Operational Policing

Bichard Recommendations Implementation

The Home Office is co-ordinating the work to implement the recommendations outlined in the Bichard Inquiry Report, following the trial and conviction of Ian Huntley for the tragic murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.

The Home Secretary commissioned Sir Michael Bichard to chair an independent public inquiry tasked with assessing the effectiveness of police vetting practices, intelligence-based record keeping and information sharing. The Bichard Inquiry published its report in June 2004.

Read the Bichard Inquiry Report

Implementation Progress

The Fourth Bichard Implementation Progress Report was laid in Parliament by Tony McNulty, MP, Minister of State for Security, Counter Terrorism and Police, on 22 May 2007. Further reporting to Parliament on progress is planned for later in 2008.

See the Report and Minister's Statement

Significant progress has already been made in implementing the Bichard Inquiry Recommendations with 22 of the 31 recommendations now substantially delivered, including taking forward IT-enabled improvements to police information and intelligence sharing capabilities. The work has also become a key focus of the broader agenda across Government and the public services to further strengthen protection arrangements for the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Persons.

The Implementation Programme includes:

development and deployment of the IMPACT Programme, which is designed to improve the ability of the police to manage and share information, to prevent and detect crime and provide safer communities
further deployment of the IMPACT Nominal Index, which allows officers in one force to identify which forces may hold information on someone in whom they are interested
the Police National Database, a comprehensive store of police intelligence and other operational information, containing and linking locally held data with those currently held on the Police National Computer (PNC) and other national systems
securing the medium term future of the PNC
supporting forces in implementing the requirements of the statutory Code of Practice on the Management of Police Information (MoPI)
implementing new procedures by March 2009 to improve the timely and accurate updating of PNC with court results, as well as HMIC’s monitoring of forces’ performance against national targets for PNC data quality
work to increase the take-up by schools’ senior management personnel of voluntary Safer Recruitment training, to reinforce the awareness of safeguarding requirements and arrangements
vesting the Independent Safeguarding Authority on 2 January 2008, which will deliver a new central vetting and barring scheme which will cover people with access through their employment (paid or unpaid) to children and vulnerable adults once launched from autumn 2008
further enhancing the Disclosure Service and employment vetting procedures operated by the Criminal Records Bureau, including looking at ways to improve the checks on workers from overseas
the IMPACT Programme (now available on the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) website (new window)) , which is delivering substantial benefits to the Police Service through a series of interlinked projects, including: