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R20

Standards for police vetting checks

Bichard Inquiry · The Bichard Inquiry Report · Issued 22 June 2004 · Addressed to: HMICFRS, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services

Government responseHome Office: Accepted (Dec 2004)

DeliveryHome Office says completed (May 2006)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

HMIC should develop, with ACPO and the CRB, the standards to be observed by police forces in carrying out vetting checks. These should cover the intelligence databases to be searched, the robustness of procedures, guidance, training, supervision and audit.

Bichard Inquiry, The Bichard Inquiry Report · 22 Jun 2004 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

The Home Office stated in May 2006 that the recommendation was completed (Home Office, May 2006). In December 2004, the department reported that the CRB, working in conjunction with the police service, had taken the lead in developing a QAF to provide detailed guidance and interactive tools to Disclosure Units, adding that the QAF was trialled and immediately implemented at Lancashire Constabulary due to its success, and further refined following a review by a practitioners group (Home Office response, Dec 2004).

Sources

Home Office, May 2006

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

Report-level response context

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.

Government response

●Home Office · Accepted · 22 Dec 2004

Words of: Home Office, Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Progress Report, 22 December 2004

Working in conjunction with the police service, the CRB has taken the lead in developing a QAF to provide detailed guidance, with supporting interactive tools, to Disclosure Units on how to carry out their role. The QAF was trialled at Lancashire Constabulary where, due to its success, it was immediately implemented and further refined following a review by a practitioners group.

Response document: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Progress Report

Delivery

●Home Office says completed · 25 May 2006

Recommendation 20 completed.

From: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Third Progress Report

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.