Officers held to higher standard with fettered privacy rights
With immediate effect, police forces should convey to all existing and prospective officers and staff that they must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. These circumstances include, but are not limited to: recruitment, vetting, aftercare, transfer, promotion, role change, returning to policing and maintaining standards. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold. Updated fair processing notices concerning changes to processing of personal data should be provided prior to any new processing taking place, including data-sharing.
How was this assessed?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedHome Secretary James Cleverly said: "The act of pure evil committed against Sarah shocked the nation to its core. My heart goes out to Sarah's family and to all the brave victims who came forward to help inform this report and drive change. The man who committed these crimes is not a reflection on the majority of dedicated police officers working day in, day out to help people. But Sarah was failed in more ways than one by the people who were meant to keep her safe, and it laid bare wider issues in policing and society that need to be urgently fixed. In the 3 years since, a root and stem clean-up of the policing workforce has been underway and we have made huge strides – as well as making tackling violence against women and girls a national policing priority to be treated on par with terrorism. But we will continue to do everything in our power to protect women and girls. I am grateful to Lady Elish for her meticulous investigation. Her insights will be invaluable as we move forward in supporting our police to build forces of the highest standards of integrity and regain the trust of the British public."
NPCC Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said: "The Angiolini Inquiry made for shocking and sombre reading, a view which I know is shared across policing. We must ensure there is nowhere to hide in policing for wrongdoers, that we lead a police service which the public, and especially women and girls, can trust to protect them and that we are uncompromising on the high standards our communities deserve. We have reviewed the findings and recommendations in detail and accept them all. We have a number of ongoing national improvement plans and we are assessing how these will be updated and added to in light of the Inquiry findings. Along with my colleagues and fellow police leaders we recognise this as an urgent call for action and we are committed to bringing lasting, impactful change for future generations."
Progress Timeline
Inquiry assessment: Implemented through publication of new Code of Ethics.
Published Evidence
Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Implemented through publication of new Code of Ethics.
View detailed findings
New Code of Ethics published making clear higher standards expected of those in policing. Section 3 notes that being a member of policing profession means higher expectations compared with general public.