The police service in England and Wales has committed to ensure families bereaved through public tragedy are treated with compassion, sensitivity and respect and that forces are open to public scrutiny
Bereaved families supported by new charter
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We have signed the ‘Charter for families bereaved through public tragedy’ – a key recommendation of the 2017 review of the Hillsborough families’ experiences by The Right Reverend James Jones.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has also signed the charter on behalf of all 43 police forces in England and Wales and has written to all police forces and chief constables to ensure that the principles set out in the charter are being implemented locally.
By signing the charter, policing is making a public commitment to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath. This includes ensuring the perspective of bereaved families is not lost during the response of public organisations to major incidents and that families are treated with care and compassion at all times.
Policing is also making a pledge to improve the way the service responds to disasters by being more open and transparent and by placing public interest above all other priorities.
The College of Policing and the NPCC will be publishing a formal response to Bishop Jones’ full review of the Hillsborough families’ experiences in the coming months. This will provide a detailed summary of the measures that have been taken by policing, and those that are ongoing, to address all of the relevant learning points.
