Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has the duty and authority to inspect police forces in the public interest. HMIC decided that it would assess whether Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police now offer the appropriate levels of protection to the public; specifically in respect of intelligence sharing and witness protection. This is likely to be a matter of significant public interest during the inquests into the deaths of John Stirland and Joan Stirland, and subsequent to the delivery of the verdict.
HMIC has found that in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, the police have made changes and real improvement to their ways of working.
Key findings of the inspection include:
Nottingham’s recent intensive management training in threats to life and the protection of vulnerable people
Nottingham’s introduction of a custom built IT system to support the management of threats to life
Additional management added to Nottingham’s dedicated Witness Protection Unit, improving the monitoring of the unit’s activity
Evidence of Lincolnshire’s steps to increase analytical systems that help to gage threats to witnesses of crime and other vulnerable people
Lincolnshire’s targeted reviews and the learning of lessons from significant intelligence and witness protection incidents
Both Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police comply with the current ACPO guidance on witness protection
HMIC’s inspections found that Nottinghamshire Police has taken necessary steps to manage risks to the public, but that further improvements could be made.
HMIC found that Lincolnshire Police have made real changes and improvements.