Report of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for 1988
01 January 1991
Report of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for 1988
bacdoc June=1991
The annual report this year is presented in two-volumes (¼6.10
and ¼5.95 respectively). Volume I is a slimmed down report on
the year, Volume II contains the statistical tables.
In his Foreword Sir Peter Imbert asks the question whether the
measures to improve police/public relations are now producing a
return? 1988, he says, was a year of significant progress.
Burglary went down by 5%, with a 12% increase in primary
clear-ups for residential burglary (primary means the offenders
were directly traced, secondary means offence cleared up
following later admissions to previous offences).
Imbert says that the number of hours spent on street duty was
9% higher in 1988 than in the previous year. And that the 16
`worst divisions for violent crime are setting the higher
priority they needed'.
However, a written answer in the Commons revealed that in the
forces outside London in England and Wales 60% of available
constables were on patrol duties. In the Met `about 30 per
cent of their time was spent on street duty'(Hansard,3.11.88).
`THE POLICE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP'
This new section states that over 1,250,000 households are now
covered by neighbourhood watch schemes. There are 28 crime
prevention panels and 35 lay visitors panels.
The number of Special Constables at the end of 1988 was 1,443.
During the year they took part in a joint police/military
exercise `Capital Guard'.
In the 75 police ' divisions in the Met there are 154
crime-prevention officers.
In September the governing bodies of schools were restructured
under the Education (No.2) Act 1986, as a result there has been
an increase in requests for police officers to become school
governors either as parents or as co-opted members.
OPERATIONAL REVIEW
The operational side of the Met is, says the report, centred on
the Force goals which included:the reduction of criminal
opportunity;enhanced detection of specific offences such as
robbery, burglary, racial attacks, drugs, vandalism and sexual
offences against women;and enhanced support for victims of
crime including victims of domestic violence.
During the year a large number of prisoners were remanded in
police stations as a result of the prison officers dispute. At
one point prisoners were being sent to 85 police stations in 34
provincial forces in addition to 40 locations in London.
In the course of the random vetting of juries a total of 745
jurors were checked and two found to be disqualified.
Protection for juries was provided on five occasions.
Crime screening was introduced forcewide in April 1988, whereby
points are awarded to every reported crime to determine its
solvability. No mention is made in the report of the effect
this has had on the public's willingness to report crime
especially where they think no action will result because of
screening.
There were 144,233 recorded offences of burglary and going
equipped to steal, a 5% decrease on 1987 and the lowest for
seven years. 93,650 recorded offences of residential burglary
represented a fall of 4% on the year,
The number of recorded `racial incidents' was 2,214 in 1988,
and some 33% were cleared-up.
There was a 9% increase in the number of recorded sexual
offences against women, with a total of 3,035. There are 13
divisionally-based domestic violence units.
The main mention of the Special Branch comes under the heading
of `Terrorism' where it says that they prepared 1,783
assessments on the threat of terrorism at public events in 1988
(554 in 1987) - it is not known how many assessments in
relation to public order were prepared.
In 1988 51 people were detained under the PTA of whom 11 were
foreign nationals. Fifteen people were the subject of
exclusion orders and one person was charged with an offence
under the Act.
The number of firearms available to the Met were:1,384
handgu