes them almostimpossible to steal“We really wanted to do somethingto impress upon the local community thata number of simple steps can be takento avoid becoming a victim of crime,” saysPCSO Azizul Islam of ThamesmeadMoorings SN team. “Innocent motorists dofind themselves in a very difficult positionwhen fines are delivered to their doorsteps.It takes just five minutes to secure anumberplate and make it very difficult foranyone to steal.”

REFSWhat’son!Some of the mainattractions comingup in the capital…Future on the marchCelebrate the Met’s futurewith a parade markingmore than 20 years ofthe MPS Volunteer PoliceCadet Units. It will be thebiggest youth paradeLondon has seen for along time and involvesmore people than theTrooping of the Colour.Supporting the cadets withtheir attendance will beroyalty, senior politicians,senior officers, parents,relatives and friends. Bethere on Sunday 14 Juneat Horse Guards Paradefrom approximately 12pm.Ice on fireRare is the chance thata person gets to carrya large stick in the hopeof helping others. TheMetropolitan Police PeelersIce Hockey Club is holdingits 2009 Summer ServicesCharity Ice Hockeytournament in aid of Helpfor Heroes. As if you everneeded a reason to go toSlough, be at the SloughIce Arena on 27 June from11am to 9pm to see theteam take on the Britishmilitary’s finest. Ticketscost only £5 in advance.Phone 07595 364901.North American slamIt’s no secret there’s somehealthy rivalry betweenCanadians and their largerNorth American neighbourbelow the border.Mistake a Canadian fora Yankee just once, andyou’ll see. Watch themsettle their differencesthrough sport in theboxing ring at ChigwellSports Club on 26 June.Tickets are £59, a smallprice to see how meanthe placid maple leavescan get. Phone 020 85002735 for more info.News and views | RefsInterviews, letters,sport and things to do...Cadets on the moveMet officers of the future got a chance to show whatthey were made of in March when more than 200police cadets embarked on a half-marathon alongthe Thames in support of ex-service personnel.The St Dunstan’s Cadet Challenge set theyoungsters on a 13-mile run from Tower Bridge all theway to Vauxhall Bridge. The sponsorship they raisedwill help St Dunstan’s, which provides lifelong supportand rehabilitation to blind ex-service men and women,enabling them to regain their independence, meet newchallenges and achieve a better quality of life.The event was established in 2004 to help createawareness of the support services the charityprovides. Over 1,600 cadets from across the militaryand emergency services have participated over thelast five years.“The challenge encourages cadets to question theirperceptions of blindness and helps to promote aninter-generational understanding and respect for suchinspiring individuals,” says PC Jeff Moorey, PoliceCadet Coordinator forBexley VolunteerCadet Unit.“We were veryimpressed with theperformance of allthe cadets andwith their excellentefforts for sucha worthy cause.”The nose knowsA small group of brave and ambitious managers fromWestminster CJU visited the whole of Westminster, NewScotland Yard and Hillgate CPS to collect as much aspossible within two days for the Red Nose Day Appeal.Dressed as a gangster and his moll, Batman,Napoleon, Widow Twankey, a scary punk and a naughtyschoolgirl, the group netted £1,298 from colleagues.“We want to thank everyone for their generous andvery kind donations,” says Adrian Brooker, who wentout in a variety of guises.From left: Adrian Brooker,Natalie Taylor, Jeff Smith,Mandy Edwin. Ita Alphonseis behind the camera.How long have youbeen a runner?Since I was about 13 yearsold, so almost 10 years. Igrew up in Cornwall. I wasahead of the rest of thekids at my school’s sportsday, so my head teacherthought I had some talent.I was recommended to thelocal athletics club, where Ideveloped until I was readyto start competing.When did you “go pro”,as they say?In 2004 I got my firstinternational win atLoughborough University,running the 400 metres.That’s when I first startedto be noticed on the scene.So now getting to the 2012Games is my aim. Therewill be Olympic trials in thatsame year. If you finish inthe top three it’s more thanlikely that you’ll get picked.Every runner in this countrywill want to be there. I wasinvited to the 2008 trials, butI’d just had an operation.Right. You’re doinggreat, then your doctorsays “cancer”…At that point, I was ranked40th in the world. So inthe first month or two afterSend us anemail atthejob@met.police.uk60secondinterview27Jason Hussain is scheme manager forMet-Track. He’s also a very talented runnerwho, after getting the all-clear from cancer,is aiming for Olympic glory in 2012diagnosis, I was pretty down.It takes a lot to get yourmind to accept that this issomething that you’re goingto come through. You haveto focus your mind on thefinish line. The whole timeI was going through chemo,I kept my mind focused ongetting back to the standardI was at. It made me tentimes more determined.Was it gruelling?It was the same type ofchemo that they gave toLance Armstrong. If I’d takenthe first option they gaveme, it would have affectedmy lungs to the point whereI’d never get back to myold form. That was an easydecision. About three weeksafter my last chemo session,I was back on the track.What was that firstsession like?It was a winter session andI thought it was going to beeasy, but it was very tough.I figured I’d do the sametraining as everyone elsearound me. It took me aboutten minutes and I was onthe floor. But a month or twolater I was back to trainingfully with the rest of theathletes in my group.Job LotFor small ads, from theintranet home page:The Job > The Job Lotjune 2009 | the job

28 Refs | Job profileI coulddothat...Name:Kevin EnglandJob:Oboist, British PoliceSymphony OrchestraBased:Operational Planning,New Scotland YardHow long have you playedthe oboe?I’ve played ever since I wasabout 13 years old. I studiedat the Royal Academy ofMusic. I was a professionalmusician before I joined thepolice, in fact. But when ourfirst child came along Iwanted something with moresecurity. My dad had done31 years in the Met and I’dalways had an interest. SoI joined in November 1986.I guess that’s when most peopleput down their instrument?No, aside from the time thatI spent at Hendon at thebeginning, I’ve always foundtime to practise and groupsto play with. Even on nightswhen I come home I alwaysfind a few quiet moments todo a little rehearsing.What’s your day job?I’m in Operational Planning,so I do things like plan theNotting Hill Carnival, NewYear’s Eve and otherpublic-order events. I’ve beendoing this for 23 years now.In fact I recently collectedmy long-service medal.How did you join the BPSO?In about 1991, I think I saw itfeatured in The Job, actually.I am outrehearsingsomewheretwo or threetimes a weekI followed it up and have beenwith them ever since. ButI also play with MidsummerOpera and the SidcupSymphony Orchestra. AndI do the odd concerto. So I’mrehearsing somewhere withothers two or three times aweek, sometimes more. On27 May I was the featuredsoloist with the BPSO onMozart’s Oboe Concertoat Cadogan Hall in Chelsea.The show was held incelebration of the orchestra’s20th anniversary.That sounds like a difficultpiece to play.It’s a very well-known piece,but it’s not without itstechnical challenges. I’veplayed it about three timesat different shows.The best part of playingwith the BPSO?I’ve been with them a longtime and making music is thebest bit. There’s a socialaspect, of course, but we’reserious about playing. Iwouldn’t commit that amountof time to it unless we weregood, because we rehearsein the Midlands and I live inthe south.P28 BOT RIGHT ALAN BICK.pdf 1/9/08 14:47:45

Things to do | Refs29corbis, the press association. jobdoku courtesy of lucky seven puzzles magazineJobdokuEASY8 6 476 4 9 1 59 5 22 3 78 4 59 6 3 4 266 3 8Where inLondon?Identify the mysteryplace and emailThe Job with your answerto be in the draw for a£10 M&S voucher.Clue: WorldtreasuresThanks for all your entries in April.PC Michael Morgan was selectedfrom the correct entries foridentifying the Blue Fin Buildingfrom the picture.HARD7 4 3 5 85 9 75 7 6 394 7 9 316 9 5 48 3 64 5 3 6 7THEtoughQUIZcornerTake the challenge of ourgeneral-knowledge quizand see just how much youknow. No cheating, now…1. What is a cicatrice?2. In which year did Enid Blyton die?3. What is the northernmost of thefour main islands of Japan?4. What was Ho Chi-Minh cityknown as prior to 1976?5. What sort of bridge is theForth Railway Bridge?6. What was the soldier RodrigoDiaz de Vivar more commonlyknown as?7. How many lbs in a cwt?8. In which year did Edward VIII die?9. Approximately how manymillion Model T Ford carswere manufactured?10. Where is the seat of the UNInternational Court of Justice?VisitFor answersvisit The Jobon AwareReader OfferGet an additional20 per cent offat Arthur priceAdmit it, your cutlery is a sad mixof forks and spoons that stowedaway in your lunch box as youleft a succession of break roomsthroughout your education and career.A good set of silverware issomething that gets passed down infamilies, and who wants their legacyto be the ‘spork’ nicked on a dare fromthe university ice cream bar?Arthur Price is the UK’s mostdesired cutlery and gifts brand, witha reputation for unparalleled quality,craftsmanship and design since 1902.Its unique cutlery sets add a touch ofclass to any table spread.Arthur Price is now offering Metemployees an exclusive 20 per centdiscount off everything for the monthof June. That’s in addition to theirusual discount of 15 per cent that’savailable throughout the year.Choose from a variety of differentdesigns made to suit every taste andbudget. There’s also a huge selectionof beautiful items for the home andtable and gifts for all occasions.Simply log into www.metbenefits.co.uk and click on the Arthur Pricelink at the bottom right of the homepage under the Home category. TypeOAK15 into the Promotional Codebox on the last page of the checkoutand click ‘Redeem’ to enjoy your extraspecial 20 per cent off.*Terms and conditions apply.See the MetBenefits homepage for full details.Prize Draw Rules 1. The competition is open to all The Jobreaders, excluding anyone professionally connected with thiscompetition. 2. The closing date for the receipt of all entries is30 June 2009. Only one entry per person. No third-party orbulk entries. 3. Responsibility cannot be accepted forincomplete, delayed, wrongly delivered or damaged entries orfor those not received for whatever reason. 4. Prize must beaccepted as offered. 5. Winner will be notified by post within28 days of closing date. 6. Winner will be the first correctentrant drawn at random by an independent person after theclosing date. 7. Promoter’s decision is final and binding and nocorrespondence will be entered into. 8. Winner’s details will bepublished in the next issue.june 2009 | the job

30 Refs | LettersMailbagGot something you’d liketo get off your chest?Of course you have...Write to us here at The Job andwe’ll try to get you answers!Email thejob@met.police.ukCould have used a cuppaDear Sir,I was employed on Stop Tamil Genocide aid as part ofa traffic serial. We received operational feeding at 11am.We were then given one bottle of water and no snacks as we weretold our day would be short. We were ground assigned at 12:30pm.With the current events in Sri Lanka we were not surprised whenover 30,000 demonstrators turned up. A total of 26 Traffic PCs had thejob of closing all the roads around the march from Millbank to theTemple. I had four closures to deal with on both the north and southsides of the Thames.We then stood out in freezing conditions by the Thames with an icycold wind for a total of about six and a half hours. There were noofficers to relieve us for comfort breaks and nothing to eat or drink.There should have been plans put in place to bring out Teapot 1 withhot drinks and snacks. I did not get anything to eat until I got homeabout 8pm. The Met should put enough resources on these events andlook after us with food and drink.PC Alan Seaman, CO15Catering for public-order operations is generally providedto ensure that all officers have had a meal before duty ofuncertain duration. The length of duty at any major eventis always difficult to predict – much of it depending on the behaviourof the public attending, or on the nature of the demands on officers andstaff. All of these things can affect the ability to rotate staff forrefreshment breaks.The numbers expected to attend the Tamil marchwere predicted by the organiserto be 5,000, the same as ourown estimate. We could not haveanticipated how many peopleactually did attend but, had thenumbers remained as expected,the tour of duty would have beena short day.We do aim to give our officers thebest possible support when theyare on operational duty. However,sometimes the circumstances weare presented with mean it is notalways possible to have the desiredsupport in place.Insp Stuart Cornish, C011Make me AwareDear Sir,I would like to ask about the update to the Aware systemto Windows XP.I am able to log on to the Foundation system on some terminals atHavering but when I try to log into individual programmes such asCRIS and CRIMINT (which under the old Aware was no trouble withthe single sign-on) it cannot be done as the XP system asks for thepassword. I do not know my single-sign-on password, as the Awaresystem changed it automatically when it ran out.As a supervisor, one of my jobs is to check CRIS reports andoutstanding Merlin reports. I cannot do this because if I try to usean Aware terminal it comes up with the message “Access notpermitted”. If the system has been displaying teething problems,would it have been more prudent to halt roll-out until those problemshad been sorted?Also, would it not have been advisable for some sort of message tohave been displayed on terminals, stating that the new XP had beeninstalled and that the user should not then log on to an Aware-enabledterminal once they had logged on to an XP terminal? In my case, doingso seemed to corrupt my profile.Sergeant Russ Webb, HaveringThank you for your letter. I am sorry that you are havingproblems with the XP desktop. Taking your points one ata time, I shall begin with the reason why the MPS had tomove to Windows XP.Microsoft no longer supports Windows 2000. In addition, the MPSwanted to enhance security and have better management ofapplications delivered to the desktop. Finally, Windows XP providessupport for new devices, which need current screen or printer driversfor them to work.We appreciate the concern about co-existence between Aware(Windows 2000) and Foundation (Windows XP). However, I am surethat you will appreciate that it obviously takes a while for the migrationof many thousands of workstations, laptops and other peripheraldevices used in the day-to-day policing operations.The MPS intranet has a link on the front page under “TechnicalSupport” to the Windows XP upgrade page. This has answers to allthe questions that you raise and will remain visible on the front pageuntil the rollout has completed.When users are migrated to XP, they must only log on toFoundation. If using an Aware workstation, it is necessary to select‘Foundation’ during the log-on process. See FAQs for furtherinformation. You can view them by clicking on the intranet homepagelink noted above, and then choose the FAQs that relate to your role.For any problems in getting access to CRIMINT, CRIS or Merlin(including getting SSO credentials reset), you will need to raise asupport call with the MPS Service Desk on 69555.John McGarvey, Project Manager – DoIthe Editor saysWe’re always keen for your feedback onarticles in the magazine and issues in the Metin general, so please feel free to write to uson any topic. Email thejob@met.police.uk.Letters are subject to editing, not allsubmissions can be printed, and letters arethe views of individuals, therefore they do notnecessarily represent the views of the MPS.The names of letter writers will be printed.the job | june 2009

News and views | Refs31Met Ski andSnowboard Clublooking for skillson the slopesMany a brave thrill-seeker has tried to tame the snowyindoor trails of Milton Keynes and failed miserably.Now’s the time for you to step up, strap on your skisand fly where others have fallen.The Metropolitan Police Ski and Snowboard Clubis looking for slope masters who have what it takesto represent the Met in next year’s Police Sport UKalpine events. If you think that’s you, show your chops ina competition against police skiers from all over the UKon Friday 26 June at the SnowZone in Milton Keynes,located at the Xscape Leisure Park, between 9am and5pm. Cost is £35 for the whole day. For more informationand entry forms please contact Neal Nightingale atneal.nightingale@met.police.uk.Good summer vibesYou know that no one does a meaner Twist than you,and the Bushey Police Sports Club is the place to proveit. All summer long, bands with a classic flavour will beshaking the foundations.This month, on Friday 19, come and see the popularFirebirds (below). This in-demand three-piece bandplays Stray Cat-style rockabilly and doo-wop that willhave you reaching for thehair grease.Come 10 July, you’ll havethe summer heat but thebeaches in London are fewand far between. Catchsome great surf music asthe Beached Boys cometo Bushey.Both shows start at 8pm,cost £25 and include atwo-course meal. Contact theBushey Police Sports Clubat 01923 243947.These Dragons won’t biteHe might not be Duncan Bannatyne,but Inspector Neil Anderson had awinning idea when he created BrentDragons’ Den. The programme asksyoung people to come up with brightideas aimed at making thecommunity safer.“I meet lots of young people whohave some great ideas about how tostop their peers engaging in crime,”says Insp Anderson, who headsSafer Neighbourhoods (SN) North,in Brent. “I thought by using theDragons’ Den format we could giveyoung people the opportunity topitch their proposals and roll themout for real.”Four groups of eager contestantspitched ideas on how to preventyouth crime to Brent’s very own setof Dragons (pictured). The winningpitchers got £6,000 to make theiridea a reality. “In particular we werelooking for initiatives which wouldShowing the consequencesMany Londoners prefer a compactcar for ease of parking in the city,but they probably don’t want one ascompact as police in Bromley werepromising should they flout the law.Recently a crushed car wasdisplayed at the Bromley South trainstation as a visual reminder tocommuters of Operation Reclaim,in which police seize uninsuredvehicles, and in some cases crushthem as a penalty.“Seventy-three people haverecently experienced what it is liketo have their uninsured orunlicensed vehicles seized by policein Bromley,” says Chiefhelp promote positive images ofyoung people, or projects that wouldimprove the local environment andmake residents feel safer,” saysInsp Anderson.The Dragons included a local MP,a Brent Youth Parliament member,a member of the Community SafetyBoard, local DJs and Charlie Malik,business partner of BBC DragonJames Khan. Students from CapitalCity Academy won with their idea toset up a community cycle project.Superintendent Charles Griggs,borough commander.The Association of BritishInsurers estimates that there aremore than 450,000 uninsuredvehicles in London.ACPO-APA 2009Summer Conference & International Policing ExhibitionManchester Central, Conference 7-9 July Exhibition 8-9 JulyThe biggest and most influential event for policing in the UKThe latest products and services, updates on training,policies and procedures from leading police organisations,for all police staff, associates and colleagues.Register now at www.acpo-apa.co.uk

32 Refs | SportSP RT In f cus...rugby ladies are double troubleTwin sisters Louise and Claire Horgan(pictured) are both sergeants inHackney. They’re also champion rugbyplayers for the British Police, Saracensand Wales, with whom they won lastyear’s Triple Crown at the Six Nations.How did you both wind upbeing in the police?L: A lot of our family are in thepolice – aunts, uncles – so we followedin their footsteps.C: Our mum and brother are now in theMet. It’s something we’ve wanted to dofrom the age of four.How did you both getinto rugby?C: When we were 17 years old, I’dfinished swimming and was looking forsomething new. So I started playingrugby locally, then Louise came alongand did it too.L: During university, we both played forthe England Students. Then we wenton to play at Saracens and also for theBritish Police. During a British Policematch against Wales, someone made ajoke about the Welsh and my sister andI said: “Hang on a second. Don’t takethe mick – our nan’s Welsh.” The Welshcoaches heard that and they asked usto try out. We’ve been playing for Walesever since.Do you get fed up seeingeach other everywhere?L: After school we’d had enough. Wewent to different colleges and differentuniversities and then Claire spentthe last few years as an officer inManchester. It’s only recently that she’scome back to London.C: Louise has been in Hackney forabout eight years, so now I get calledher name constantly. People speak tome like they know me and I haven’t gota clue who they are.Do you have any coolrugby nicknames?L: When we were at the EuropeanChampionships we stayed in thesame hotel as some of the othercountries and they nicknamed usthe Twin Towers.What’s next?C: We’re looking forward to a successfulsummer of training and anothersuccessful Six Nations in preparationfor the 2010 World Cup.hannah edwards, corbisOn the right courseThree Met linksmen fromLewisham showed theirfairway skills at theInternational PoliceAssociation’s (IPA) NationalGolf Tournament recently.Officers from Essex,Nottinghamshire, PSNI andScottish forces had tocontend with Sgt Karl Parish,PC Paul Fenn and PC MattAllfree of the London IPAteam on the course atMapperley Golf Club in Nottingham.The lads beat the Midlands team by a single point, earningtickets to the Dunhill Championship at St Andrews famouslinks in Scotland, the birthplace of the sport. The men willstay at the IPA House at St Andrews.PC Allfree (pictured above) – whose handicap is anamazing zero – was crowned individual national champion.For information about next year’s IPA tournament,including details of regional play-offs, visit: www.ipa-uk.org.TSG officers run in honour of JasonSixteen officers from the TSG 2-2 Finchley ran from Earl’sCourt in London to Brighton in honour of Jason Hussain,an athlete and Met employee who’s recently been giventhe all-clear for testicular cancer (see page 27).Jason is the scheme manager for Met-Track, an athleticsprogramme that offers healthy activities to young people.“The officers did it in a relay, with two or three runnersdoing a stretch at a time,” says Superintendent JohnPowell, Jason’s line manager and creator of Met-Track. “Ittook them less than eight hours, so they got a move on.”Supt Powell and his colleagues collected £4,000 for therun, all of which went to Royal Sussex County Hospital,where Jason was treated, for a new CG machine.“I don’t think they trained for it specifically,” says SuptPowell. “It’s just that TSG are some of our finest and theytend to be pretty fit individuals. I was persuaded to run thelast mile with them from the Royal Sussex County Hospitalto the police station.“We got a huge reception there from all the SussexPolice staff and officers. We were very honoured. Theygave us a buffet reception in the police station conferenceroom and the runners were able to rest their legs.”the job | june 2009