The Bichard inquiry into the circumstances surrounding
the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by Ian Huntley, has
criticised the police for serious failings in their IT and
information systems.
Sir Michael Bichard described failures by Cambridgeshire police
as “serious” and those by Humberside police as “deeply shocking”,
in a 200-page report published today.
But he said that the Data Protection Act, which was initially
given by Humberside Police as a reason for failing to keep
intelligence records, was not to blame.
Humberside’s chief constable must take personal responsibility
for not dealing with systematic and corporate failures which took
place over a period of many years, said Bichard.
“Intelligence haemorrhaged in an alarming way: the pattern of
Huntley’s criminal behaviour was not identified soon enough and the
various investigations of Huntley might well have been handled
differently if officers had known about past incidents,” said
Bichard.
A lack of effective guidance and training, widespread ignorance
of how intelligence records were created and confusion about what
was meant by reviewing and deletion of data meant that vital
intelligence on Huntley was not preserved by Humberside.
The Bichard inquiry identified failings in Cambridgeshire
police’s local Criminal Records Bureau, including the failure to
enter Huntley’s date of birth during vetting checks, and the fact
checks were made under Huntley’s alias “Ian Nixon” rather than his
real name.
These mistakes were caused by work pressures, poorly defined
work processes and inadequate training and guidance, but did not
indicate a systematic or corporate problem at the force, the
inquiry concluded.
The report called for the urgent introduction of a national IT
system to support police intelligence coupled with investment in
the Police National Computer to ensure its medium and long-term
future.
Bichard also urged the government to create a new register,
which could be accessed by employers of people wishing to work with
children or vulnerable people to check that there were no adverse
reports.
There is a need for a clear national code of practice for police
forces on record creation, review, retention, deletion and
sharing.
The Criminal Records Bureau should address the need to access
relevant non-police data, for example from Customs and Excise, and
should review the thoroughness of checks made on the growing number
of overseas workers.
“We should never forget how important these apparently dry
looking systems can be - and we should never undervalue the people
who administer them. The consequences of when these systems go
wrong can be devastating,” he said.
Bichard said he would reconvene his inquiry in six months to
review progress on the recommendations.
Bichard inquiry prompts police IT shake-up >>