Parliament

The Government has been clear that police officers must be held to the highest standards and that this is vital to public trust.

The Home Office established the Angiolini Inquiry following the horrific murder of Sarah Everard, to identify lessons for policing so that the public can have confidence that the police are there to protect them. Part 1 of the Inquiry is due to report in early 2024. In May this year the Home Secretary commissioned Part 2 of the Inquiry to consider broader issues in policing, such as vetting, recruitment and culture, as well as the safety of women in public spaces. The terms of reference for Part 2 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/angiolini-inquiry-part-2-terms-of-reference.

The Home Office has recently announced measures to strengthen the police dismissals system, to ensure processes are effective at removing those not fit to serve. The review’s full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-officer-dismissals-home-office-review. The Home Secretary also asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice for police vetting, which was published in July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-vetting-code-of-practice.

The Government is committed to do everything in its power to deliver improvements within policing and across the criminal justice system to improve women and girl’s confidence in the police and ultimately keep people safe. This includes the establishment of the Angiolini Inquiry which will shine a light on the failings that allowed a serving police officer to abuse his power in such a horrific manner and make recommendations for change within policing.

We have published a new Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which outlines our plans for a national communications campaign with a focus on targeting perpetrators and harmful misogynistic attitudes, educating young people about healthy relationships and ensuring victims can access support.

We are also funding a National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls – Maggie Blyth. The HMICFRS inspection into the police response to VAWG crimes has shown that radical reform is needed. The role will include working with police forces and the Government to make sure action is taken in response to the inspectorate’s findings.

The Government will also be looking carefully at strengthening the system of local community scrutiny and the value and use of body-worn video, because transparency is vital.