Agenda item

To receive the Terms of Reference from Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Neighbourhoods Councillor Natasha Enin, for the Southwark Independent Policing Oversight Board. Officer support Stephen Douglass Director, Stronger Neighbourhoods.

To receive a paper and also hear from Chief Superintendent Sebastian Adjei-Addoh and Superintendent Jim Brockway on the Southwark Trust & Confidence Plan.

Southwark Independent Police Oversight Board (SIPOB) Terms of Reference (ToR) and Southwark Trust & Confidence Plan

The commission then heard from Cllr Natasha Enin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods on the following themes

• Thematic ideas – purpose; Southwark Trust & Confidence Plan – More trust, more community engagement, reduce crime by more policing visibility, targeting repeated offenders and higher standards of policing and training
• Board’s remit- challenging key areas of policing interaction (e.g. use of Tasers), formulating measures in these areas; membership of board reflective of demographic of Southwark, 6-10 members on the board excluding external consultants as advisers to the board, fresh voices from the community being recruited, starting the board in September 2024
• Separate board from London Policing Board (Pan-London Board – Casey Review); Southwark IPOB looking at local issues and response from the Police

The commission then heard from Neighbourhoods Superintendent Jim Brockway on the development of the board covering the following points

• Fresh and new way of policing accountability in neighbourhoods covering the Casey review, focusing on holistic approach and evolution of plan as local demands change
• Scrutiny and the Southwark Trust and Confidence plan gathering feedback from key challenge areas and being developed further

The commission then asked questions on the following topics

• Work of the IPOB and its feedback to be implemented by the Police; Membership and make-up of the board
• Difference in remits of the various boards London Policing Board, Southwark IPOB and Neighbourhood policing board and their interactions.
• Public attendance at Southwark IPOB meetings; Process and communication of recruitment of members from the community and members from specialist areas; Options and process for the members of the public to approach other policing boards in case of grievances at SIPOB over handling of policing matters

The commission learned from Cllr Enin and Supt Jim that the board will have a direct relationship with the police and actions taken in the challenging areas would be decided by working with the police and the LA. There will be regular reporting on the challenging areas with aim of providing tangible results/ improvements by the police ensuring accountability, and also some of the areas could be listed as recurring themes that need monitoring over several meetings of the board. The membership of the board would have 5 established members and an additional 6-10 members would be appointed from the community and specialist areas.

The commission heard from Supt. Jim that the board will have thematic topics for which the Police will be held to account. For e.g. Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Board Chair would be invited to report to the Southwark IPOB and Neighbourhood Policing would be reported to the SIPOB by the Supt. Jim himself. The Police would endeavour to invite Subject Matter Experts on Policing matters to address the board where requested by the Cabinet Member for Community Safety.

Stephen explained to the commission that SIPOB meetings will be publicly attended meetings with wider coverage in the community, and there will also be a communications plan on the role and function of the SIPOB.

Cllr Enin informed the commission that recruitments packs for the SIPOB have been created and the board is looking to recruit from a wide range of community areas, specialist areas and young members of the community.  Furthermore, the Trust and Confidence Plan that has been presented to this commission for pre-scrutiny would enable officers to include some of the feedback into the evolution of the plan.

The commission requested that a further update be provided on the recruitment process be provide with more detail such as recruitment packs.

The commission then asked further questions on the following points

• Any areas of difficulties during the development of the Southwark IPOB and the Trust & Confidence Plan
• Differences between Safer Neighbourhoods Board and Southwark IPOB; Ward Councillors interaction with the Board

The commission learnt from Cllr Enin that the process so far in developing the Board has been collegiate, with some discussions around themes that the board would like to be discussed. Participation from members of the public in contributing to these meetings is critical to the Board’s success. However it is also important that these meetings adhere to themes discussed and derived from public feedback from the communities whilst ensuring there is no random disruption at these meetings. Overall the feedback from the members of the public is that there is increased policing visibility in their communities.

The commission understood from Cllr Enin that the Southwark IPOB is an independent body from the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Ward panels for Policing, and although the IPOB can aspire to be an intermediary between MOPAC and the ward panels in the future, the current structure provides a much need independence for policing accountability in Southwark. The commission consider this point with regards to amending the Scrutiny recommendations it made for policing in the previous council year 2023-2024 to the Cabinet. Safer Neighbourhood boards are a MOPAC function and not a part of the IPOB, as the aim of this board is to have fresh, vibrant and diverse voices.

Supt. Brockway informed the commission that Safer Neighbourhood Boards are a MOPAC function and Safer Neighbourhood Panels in wards work with Local Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) of policing. There could a cross-over of some topics between such panels and teams with SIPOB. However, such topics would be discussed independently by the SIPOB ensuring accountability.

Cllr Enin explained to the commission that there is some merit in the SIPOB considering discussing the progress and effectiveness made by SNTs’ and Ward Panels for policing at a later stage. The SIPOB would also welcome proposals to discuss areas of concern in policing from Ward Councillors when backed up with evidence from the community.

It was agreed with the Cabinet Member that a mechanism for feedback from the Southwark IPOB to ward councillors would be developed. In addition the submitted paper on SIPOB to the commission covers the ‘right care, right person’ approach in the use of Tasers.

The Chair explained to the commission that the membership of the Southwark IPOB is key to its success, in addition to providing constructive challenge and accountability to policing in Southwark.

The Cabinet proposed that the commission revisit the progress of the Southwark IPOB by the end of the year 2024.