Police records under Public Records Act 1958

6.2.1 In 1989, South Yorkshire Police were not required by law to retain the papers they held relating to Hillsborough. The Government is committed to introducing a requirement for police forces to retain records of historical interest. In response to this point of learning, the Home Office established a working group comprising stakeholders from the Home Office, College of Policing, NPCC, The National Archives (TNA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The working group commissioned a review of this point of learning which found that the practice and standards of police records management was inconsistent across policing.

6.2.2 The review explored the need for police records to be subject to the Public Records Act 1958 (PRA) and concluded that adherence to the PRA would not have prevented the problems faced after the Hillsborough disaster when records were lost or destroyed. In fact, adherence solely to the PRA would have led to more Hillsborough material being lost than was ultimately retained.

6.2.3 The review recommended instead that the existing Code of Practice for Management of Police Information 2005, owned by the College of Policing, should be extended and updated to include corporate and wider organisational records (which it previously did not) with clearer and more comprehensive rules and time limits on retention and disposal, and extensive retention for significant incidents or events. It additionally recommended that HMICFRS should take a more active role in reinforcing these new standards of record management through its inspection processes. The review concluded that adherence to the PRA was a desirable objective, but only after the police applied more consistent and transparent standards of records management. The working group accepted these recommendations.

This Code has been developed in response to recommendations made in the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP) report and Bishop James Jones’ report titled “‘The patronising disposition of unaccountable power’ A report to ensure the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated” which highlighted that previously vital records relating to Hillsborough could have been destroyed and would not have been available to the HIP. The introduction of the Code will mean that more police records will be retained than in the past, thereby addressing concerns expressed in both reports that the management of police records and information was variable and inconsistent.

2.1 The report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP) in 2009 and the report on the experience of Hillsborough families in 2017 expressed concerns that the management of police records and information was variable and inconsistent. This, in turn, had affected their ability to fully investigate the matters under consideration. This Code seeks to address the issues relating to the management of police information and records identified in the above reports.

2.2 This Code replaces the Management of Police Information (MoPI) Code of Practice 2005. It broadens the applicability of the original MoPI Code beyond records that contain police operational information to include police corporate information. It also updates the Code in light of related legislative and other developments. The Code also seeks to ensure consistency in the way forces archive records in the public interest.