Recommendation R8: Information management Code of Practice
From The Bichard Inquiry Report, published 22 June 2004.
Recommendation
A Code of Practice should be produced covering record creation, review, retention, deletion and information sharing. This should be made under the Police Reform Act 2002 and needs to be clear, concise and practical. It should supersede existing guidance.
In brief (written by this site)
The Home Office reported in May 2006 that recommendations 8 to 11, including this recommendation, had been implemented (Home Office, May 2006). The department had previously stated in December 2004 that a draft Code of Practice on Information Management had been introduced for consultation, setting out high-level principles for police information management and sharing to be implemented by June 2005 alongside detailed operational guidance (Home Office response, Dec 2004).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
A draft Code of Practice on Information Management for the police has been introduced for consultation and will be implemented by June 2005. The Code sets out the high-level principles for information management and sharing by the police service, and will be supported by detailed operational guidance.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The Government accepted all 31 recommendations collectively: the Home Secretary's written statement of 11 January 2005 records that "All 31 recommendations were accepted by the Government when the Inquiry reported in June 2004". No document states an acceptance decision for any single recommendation. The response shown against each recommendation is the Home Office's answer to it in the first progress report, sent to Sir Michael Bichard on 22 December 2004 and placed in the Library of the House on 11 January 2005. The Government then reported against the recommendations three more times, in November 2005, May 2006 and May 2007; the updates shown are taken from those reports.
Delivery
Home Office says completed (25 May 2006)
Recommendations 8–11 implemented.
From: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Third Progress Report
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response, delivery statement