AgeAlertAnonymousAppealsApplicationsApply Or RegisterArea OutlineArrow DownArrow LeftArrow RightArrow UpAutomatic DoorsBack ArrowBusinessCalendarCashArrow DownArrow LeftArrow RightArrow Down[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-chrome' for 'English (United Kingdom)']ClockCloseContactDirectionsDocumentDownloadDrawDrugExpandExternal LinkFacebookFb CommentFb LikeFiletype DefaultFiletype DocFiletype PdfFiletype PptFiletype XlsFinance[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-firefox' for 'English (United Kingdom)']First AidFlickrFraudGive FeedbackGlobeGuide DogHealthHearing ImpairedInduction LoopInfoInstagramIntercom[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-internet-explorer' for 'English (United Kingdom)']LaptopLiftLinkedinLocal ActivityLoudspeakerLow CounterMailMapMap PinMembershipMenuMenu 2[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-microsoft-edge' for 'English (United Kingdom)']Missing PeopleMobility ImpairmentNationalityNorth PointerOne Mile RadiusOverviewPagesPaper PlaneParkingPdfPhonePinterestPlayPushchairRefreshReportRequestRestart[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-rotate-clockwise' for 'English (United Kingdom)']Rss[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-safari' for 'English (United Kingdom)']SearchShareSign LanguageSnapchatStart AgainStatsStats And Prevention AdviceStopSubscribeTargetTattosTell Us AboutTickTumblrTwenty Four HoursTwitterTwitter LikeTwitter ReplyTwitter RetweetUploadVisually ImpairedWhatsappWheelchairWheelchair AssistedWheelchair ParkingWheelchair RampWheelchair WcYoutubeZoom InZoom Out

Skip to main content

Skip to main navigation

NPCC-white

Search this website

Main navigation menu

  • Media Centre
  • News
  • Editorial
  • Contact Us

31 Jan 2023

National Policing News

National police response to the Hillsborough Families Report

Widespread changes to policing were made public today as national police leaders release their response to the Hillsborough Families Report.

Leaders from the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council have apologised to the Hillsborough Families as part of the national police response to a report by the Rt Revd James Jones KBE on the lessons from the Hillsborough stadium disaster.

The report recommended action from public bodies and government to ensure the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families could not be repeated. Following its publication in November 2017, the national police response can now be made public after the culmination of legal proceedings and other matters.

Today’s national policing response is a commitment to avoid the failures made during and after the Hillsborough Disaster; embed strong ethical values in the service; and ensure there is humanity and humility in the police response to public tragedy. 


Reforms in response to the report include:

  1. All police forces in England and Wales have signed up to a Charter for Families Bereaved Through Public Tragedy which sets out that police organisations must acknowledge when mistakes have been made and must not seek to defend the indefensible.
  2. The College of Policing and NPCC have agreed the content of a new Code of Practice on police information and records management to prevent the problems faced after the Hillsborough disaster when records were lost or destroyed. This Code has been submitted to the Home Office for ministerial approval, following which it can be laid before Parliament in accordance with the Police Act 1996.
  3. The College of Policing’s Code of Ethics – applicable to everyone working in policing – will be revised this year and candour will be a key theme.
    There will be a supporting Code of Practice, which chief officers must have regard to, which will state that ‘Chief officers have a responsibility to ensure openness and candour within their force’.
  4. New national guidance for Family Liaison Officers has been issued, incorporating learning from the Hillsborough Families Report, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the 2017 terrorist attacks.
  5. The College of Policing released updated disaster victim identification Authorised Professional Practice in August 2018 in direct response to the report, including an explicit statement that the terms ‘belonging to’ or ‘property of the coroner’ should not be used in future disasters.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair, Martin Hewitt, said:

“As police officers, we come to work to keep the public safe and as a service, we failed to do this at Hillsborough.  I am deeply sorry for the tragic loss of life, and for the pain and suffering that the families of the 97 victims experienced on that day and in the many years that have followed.

“Collectively, the changes made since the Hillsborough disaster and in response to Rt Reverend James Jones’s report aim to ensure the terrible police failures made on the day and in the aftermath can never happen again.

“Police chiefs today are committed to responding to major incidents with openness and with compassion for the families involved. All police forces in England and Wales are signed up to the Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy.  In signing this, they committed to putting the interests of victims and families above any other interest and acting with candour at every turn.”

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, College of Policing CEO, said:

“Policing has profoundly failed those bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster over many years and we are sorry that the service got it so wrong. Police failures were the main cause of the tragedy and have continued to blight the lives of family members ever since. 

“When leadership was most needed, the bereaved were often treated insensitively and the response lacked coordination and oversight.

“Today’s report explains long-term, and more recent, developments in how the police responds to mass fatality incidents. Hillsborough is a touchstone for long-lasting change in policing and there is a commitment from the leadership in policing to create a modern, dynamic police service which acts without fear or favour, and with integrity and empathy.

“The changes include all police forces in England and Wales signing up to a charter agreeing to acknowledge when mistakes have been made and not seek to defend the indefensible; a strengthened ethical policy which makes candour a key theme; and new guidance for specialist officers supporting families during a tragedy which learnt lessons from the Hillsborough Families Report, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the 2017 terrorist attacks.

“I would like to sincerely thank the former Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones, for his dedication and insight which continues to support the police service in undergoing essential reform.”

Mr Marsh added the Hillsborough Families Report is now included in training for new recruits entering policing through the College of Policing’s updated routes, as well as the importance of transparency and being candid when things go wrong.

You can read the report, here. 

Contact information

Communications office
By phone: 07803903686
By email: press.office@npcc.police.uk

Footer navigation

About Us

  • About Us
  • Our Strategy
  • Structure And Membership
  • Governance And Accountability
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Accessibility

News

  • News

Publications

  • Disclosure Log
  • Meeting Minutes

Contact Us

  • Contact Us

Follow Us:

© Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.