The Bichard Inquiry - Report - Digital Education Resource Archive ...

The focus of the Inquiry
12 Counsel’s opening statement also made clear that:
12.1 the main focus, as far as the past was concerned, would be on the
contacts that the police and Social Services had with Huntley;
12.2 I did not intend to conduct a detailed examination of general
information-recording systems in Cambridgeshire Constabulary; and
12.3 I would focus as much on the future as on the past.
The witnesses
13 Oral evidence was received from 64 witnesses, who are listed in Appendix 2.
They included: Humberside Police and Humberside Police Authority; North
East Lincolnshire Social Services; Cambridgeshire Constabulary; Soham
Village College; Education Personnel Management Ltd (EPM); government
departments and relevant agencies; HM Inspectorate of Constabulary; the
Association of Chief Police Officers; the Association of Chief Police Officers
(Scotland); other professional bodies, including teaching and social services
associations; and the voluntary sector.
14 Draft extracts of my report were sent to relevant individuals and
organisations for comment at the end of April 2004. Responses were
received and considered in mid to late May 2004.
15 The Inquiry made use of a website to publish written and oral evidence and
to provide information about the Inquiry’s procedures. During the hearings
the media were provided with extensive facilities.
The Report
16 This report was delivered to the Secretary of State six months after the
Inquiry was launched.
17 In the report, I focus first on all the contacts which the various agencies had
with Huntley, and how the systems that were used to record these contacts
were managed. I also look at how he was recruited for the caretaker’s job
at Soham Village College and how he was vetted for that position.
18 Second, I explain my findings with regard to those contacts.
19 I then go on to describe and comment upon the national picture with
regard to the collection, reviewing and retention of records; and the
different information technology and vetting systems.
20 As a result, this report is broadly divided into four sections:
1 Contacts, recruitment and vetting – the facts (pages 23–75);
The Bichard Inquiry – The Inquiry process 21