PCD 1217 Home Office funding Central East BCU to tackle drugs and high harm gangs (Op Yamata)

PCD 1217 Home Office funding Central East BCU to tackle drugs and high harm gangs (Op Yamata)

This paper seeks approval to accept Home Office grant funding of upto £4,300,000 to support Operation Yamata. Based on the County Lines Operation Orochi methodology this proposal is to address drug supply within London. The grant will enable the creation of five operational teams for 2022/23. 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Accept the Home Office funding grant of £4,300,000 to undertake a range of activities to combat intra-London drugs supply networks including high harm gangs, who are responsible for serious violence & homicide in London, thereby reducing violence in the capital. 

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. This paper seeks approval to accept grant funding to apply the County Lines Operation Orochi methodology to address intra-London drug supply.  

2. Issues for consideration 

1. The proposal will emulate the business model and methodologies of the MPS County Lines Task Force, Operation Orochi, which has proven highly successful in tackling drug lines exported from London. Known as Operation Yamata, the concept will focus on internal drug supply within the capital. The Home Office grant will enable the creation of five operational Operation Yamata teams for 2022/23. 

2. Analysis of offenders prosecuted for county lines offences by Operation Orochi has demonstrated clear and tangible links between drug supply and the commission of acts of violence. Through relentless pursuit of those engaged in the underpinning criminality of drug supply, Operation Yamata aims to achieve both a reduction and lasting impact on the level of violence offences on the streets of the capital. 

3. The project will work closely with the Home Office Project Adder initiative to achieve its overarching aims of reducing drug-related death, drug-related offending and the prevalence of drug use. The two projects will work in partnership to deliver an holistic approach to the harm caused by the use of controlled drugs by simultaneously bringing to justice those involved in the supply of drugs as well as undertaking intervention work to reduce the demand by diverting drug users away from substance misuse. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. This paper seeks approval to accept grant funding of upto £4,300,000 to fund the costs of forty-two officers, overtime, fleet, equipment and training costs. 

2. The MPS assure that should additional funding not be forthcoming beyond FY22/23 officers will be redeployed across Frontline Policing in this event, taking with them skills and experience that can be deployed elsewhere in the organisation in tackling MPS priorities. 

4. Legal Comments 

1. This grant will be paid to MOPAC by the Home Office in the exercise of power conferred upon the Secretary of State pursuant to section 169 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and section 48 of the Police Act 1996 to make awards of grant funding.  

2. The proposed acceptance by MOPAC of the grant funding is permitted under Schedule 3, Paragraph 7 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. 

3. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all bids for grant funding made and all offers made of grant funding. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. The MPS assure that any purchases funded by this grant will be procured by way of MOPAC approved compliant procurement routes. 

6. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.   

2. The MPS assure that a single Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) has been drafted and signed off by the Data Protection Office and Senior Responsible Officer in August 2022 for both Operation Orochi and Operation Yamata. Current practices are GDPR compliant and any new activity within Operation Orochi will be considered against the DPIA principles to ensure continued compliance. 

7. Equality Comments    

8. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. 

9. The MPS assure that an equality screening exercise was carried out which identified no negative impact towards protected and non-protected characteristic groups.  The MPS investigative techniques for Operation Yamata mirror those utilised by Operation Orochi, which has been assessed in 2019 and again in 2022, concluding no requirement for a full EIA.  The MPS note that the project will contribute towards the ‘Narrow social, economic and health inequalities’ pillar of the London Anchor Institutions Charter. The supply of drugs is known to disproportionately impact on deprived sections of society, with Class A addiction being significantly more prevalent in areas with high levels of social deprivation, and lack of opportunity in these areas can also result in young people being drawn into a life of crime.  

8. Background/supporting papers 

• Appendix 1 MPS Report - Operation Yamata