Key information
Executive summary
This paper seeks approval to expand the MPS’s Business Crime Reduction Hub to form the National Business Crime Hub. The MPS has gained considerable experience in business crime, having set up a Business Crime Reduction Hub in 2013. This has led the MPS to work with Nottinghamshire Police, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for Business Crime Reduction to support business crime reduction within London and the UK as a whole.
Recommendation
The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is asked to:
- Approve the MPS Business Crime Reduction Hub’s expansion to form the National Business Crime Hub.
- Approve the collaboration between the MPS and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire and Nottinghamshire Police to enable the transfer of grant funding to the MPS.
- Approve the recruitment for the National Crime Business Hub to begin as soon as possible but capped at the original approval amount (£1m over three years) until such time that the increased limit is formally approved by the Home Office.
Non-confidential facts and advice to the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC)
1. Introduction and background
1.1. Business crime excluding fraud and cyber accounts for 17% of all reported crime nationally and the cost to the UK is over £614m per annum. As such there is a clear need for MPS resources in this area. The MPS Business Crime Reduction Hub was set up in March 2013 and since that time has collaborated with the NPCC lead for Business Crime Reduction (Nottinghamshire Police) to address business crime within London and across the UK.
1.2. In August 2016, the MPS was asked to collaborate with Nottinghamshire Police to apply for a Police Transformation Funding grant to increase capabilities nationally through the establishment of a National Business Crime Hub.
1.3. The NPCC lead is transferring from Nottinghamshire Police to the MPS. This will allow for the transfer of the Police Transformation Funding Grant to the MPS. The current value is £1m; this may increase to £1.3m, if the Home Office grants the request for an uplift.
2. Issues for consideration
2.1. Following discussions with the Business community, other forces and MOPAC it was agreed to develop a National Business Crime Reduction Hub based in London. The establishment of the Hub will allow for standardisation in the police approach to business crime and encourage greater support from businesses. Feedback from the business community has cited the lack of national co-ordination and varying standards in the approach to business crime as an area of frustration.
2.2. The MPS has been instrumental in supporting Nottinghamshire Police as the NPCC lead for Business Crime Reduction to develop and drive forward the National Business Crime Hub. The success of the MPS’s own Business Crime Reduction Hub and the expertise contained there are seen as key to the success of the National Business Crime Unit.
2.3. The MPS will continue to retain its Business Crime Reduction Hub during the expansion to the National Business Crime Hub.
3. Financial Comments
3.1 The Home Office has allocated Nottinghamshire Police grant funding of £1m from the Police Transformation Funding Grant to fund 4 police officers, 2 police staff and relevant support costs for the development of the National Business Crime Hub. The MPS also now wish to restructure the team at an additional cost of approximately £300,000. Nottinghamshire Police have agreed to the uplift subject to approval by the Home Office.
3.2 The full £1.3m grant will be used to fund 6.5 officer posts, associated support costs and overheads for the National Business Crime Hub. Funding will also be used to develop IT to facilitate the expansion of the Hub to take on a national remit.
Details of the budget and spend are shown below:
The MPS will only spend up to the approved Home Office funding of £1m, if the uplift is not approved. There will be no extra costs incurred by the MPS and the existing budget for the MPS’s Business Crime Reduction Hub will not be impacted.
4. Legal Comments
4.1 Under paragraph 4.5 of the MOPAC Scheme of Consent and Delegation approval is required by the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime for all collaboration agreements under s22 Police Act 1996 where the Act requires it.
4.2 There will be a written agreement between MOPAC and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire to formalise the arrangement. The agreement will be published under the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011.
5. Equality Comments
5.1. There are no direct equality or diversity implications arising from this report
6. Background/supporting papers
6.1. None.
Signed decision document
PCD 139