Criteria for police notification
Bichard Inquiry · The Bichard Inquiry Report · Issued 22 June 2004 · Addressed to: DfES
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
National guidance should be produced to inform the decision as to whether or not to notify the police. This guidance could usefully draw upon the criteria included in a local protocol being developed by Sheffield Social Services and brought to the attention of the Inquiry. The decision would therefore take account of: age or power imbalances; overt aggression; coercion or bribery; the misuse of substances as a disinhibitor; whether the child's own behaviour, because of the misuse of substances, places him/her at risk so that he/she is unable to make an informed choice about any activity; whether any attempts to secure secrecy have been made by the sexual partner, beyond what would be considered usual in a teenage relationship; whether the sexual partner is known by one of the agencies (which presupposes that checks will be made with the police); whether the child denies, minimises or accepts concerns; and whether the methods used are consistent with grooming.
Bichard Inquiry, The Bichard Inquiry Report · 22 Jun 2004 Source PDF →
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament on 22 June 2004, the day the Bichard Inquiry Report was published, accepting all 31 recommendations in full. The government stated it was "in principle, accepting Sir Michael's main recommendations and will act on them immediately." Implementation led to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the creation of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (now the Disclosure and Barring Service). By February 2007, 21 of the 31 recommendations had been fully or substantially completed. See Hansard, 22 June 2004.
Home Office · 22 Jun 2004 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Jun 2006 · Home Office National guidance on criteria for police notification produced as part of the Working Together framework and associated multi-agency safeguarding guidance. Local Safeguarding Children Boards developed local protocols informed by the national criteria. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.