Dame Anne Owers made her statement as the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s Annual Report for 2011-2012 was laid before Parliament.
The report details a year in which a number of highly significant IPCC investigations of considerable public interest were launched.
Strengthening the IPCC would allow it to increase the number of independent investigations it conducts: investigations which “inspire the greatest public confidence” in the police complaints system.
“We have made it clear that, in some crucial aspects, we lack both the powers and resources to be as effective as we need to be to fulfil our principal role of increasing public confidence in policing,” explained the IPCC’s chairman.
“In this changing and challenging landscape it’s crucial to recognise the importance of independent oversight. It’s an essential part of public accountability over a service which can exercise coercive and potentially lethal powers.”
Limitations highlighted in the Annual Report include the IPCC not being able to require information from third parties, not being able to investigate private contractors working in policing and not being able to compel police officers and staff to attend interviews in cases of death or serious injury.
In addition, resource limitations mean the IPCC is not easily able to extend the number of independent investigations and its oversight of the complaints system in general.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Greenhalgh sets out policing vision for safer city
Meanwhile, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London, Stephen Greenhalgh, has set out his vision for creating a safer capital city.
Greenhalgh has outlined the priorities of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and his plans for a “streamlined, focused and efficient organisation”.
He’s proposing to focus the priorities of the organisation on crime prevention, police accountability, justice and re-offending. The all-new focus will begin with the appointment of a new CEO, for which recruitment will start shortly.
It is proposed that THE MOPAC will move from its current headquarters in Dean Farrar Street to City Hall, in rn tubetter integrating the organisation with the GLA.
“The Mayor’s mission is to make London the safest global city on the planet,” urged Greenhalgh. “The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime intends to stamp its authority across the entire spectrum of London’s criminal justice system. There will be clear lines of accountability to ensure we prevent crime, hold the Metropolitan Police Service to account and reduce reoffending rates.”
Riot-hit firms confused by payouts, Assembly hears
Small businesses in the capital hit by last year’s riots often struggled to get to grips with the confusing range of payouts designed to help them get back on their feet, the London Assembly has heard.
Members of the Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee questioned representatives from the insurance sector and local councils about what support was available and how easy it had been to claim.
Guests at the Committee’s meeting highlighted the widespread confusion between insurance claims, compensation under the Riots Damages Act, payouts from local authorities and charitable schemes like the High Street Fund.
Members heard how small traders, and particularly those with English as a second language, found it difficult to understand what help was available and how to apply for it.
John Biggs AM, chairman of the Budget and Performance Committee, commented: “It’s clear that in the days and months after the riots many traders struggled to obtain the cash needed to rebuild their businesses. Some were waiting on the insurance companies and some on the police to pay out through the Riots Damages Act. For many people – left confused and traumatized by the sudden loss of their businesses – the process was simply to complex. Our report will look at how this process can be streamlined to help get traders back on their feet quickly should similar events occur again.”
The Committee is now set to publish a full report in the autumn.
