I have been passed this information by the Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown Safer Neighbourhood Team:
The Metropolitan Police is looking for feedback on Police Encounter Scrutiny Panels (PESPs). These are panels where local community members will work with the police to review Body Worn Video footage of policing encounters and offer feedback on police actions, with a view to individual officers and the Met as a whole learning from community lived experience.
At the bottom of this page is a survey link (closing May 4th) in which you can comment on what you think of the idea but first here are some FAQs provided by The Met:
What is a PESP and where in London will they be?
PESPs (Police Encounter Scrutiny Panels) will be groups, established across every BCU in London, where trusted local community members meet with the police to review body worn video (BWV) footage. This will be from a breadth of policing encounters. They will then offer feedback on that encounter to the local BCU. This feedback will used to improve policing practice, both with individual officers and for London-wide training and policy, as well as to identify and share good practice. Encounters may involve police activity beyond the stop and search work of the current Community Monitoring Groups (CMGs) and may include the stops of vehicles and where force has been used by police. Members will be encouraged to share with their local communities the work of the PESPs and the feedback they have provided.
Why are PESPs being established?
The Met Police want to increase our transparency and ensure that members of the public are able to share their thoughts on how we police London. This has been a key recommendation of many groups who are working with us, both in relation to the Mayor’s Action Plan, published in late 2020 and our own plans to improve the confidence of all Londoners, but specifically those from the Black community.
Why are we running a survey?
The survey is to ensure that the Met Police considers all aspects of the process of showing this wider body worn video. This includes the impact on those who may be on the body worn video themselves, whether the subject of the police activity, others nearby or indeed the police officers involved. We want to balance the rights of people in the body worn video with the benefits of showing how we work to a broader audience.
What is the outcome of the survey?
The survey will help inform the Met around how we show additional body worn video, as we need to complete an assessment around the impact on people in the footage. The survey will not decide what we do, but we want to make sure that we consider carefully all aspects, as we know encounters with police and the later showing of that encounter, may have an impact on those featured.
Who do we want to complete the survey?
We want anyone who has been the subject of a policing encounter to complete the survey, but particularly those who are younger and from both the Black and other minority ethnic communities. People in this group may already be involved in police engagement, however if not, we want to hear from you too. Everyone’s view is important to us.
Your opinions are really valuable and we look forward to your responses
The survey should take about 10 minutes and the deadline is Tuesday 4th May 2021.
