Requirements for sustained public protection operations
Jermaine Baker Inquiry · Report into the Death of Jermaine Baker · Issued 5 July 2022 · Addressed to: College of Policing
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, 15.16
APP-AP should be amended to cover the following: a. Sustained public protection should never be the object of an operation unless and until there is a clearly recorded note of the possible charge(s) that are anticipated, the evidence that will be required to establish guilt, the evidential (and, if appropriate, geographical) tipping points, and the probable sentence – expressed if necessary as a range within which the sentence is likely to fall, at the conclusion of any trial. b. This may necessitate the involvement of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), whose early advice should be sought if there is any uncertainty as to any of the matters set out in paragraph 15.16a. c. Written sentencing guidelines exist for almost all serious offences and, like the Criminal Procedure Rules (see paragraph 15.21), should be readily accessible to inform any opinion as to the probable sentence (see paragraph 15.16a).
Jermaine Baker Inquiry, Report into the Death of Jermaine Baker · 5 Jul 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The College of Policing updated APP-AP in August 2023 incorporating guidance on sustained public protection, including the requirement that this option should include clearly recorded anticipated charges and an evidence plan (College of Policing APP-AP update, August 2023).
Response — verbatim from government
●Metropolitan Police Service — initial response
MPS formally responded on 28 October 2022 (para 31). MPS carefully considering recommendation. Considers sustained public protection broader than conviction and imprisonment. Welcomes further APP-AP guidance.
Metropolitan Police Service · 28 Oct 2022 Written response →
●College of Policing — follow-up
College of Policing updated Authorised Professional Practice – Armed Policing (APP-AP) in August 2023 incorporating guidance on sustained public protection operations including charge anticipation and tipping points.
College of Policing · 1 Aug 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Aug 2023 Status as of College of Policing APP-AP update (August 2023): Completed 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.