AOUB 1. Civil Disorder in the City
The Chair has agreed to take an item of urgent business to allow the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Acting Chief Constable to provide a statement to the panel around the disorder that has been occurring in the city and to respond to any questions panel members may have.
Minutes:
AOUB 1 Disorder across in East Leicester
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) addressed the panel referring to the recent episodes of disorder across the east side of the city and paid tribute to the Acting Chief Constable (ACC) and all the police officers involved in dealing with the disorder that had occurred in the streets of Leicester recently.
The PCC advised that he had maintained daily contact with the ACC to remain apprised of the situation, and it was noted that during the disturbances several police officers were injured fortunately none of them seriously, but the force had been keeping in contact with them and providing the appropriate support.
The PCC stated there was no excuse for the scenes that had taken place, and whatever the provocation there was no reason to go out on streets and cause violence and fear for others. The PCC expressed his admiration for the police officers dealing with the situation and to those who had been working extra shifts and overtime to cover for those dealing directly with the issues in the city. It was noted that the force had been able to respond professionally and effectively to the situation.
The PCC welcomed the actions of ACC in contacting the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) to undertake an independent review of the policing operation to date and to explain the measures being taken to avoid further issues occurring at forthcoming festivities in the city such as Navratri and Diwali.
Rob Nixon, Acting Chief Constable (ACC) addressed the panel and thanked some of those within the room who had been involved in elements of addressing this issue and helping to bring groups to talks outside. The ACC gave an insight into the situation that occurred noting it remained a dynamic and fast moving situation and he welcomed the several nights of calm which was an encouraging direction of travel.
In terms of what had led to the disturbances it was clear that a cricket match between rival teams was probably a flash point although not the cause and there had been simmering tension before that. It was not appropriate to try to over simplify what had happened as there were multiple layers of complexity linked with this.
As a result of the disturbances the ACC had triggered a review in terms of the policing of events and what policing would be taken forward. Alongside that it was noted that the City Mayor had instigated an independent review of the broader issues leading to the unrest. It was recognised that there was an international to local dynamic and difficulty between different communities and integration of emerging newer groups, which involved some perceptions of a lack of respect culturally, as well as a “resetting” in leadership between younger and older generations.
In relation to the actual disturbances the panel were informed that since 28th August 2022 the police had a detailed timeline of events taking place and for each of those events there was an active investigation running parallel, so far over 150 crimes were being followed up.
The dialogue opened between different groups had uncovered simmering tensions and last weekend saw a large scale gathering of males suspected of coming from a small area of the Hindu community marching towards Highfields, that caused the mobilisation of a Muslim contingent from Highfields leading to a stand-off. The following morning there was a planned police response and mutual aid that came into the city. In terms of policing everyday assurance was given that there was an increased capacity to deal with and respond robustly to incidents being reported.
The ACC asserted that the resources in place at the moment were robust and that the disorder was because of a small minority of people from two sections of the community that were heavily influenced by social media. The ACC stated that there was a lot of disinformation on social media, some of that coming from outside Leicester as well as a heavy international element playing out on social media space. The policing operations were projecting forward as it was important for Leicester to be able to continue celebrating forthcoming festive periods.
As regards the organisational impact, over 150 crimes had been recorded of varying levels of severity, there were approximately 6000 hours of body worn video footage and CCTV to review and check then identify people of interest so the investigative phase would take some time. This had to be balanced against the communities expectations to deal with everything that had occurred within hours/days however, it was more complex and would therefore take more time although the police would be prioritising those issues where the communities were most concerned, such as serious injury and attacks on places of worship.
In terms of resources over 50 officers were working full time on this and whilst this was a priority other crime was being managed in a different way. Officers were working on extended hours to maintain capabilities required and additional support was being built into the structure to ensure sustainability.
The Chair was grateful to the PCC and ACC for their open comments today and criticised the misinformation in the media and social media which was not helpful. The Chair also expressed thanks to the police officers, especially taking account of the difficult time at which this occurred, being the weekend of the Queens funeral.
The Chair invited questions from the panel which included the following points:
Panel members praised the comments of the PCC and ACC and echoed that the disorder was unexpected and spontaneous. It was commented that the police had done an exceptional job but there was a perception to still overcome that the police had not acted timely and appropriately although members were satisfied with the ACC explanations in local meetings.
It was emphasised that the disorder was not just about a cricket match, there were other issues including the emergence of new communities which the City Mayors independent review would explore.
Members were conscious and nervous about Navratri and Diwali events which brought large congregations of people together as well as visitors from outside of the city and welcomed the police steps being taken forward to minimise further issues. The ACC confirmed that in relation to forthcoming festivals, the police were putting in a designated command with increased forces to avoid any flash point during the festivals.
It was suggested that in relation to sustainability of police resources the city had a very different dynamic and different needs to many other places and that required different/additional resources.
It was noted that a silent majority across the city were appalled by what was going on and they needed to be provided assurance and security. There was a brief discussion about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system and the pressures already there reaching a breaking point. It was suggested that communities expected swift justice, but the justice system was drawn out and systematic matters need to be in place to tackle crime too and the repeated challenges such as timeliness of getting things through the justice system and performance were wrapped around that.
The PCC advised he was in the process of re-establishing the local criminal justice board and hoped that would help bring the right people together to resolve some of these issue’s.
Although members congratulated the ACC for his presence and exceptional handling throughout the situation, in terms of policing going forward there was some concern that the police were not alert to other events that might trigger a flashpoint such as the T20 cricket matches coming up between India/Pakistan.
Members felt that although the PCC said this was a police operation it was also about political leadership and an increase in visibility and a public statement from the PCC would have been helpful during the difficulties. It was noted that the Home Secretary had also visited Leicester during this time. The PCC responded that on the day of the Home Secretary visit he was at Westminster meeting other ministers and therefore unable to see her. As regards his role that was not to do operational policing rather it was to hold the Acting Chief Constable to account and he had therefore acted in the way he thought he should, keeping in daily contact with the ACC and issuing public statements or visiting public places when he felt it was appropriate to do so and therefore the PCC and ACC were carrying out their prospective roles appropriately.
It was suggested that the disorder predominantly involved young males and there was a brief discussion about improving links across the community and looking at how all ages could be involved to address the issues and prevent vulnerable young people engaging in this anti-social behaviour.
The ACC agreed there needed to be a wider conversation including reaching out to other groups that held a sphere of influence over the younger people involved, as a result the police were exploring options to set up a core engagement group to identify themes, hold talks and deliver messages to change perceptions.
Members were keen to understand the governance and structure of partnerships in place dealing with the situation, including the role of the Local Resilience Forum and whether this type of disorder deserved greater priority in future.
The ACC provided assurance that there was a robust structure in place for support and gave an outline of the national to local level protocols followed which included an explanation of how contact had been made with Gold Commander of London Bridge operation since significant resources were committed to that and the request for mutual aid which led to a quick regalvanising of policing need in London and the significant redirection of resources to Leicester. It was noted that the willingness from NPCC and Gold Command (London Bridge) to provide support was exemplary throughout.
It was advised that following contact with the NPCC connections had also been formed between certain forces with slightly heightened level of risk to align intelligence capabilities.
At a local level, police were operating under a gold arrangement and the Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) was managing the day to day whilst ACC picked up the broader and national issues. Locally, the ACC had also activated the establishment of a Strategic Co-ordinating Group through the Local Resilience Forum following tried and tested practice.
Members referred to the previous PCC and his deputy PCC, suggesting the deputy PCC fulfilled an important role and who was very much ingrained in communities and therefore whether the PCC would reconsider appointing a deputy PCC. The PCC replied he would certainly give it consideration, although it wasn’t felt necessary when he took up office and whilst talk of the Fire and Rescue services linking to PCC role remained unclear.
Members noted there would be a review as to how police handled matters and that look at what had been done, what was now being done and how the policing operation was moving forward. Members noted that may then feature as part of a broader review however there were multiple layers, and a broader review would have to look at the breadth of that.
There followed a discussion about the need for openness and transparency of the police review and there was a clarification of the role of the PCC and collective responsibilities of the panel in that regard. The PCC thought it would be a matter of courtesy to share the review provided he was not sharing any confidences or jeopardising operational matters, although he made the point it was important to have correct lines of responsibility. The ACC indicated that if the review revealed things were not right then the police would want to learn from that however the review had been commissioned only on the police’s public order response and the steps going forward to make sure they were doing the right thing not the wider complexities of the disorder.
As regards sharing outcomes of the independent review of the policing operation the Chair concluded that was at the discretion of the PCC although it was noted that if there were any fundamental issues from the review then it would be good to share that with the panel but if it remained operational then it was not for the panel to consider.
The Chair thanked the PCC and ACC for their comments and reassurance and asked that the panel be apprised of any ongoing issues or developments.
RESOLVED:
1. That an item on the Local Criminal Justice Board be added to the work programme for a future meeting.
2. That the PCC provide a report outlining details of the Local Criminal Justice Board and outcomes from its meetings.