ANG-1 Accepted

Specialist policy on investigating indecent exposure

Angiolini Inquiry · Angiolini Inquiry Part 1 Report · Issued 29 February 2024 · Addressed to: National Police Chiefs Council

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

Inquiry recommendation, Recommendation 1

At the earliest opportunity, and by September 2024 at the latest, police forces should ensure that they have a specialist policy on investigating all sexual offences, including so-called 'non-contact' offences, such as indecent exposure.

Angiolini Inquiry, Angiolini Inquiry Part 1 Report · 29 Feb 2024 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- The government accepted this recommendation on 25 March 2024, with the NPCC Chair Chief Constable Gavin Stephens stating that all recommendations had been reviewed and accepted (Government accepts all recommendations made by Angiolini Inquiry, Home Office, 25 March 2024).
- The recommendation set a deadline of September 2024 for all police forces to have a specialist policy on investigating sexual offences including indecent exposure.
- The Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 report, published 2 December 2025, found that 74% of police forces had implemented a specialist policy, but 26% were still reviewing or consulting on new policies as of September 2025 (Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 First Report, December 2025).
- The September 2024 deadline was not met by all forces.

Response — verbatim from government

Home Office — initial response

Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "The act of pure evil committed against Sarah shocked the nation to its core. My heart goes out to Sarah's family and to all the brave victims who came forward to help inform this report and drive change. The man who committed these crimes is not a reflection on the majority of dedicated police officers working day in, day out to help people. But Sarah was failed in more ways than one by the people who were meant to keep her safe, and it laid bare wider issues in policing and society that need to be urgently fixed. In the 3 years since, a root and stem clean-up of the policing workforce has been underway and we have made huge strides – as well as making tackling violence against women and girls a national policing priority to be treated on par with terrorism. But we will continue to do everything in our power to protect women and girls. I am grateful to Lady Elish for her meticulous investigation. Her insights will be invaluable as we move forward in supporting our police to build forces of the highest standards of integrity and regain the trust of the British public."

Home Office · 29 Feb 2024 Written response →

National Police Chiefs Council — follow-up

NPCC Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said: "The Angiolini Inquiry made for shocking and sombre reading, a view which I know is shared across policing. We must ensure there is nowhere to hide in policing for wrongdoers, that we lead a police service which the public, and especially women and girls, can trust to protect them and that we are uncompromising on the high standards our communities deserve. We have reviewed the findings and recommendations in detail and accept them all. We have a number of ongoing national improvement plans and we are assessing how these will be updated and added to in light of the Inquiry findings. Along with my colleagues and fellow police leaders we recognise this as an urgent call for action and we are committed to bringing lasting, impactful change for future generations."

National Police Chiefs Council · 25 Mar 2024 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

  • 9 Oct 2025 Inquiry assessment: 26% of police forces have not yet implemented specialist policy on investigating sexual offences including indecent exposure (as of September 2025). Source →
  • 9 Oct 2025 · Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 Report 26% of police forces have not yet implemented specialist policy on investigating sexual offences including indecent exposure (as of September 2025). View source → Insufficient Progress

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.