Victims ‘at the heart’ of new Policing Plan for City of London
City of London Police has unveiled its first Policing Plan under the new chief officer team, led by Commissioner Angela McLaren, that “puts victims at its heart”.
Ms McLaren said the plan also has a “strong focus on creating a culture of equity and belonging”.
The Policing Plan, which lays out the direction for the force over the next three years, sets out both its local role in keeping the City of London safe, and its national roles in relation to economic crime, cybercrime and protective security.
The plan focuses on three main areas – operational priorities, values and organisational priorities. The values, which underpin all the priorities, are professionalism, integrity and compassion, said Ms McLaren.
Operational priorities include reducing neighbourhood crime and harm, such as acquisitive crime and anti-social behaviour; protecting the city from terrorism; safeguarding and supporting vulnerable people; and tackling serious and organised crime.
Ms McLaren, the first female commissioner in the City of London Police’s 182-year history, said: “This plan intentionally puts victims at its heart and has a strong focus on creating a culture of equity and belonging. Policing is a people business and living our values of professionalism, integrity and treating people with compassion, both inside and outside the organisation, will be key to how we operate.
“The way our services are delivered and received by the public and the way our people feel about working in the City of London Police, will be indicators of success.
“Tackling crime requires an understanding of the root causes and a whole-system response. We will continue to work collaboratively with partners, including the City of London Corporation, law enforcement and the public and private sectors to prevent and reduce crime and bring offenders to justice, locally, nationally and internationally.
“The last two years have been particularly difficult for society and for policing. I am proud to be leading the City of London Police and look forward to working collectively to deliver a modern engaging and professional service for all our communities.”
Ms McLaren said its commitment to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) was also “fully reflected” in the Policing Plan through a VAWG Strategic Delivery Plan (2022-2023).
“We have listened to our communities, our officers and staff, and have reflected this feedback into our new vision and values,” she said.
“We, along with all forces, have recognised the need to rebuild trust, raise standards and ensure that there is a positive, supportive, and healthy culture to demonstrate that any violence against women and girls is not acceptable, will not be tolerated and will be relentlessly challenged.
“This VAWG Strategic Delivery Plan outlines the work we will do to unremittingly tackle VAWG, and to rebuild trust and confidence by ensuring we police at all times to the highest professional standards.”
The Policing Plan also outlines the force’s commitment to strengthening the national strategic approach to policing economic and cybercrime.
This includes improving the fraud and cyber reporting service through a programme of continuous improvement and implementation of a next generation service.
City of London Police is responsible for delivering the National Fraud and Cyber Reporting Service and is currently developing “a next generation” system to provide a more accessible service for the public and organisations and to improve the flow of crime, information and intelligence reports. The procurement process is underway, and City of London Police expects the new service to go live in 2024.
Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Police Authority Board, James Thomson, sad its “number one priority” continues to be dealing with the threat from terrorism.
As part of the Policing Plan, City of London Police will continue to invest in and prioritise its operational capability in this area, including Project Servator, armed policing and the ‘Safer City Programme’, he said.
The Safer City Programme, due to conclude in 2023, will see the delivery of technology upgrades to maximise safety in the Square Mile, including a state-of-the-art CCTV infrastructure to improve security and detect crime.
Mr Thomson, said: “The City of London Police is of fundamental importance to the Square Mile’s business and residential communities.
“Its officers work tirelessly to ensure that the city is the safest business district in the world.
“In addition to policing the Square Mile, the role that it performs as national lead for tackling fraud and cybercrime is central to maintaining the city, London and the UK’s competitiveness for financial and professional services.
“We will support City of London Police in strengthening its already world-leading roles in protective security and tackling economic crime, and we will continue to challenge it to improve diversity and inclusion, and deliver justice for victims of crime, including violence against women and girls.”
The Policing Plan is for a three-year period up until 2025, but will be refreshed on an annual basis.