Total Policing

Case Study: Liverpool Police, SIA's Operation Seahog

19 Feb 08

Operation Seahog is rightly held up as an exemplar enforcement scheme in support of SIA licensing. What are the lessons to be learned from joint-agency working, and how is the concept of ‘Total Policing’ being fed into the wider community safety mix on Merseyside? Brian Sims reports from the 2008 European Capital of Culture.

By Brian Sims

Back in September 2004, Bernard Hogan-Howe – then the new chief constable of Merseyside Police – made clear his overriding intention that he wanted Liverpool’s police force to be the best in the UK. A man of high standards, then, and not a little bravura for good measure. Hand-in-hand with that statement came the recognition that there were a number of areas in which Hogan-Howe’s force needed to improve.

As you’d expect, a period of consultation with the Merseyside Police Authority ensued. Having identified the points to be addressed, the following April saw the much-anticipated publication of the chief constable’s ‘Blueprint for Service Improvement’.

Ten priority areas were targeted, including anti-social behaviour, improvements in crime reporting, extending Merseyside’s own ‘police family’, enhancing contact with members of the public, using more technology in the fight against criminality, improving criminal justice processes and tackling all forms of gang-related crime.

Towards the end of 2006, that initial ‘Blueprint’ was reviewed in a bid to identify any new or emerging priorities. Significant progress had been made, it was discovered, but according to Hogan-Howe a “sustained and refreshed focus” was needed in certain key areas. In June 2007, the chief constable then formally launched the aptly-named ‘Blueprint for Total Policing’ – designed to neatly reflect Merseyside Police’s overall anti-crime strategy, and also fall sharply into line with local policing plans previously agreed by the Merseyside Police Authority.

‘Blitzing’ anti-social behaviour

As well as ‘blitzing’ anti-social behaviour and tackling crime gangs (Liverpool’s most notorious are based in the Croxteth, Norris Green and Kirkdale districts), Hogan-Howe decided to focus on professionalising the workforce through academy training, reviewing approaches towards forensics and looking at improving Merseyside Police’s property portfolio. Each of the nine priority issues identified also supported the three overarching priorities within the Total Policing plan proper: the ‘total war on crime’, ‘total victim care’ and ‘total professionalism’.

The priorities reflect all but one of the five suggested by members of the public in direct response to the Merseyside Police Authority’s ‘Local Policing on Merseyside’ missive. Those priorities are improving call handling and response, tackling organised crime/drug dealing, improving roads policing and educating local youths determined on anti-social conduct. Increasing police visibility in relation to neighbourhood policing is the other.

Within his report to the Authority last August, Hogan-Howe said: “The delivery of ‘Blueprint for Total Policing’ will have a positive impact upon the quality of life and the police service received by law-abiding citizens, victims and witnesses from all sections of our local communities.”

Cracking down on crime

Prior to last summer, Merseyside had suffered for some time at the hands of gangster-types whose only mission in life was to control security for the region’s nightspots and construction sites – many of which have sprung up, of course, in the wake of the Capital of Culture Award (which Liverpool takes on board for real this year) and encompass a mixture of commercial and residential projects.

The number of rogue security contractors vying for the myriad contracts on offer had escalated, with deliberately intimidating arson attacks (particularly in the Liverpool South area) commonplace. For example, a block of flats at a 584-home housing scheme in Hunts Cross Village was attacked. Violence against on-duty security personnel was also being used to pressurise legitimate contractors away from work that was rightfully theirs. For good measure, the ‘proprietors’ of these illegal firms were suspected of harbouring links to serious and organised crime.

With this in mind – and as part of Hogan-Howe’s ‘Total Policing’ concept – Merseyside Police put together a comprehensive plan to drive out the crooks. That plan, entitled Operation Seahog, was hatched in May 2006 (and featured on last month’s Panorama Documentary ‘Britain’s Protection Racket’ – see www.info4security.com/panorama).

Working in conjunction with representatives of Liverpool City Council, Wirral and Sefton Councils, the Health and Safety Executive, the Inland Revenue and the Security Industry Authority (SIA), Hogan-Howe’s force vowed to legitimise the security industry in the region.

How to do that, you might wonder? Ensuring compliance with the Private Security Industry Act 2001 was (and still is) very much key, so too preventing money laundering and exercising control over the commission of site and door security on Merseyside. Unchecked, such activity could become a huge threat to the fabulous regeneration that has already done much to embolden Liverpool’s renaissance.

“We are not prepared to stand by and watch these rogue elements wreak havoc and cause misery on our streets,” suggests Merseyside Police’s Andy Cooke. “The companies concerned were given a period to licence their operatives. Officers from the specialist Force Matrix Team and area police officers have been carrying out high visibility disruption policing all over the region for some time now, and to great effect.”

The first ‘fruits’ of Operation Seahog were seen back in late 2006. As Security Management Today reported at the time (‘SIA and Merseyside Police take rogue security companies to task’, News Update, October 2006, p7), dawn raids at over 20 separate addresses saw the police working in tandem with SIA investigators. Arrests were made for offences related to the supply of drugs, firearms and theft. Financial documents, computer equipment, drugs and weapons were all seized, so too a plethora of stolen goods.

Visits to over 80 construction sites led to 43 individuals being issued with summons for working without an SIA licence. Others were detained for immigration offences, and also infringements of Department of Work and Pensions regulations.

The Multi-Agency Approach

Since then, Merseyside Police has sought an even wider multi-agency approach to identify and prosecute unregulated security providers. The Chamber of Commerce, Newheartland Pathfinder and Habitat for Humanity have joined the ranks together with planning departments, those responsible for contractual tenders and housing department officials. Without doubt, this strategy has proven hugely beneficial. For starters, Liverpool City Council announced last August that ALL future Council contracts for security will only be issued to accredited agencies.

The statistics tell a favourable story, too. As of June last year, Operation Seahog had realised the execution of 43 (now up to 56) warrants. There had been 520 visits to construction sites on Merseyside (that figure has since been increased by over 100). 570 intelligence forms had been actioned. No less than 50 private security firms were being investigated under Section 5 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (relating to the deployment of unlicensed officers).

On top of that, 246 Section 3 offences had been detected in relation to the operation of unlicensed staff. Over 80 individuals had been found guilty of working without a licence (convictions now reportedly stand at 140-plus). Over 30 arrests for crime leading to firearms being recovered were recorded, alongside the detection of 30 Department of Works and Pensions offences, the recovery of over 60 vehicles and arrests for blackmail.

Significant convictions in the Courts

A major result was achieved last October, when brothers Craig Moore, of Halsbury Road, Kensington and Andrew Moore (of Winslow Street, Walton) were handed seven and two- year sentences respectively at Liverpool Crown Court. They were the first significant convictions since Merseyside police unveiled its ‘blitz’ on gangsters wreaking havoc upon Liverpool’s security industry.

The Court heard how the brothers teamed up with an infamous Liverpool underworld figure. From December 2006, they targeted a legitimate firm, which patrolled a construction site on the East Lancs Road. The unnamed gangster informed management they were operating on his patch and a series of threats were made. Intimidation included promises to “spray the site with bullets”.

Damage was later reported at the location, including a petrol bomb attack and the destruction of an £18,000 mechanical digger. Eight raids across Merseyside in the previous month saw three company bosses detained as part of an operation targeting rogue security contractors and extortion rackets. Addresses in Litherland, Crosby, Waterloo, Norris Green, Fazakerley and Aigburth were swooped upon during the exercise.

In addition, security company directors Philip Jellyman and Wayne Margerison and operations manager Steven Margerison – all of Secure Guarding (UK) – were heavily fined, having been found guilty of seven offences under Section 5 of the 2001 Act.

Enforcement takes effect

Perhaps the genuine success of the (still ongoing) Operation Seahog is that it’s greatly assisting Bernard Hogan-Howe’s vision to take shape. The security industry on Merseyside is on its way to full legitimisation. There has been a huge increase of Approved Contractor Scheme-registered companies, with a 40% rise in firms applying to obtain that status. In tandem, there’s been a sharp tail-off in Section 3 offences, indicating that security companies are increasingly employing licensed officers.

The SIA continues to throw its weight behind Operation Seahog. Closer joint-agency working, it seems, is vital. A packed seminar brought together representatives from all over the country – including those of the police service, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the Department for Works and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Immigration Service – to allow Merseyside officers to highlight the work that has been done, which the Regulator wholeheartedly identifies as Best Practice.

Heading the SIA team of investigators in the Northern Region is Lucia Howland. “We are continually working together with Merseyside Police and partner organisations to ensure that only trained, qualified and fit-and-proper people are employed to provide contracted security services,” explains Howland.

“We all have an interest in helping to protect the public by raising standards in the private security industry and driving out criminality. Operation Seahog sends a clear message to Merseyside’s security companies that they should only employ SIA-licensed security officers. Those using unlicensed personnel are potentially facing prosecution, damage to their business reputation and, in turn, jeopardising their insurance cover.”

The current command structure for Operation Seahog is led by assistant chief constable Patricia Gallan as gold commander in charge of operational support. The silver commander is chief superintendent Andy Cooke, who spoke on the BBC’s Panorama.

Securing the night-time economy

Live music venues, clubs, restaurants and a huge variety of bars ranging from traditional public houses to the latest designer-chic haunts combine to make Liverpool’s night scene one of the UK’s liveliest.

The city boasts ‘super clubs’ including Garlands and Chikubu, backed-up by The Blue Angel and Modo, as well as trendy bars such as Society, Heebie Jeebies, Barfly and Zanzibar.

On the fringe of the city centre, the Albert Dock renovation (also home to Merseyside Police hq at Canning Place, of course) plays host to Baby Cream, Pan Am and Baby Blue, while Concert Square, Dale Street and Mathew Street back in the centre are home to the usual chain bars and pubs.

A major redevelopment of the bus terminal area adjacent to the Empire Theatre in recent years has also seen the growth of chain bars including Yates’ Wine Lodge and The Rat and Parrot. Fleet Street, Wood Street and Mathew Street, meanwhile, are home to Revolution, Korova and Baa Bar.

Alas, all of this nocturnal commercial activity also makes the central area a target for petty crime, violent disorder and potential drug dealing ventures. Not surprisingly, these kinds of issues fall within the managerial remit of Hogan-Howe’s officers and, of course, Liverpool’s thriving door supervisor fraternity.

Interestingly, women in the Merseyside region are being actively encouraged to train as door supervisors in a bid to fill anticipated shortages in the number of door staff working the pubs, clubs and bars. Numbers are up, with females accounting for between 10% and 15% of Merseyside’s estimated 5,000 door staff. That figure was less than 2% a decade ago.

According to experts, more females are needed in this sector as commentators fear shortages prompted by the SIA’s regulations which unequivocally ban anyone with a criminal record from working on the doors.

Industry insiders have suggested to us that more bars in Liverpool are requesting female supervisors, who are believed to be more skilled at breaking up fights and conducting so-called ‘pat down’ searches.

High visibility policing

In tandem with regulated door supervision, policing in the city centre is highly visible – mirroring Hogan-Howe’s desires. Merseyside Police has already reminded all SIA-registered door supervisors that their badges ought now to have been renewed.

Any door staff who applied for registration in 2003 and 2004 should hold their updated badges, and police are warning anyone working without a valid badge that they face prosecution. Hogan-Howe’s force allowed a period of grace up to June 2004 when the new SIA system was first introduced because of the backlog caused by problems with applications at that time. However, there are to be no further periods of grace now that badges have expired, and stringent checks are continually being carried out to ensure compliance.

To this end, all club and bar owners – as the holders of premises licences and employers of door supervisors – have to ensure their staff hold valid, current badges. This applies to both brewery-owned premises and independent operators alike. If premises are found to be employing unlicensed door supervisors then the owners face prosecution.

Officers were sent out on 11-12 October to check 450 clubs and pubs across the region. No less than 170 arrests were made, and two premises were shut down immediately.

“No disorder will be tolerated on licensed premises,” asserts Bernard Hogan-Howe. “Unacceptable incidents have occurred at Baa Bar and Superstar Boudoir of late. Owners must talk frankly and regularly to their licensing officers and local police officers to help remedy the problem.”

Ridding the streets of drugs

The programme of ‘enforcement’ instigated by Merseyside Police to support the Regulator’s desires has also brought many ‘side rewards’ in terms of disrupting the supply of drugs in the region. The dedicated Force Matrix Team alone has reportedly taken “millions of pounds’ worth” of Class A drugs off the streets.

Dealers are being put through the Courts, but the police service is also intent on stopping the innocent from having to see people profiting from crime. Merseyside Police’s ability to recover assets which have been bought by the profits of crime is a vital tool enabling them to hit criminals in the pocket – where it hurts the most.

Last October, 30 warrants were issued for drug-related offences alone, while 800,000 counterfeit cigarettes were apprehended at the same time. “The assistance of the community is vital if we are to continue this success, though,” comments Bernard Hogan-Howe, who – as you would expect – urges all members of the public to use the 0800 555 111 Crimestoppers number whenever they see anything that’s remotely suspicious.

‘Total Policing’ is working

From April 2006 to April 2007 alone, there was an 11% reported reduction in all crime on Merseyside, and a 25% drop in violent crime ‘against the person’ when compared with the previous survey year. Robbery has fallen by 8% (bucking the national trend, which has witnessed a 3% increase) and burglaries are down by 3%. Instances of criminal damage are down 4% and drugs offences by 15%. The best crime reduction result in the country.

Merseyside Police also launched the first dedicated Anti-Social Behaviour Task Force in the country, and has held regular consultation events with members of the public (launching a ‘Your View Counts’ feedback scheme into the bargain). Furthering its bond with the community, the force has become the first to deliver its annual report in video format, with DVDs disseminated to all partners.

For its part, Operation Seahog – in tandem with other security initiatives on Merseyside, including the £6 million CityWatch CCTV Scheme (‘Mersey feat’, SMT, May 2006, pp30-34) and Operation Mother Hen (‘Liverpool Chamber of Commerce fights criminality in the suburbs’, SMT, News Update, May 2007, p10) – has set the benchmark for all similar crime-fighting partnerships to follow.

In a similar vein, Bernard Hogan-Howe appears to have unearthed a gem of an idea with his ‘Total Policing’ concept. Now, he wants to secure £9 million of extra funding to fulfil his pledge to put an officer on every street corner during 2008.

Let’s hope that desire is realised, because if there’s a more progressive policing regime in the UK then Security Management Today has yet to be informed of its work.

All you need to know about... Merseyside Police

Merseyside Police is the Home Office police force responsible for policing the Merseyside region.

The force’s jurisdictional area is no less than 650 square kilometres, covering a population of around 1.5 million. At present, the force boasts close on 4,500 police officers and more than 2,000 police staff.

Merseyside Police is divided into six specialist Basic Command Units (BCUs) – one in each of the Metropolitan Boroughs that make up Merseyside, and two BCUs for the City of Liverpool itself. The BCUs are Liverpool North, Liverpool South, Sefton, Wirral (currently the best performer, according to fourth quarter statistics issued by the Home Office), St Helens and Knowsley.

Merseyside Police came into being in 1974 when Merseyside itself was first created, and is a successor to the Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary along with parts of Cheshire Constabulary and the Lancashire Constabulary. The force operates under the supervision of the Merseyside Police Authority (presently chaired by councillor Bill Weightman), which is made up of nine local councillors, three Magistrates and five independent members.

Proposals made by the Home Secretary in early February 2006 suggested a possible merger with the Cheshire Constabulary to form a strategic police force, but that plan was later rejected.

All you need to know about... Bernard Hogan-Howe

Having gained an MA in Law from Oxford University and a diploma in applied criminology courtesy of Cambridge University, Bernard Hogan-Howe joined South Yorkshire Police in 1979, initially serving as district commander within the Doncaster West Area.

He would eventually lead a team responsible for implementing a full-scale reorganisation of the force.
In 1983, Hogan-Howe was duly promoted to sergeant, working in the Vice Squad before moving into CID early on in 1986. Promotions to inspector and then chief inspector were followed by an appointment to superintendent in 1993.

Hogan-Howe joined Merseyside Police four years later as assistant chief constable (and head of community affairs) before assuming direct responsibility for operational matters in 1999 – the same year in which he was awarded a Masters degree in business administration from Sheffield University. He has since served as gold commander for the Grand National and the British Open Golf Championships.

Sheffield-born Hogan-Howe then moved south in the summer of 2001 to join the Metropolitan Police Service as assistant commissioner (responsible for HR). His team recruited 10,000 officers and 1,500 Police Community Support Officers in just three years.

He was appointed chief constable of Merseyside Police in late 2004, and serves on The Mersey Partnership Board.

Postscript :

Photos courtesy of Merseyside Police/Liverpool Daily Post/Liverpool Echo/PA Photos