Lancashire Police promises it is a force you can trust in light of Nicola Bulley case and police scandals like Wayne Couzens, David Carrick

During and following the Nicola Bulley case, Lancashire Police have been under intense media, public, and watchdog scrutiny, so during an interview with the Deputy Chief Constable, Sacha Hatchett, yesterday (May 10), the Post was able to ask if it has affected the way Lancashire residents view the force.

In response, DCC Hatchett said: “What happened with Nicola, as that investigation was going on, our staff continued day in, day out, to deliver for the people of Lancashire. They still arrested people, they were still proactive, they were still looking for other missing persons, they kept their heads down, and they got on with doing the job of policing, and that's the professionalism that they displayed and what I would expect.”

Aside from the spotlight on Lancashire Police during the tragic case of Nicola Bulley, nationally there have been numerous police scandals which have put policing as an institution into question, such as the murder of Sarah Everard by ex-Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, or the serial rapist David Carrick, who was also a former Met officer.

On how this may have affected people’s view of Lancashire Police, DCC Sacha said: “We in Lancashire are really keen to make sure that our standards are of the highest, so our staff understand what is expected of them, right from the moment they join, they are given real clarity from the Chief in terms of expectations, how they look, what they say, what they do matters. We've just had a review by HMICFRS (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services) and we have been shown to be good at vetting, so that's about how we allow people into the organisation. We've got other forces coming to us to see how it's done well, and that's not us shouting from the rooftops, it's HMICFRS saying, ‘there is really good practice going on in Lancashire, go and see them’.

"There will always be people that will fall below our standards of expectations, and in those circumstances, there's one of two things that will happen. They are either warned about their behaviour, because it's of a sufficiently low level, that it's reflective practice, or, where people fall way below the standards and do things which are either criminal, or totally unacceptable, then we will exit them from the organisation, I hold the portfolio of standards, and I'm really clear on that. We know the standards and we want to make sure that we are serving the people of Lancashire to the standard that we set and they expect.”

What else did DCC Hatchett say in her interview with the Post?

DCC Hatchett also gave an overview of Lancashire Police’s achievements in the past year, as well as what changes they will be introducing in the following six months.

The investigations into how her force handled the tragic Nicola Bulley case were also touched upon.