Disapply 12-month limit for CSA police complaints
IICSA · Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · Issued 25 April 2018 · Addressed to: National Police Chiefs Council
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, C
The Chair and Panel recommend that the National Police Chiefs' Council ensures that complaints relating to child sexual abuse are no longer 'disapplied' by police forces on the grounds that the incident involved took place more than 12 months before the complaint was submitted.
IICSA, Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · 25 Apr 2018 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that the NPCC had issued guidance to all forces on this matter (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
This recommendation is directed at the National Police Chiefs' Council which has responded separately to the Inquiry.
UK Government · 20 Dec 2018 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
On 16 January 2019, Chief Constable Craig Guildford (National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Complaints and Misconduct) advised all Chief Officers that complaints relating to child sexual abuse should no longer be disapplied on the ground that it took place more than 12 months before the complaint was submitted. This interim measure was implemented with immediate effect. On 1 February 2020, the Independent Office of Police Conduct published statutory guidance on the police complaints system. The statutory guidance no longer includes a chapter on disapplication.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
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.