Lancashire Constabulary Receives No Enforcement Action over Disclosure of Information in Nicola Bulley Case

Assistant Chief Constable Sam Mackenzie

The Police and Crime Commissioner has today announced details of an independent review into the response to Nicola Bulley going missing.

The review, announced in February, and commissioned by Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden, is being carried out by the College of Policing. They are the independent body for defining policing standards.

Details of how the review is being done, what it will examine, and its timeline have all been published.

We are keen to take the opportunity to learn and we welcome the independent review that the Police and Crime Commissioner has asked the College of Policing to conduct.

We will, of course, work with the College to identify any good and effective practice, learn lessons and provide recommendations for wider learning to police forces nationally.

We are also aware that the Information Commissioner’s Office have concluded their investigation into our disclosure of personal information about Nicola on February 15 and they have told us they will not be taking any enforcement action. We thank them for their careful consideration of this matter, and we welcome their decision.

Completely separately we referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following contact Lancashire Constabulary had with Nicola Bulley on Jan 10 before she was reported missing.

The IOPC investigators focussed on the actions of one officer and have now completed their investigation and found no misconduct or wrongdoing.

Whilst we do have some procedural learning it is important to note that our attendance was in support of an ambulance deployment and that the officer dealt with Nicola with compassion and empathy putting her care at the forefront of his decision making on that day.

It is important to stress that this IOPC investigation related solely to contact with Nicola on January 10 and NOT to the wider missing from home investigation.

Our thoughts remain with Nicola’s loved ones at this time.