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UK: UNDERCOVER POLICING REPORT: HMIC: An inspection of undercover policing in England and Wales

14 October 2014

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"The inspectors said that the “generally poor knowledge and lack of expertise of senior officers” was unacceptable and called for a root-and-branch reform of the secretive national group that oversees the deployment of undercover officers. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) warned that the shortcomings of the senior officers threatened to undermine a technique that it said was a valuable way of catching criminals.

The watchdog broke new ground by disclosing the breadth of modern undercover work, revealing that there were 3,466 undercover operations in England and Wales between October 2009 and September 2013 and that at the most recent count, 1,229 officers in 39 units are trained as undercover officers."

See the article: 1,200 undercover police officers operating across England and Wales - Watchdog lambasts senior officers responsible for tactic and calls for reform of national group overseeing covert deployments (Guardian, link)

And see the full report: An inspection of undercover policing in England and Wales (14 October 2014, 202 pages, pdf)

Plus: Press statement from women on HMIC report on undercover policing (pdf)

See also 2012 report: A review of national police units which provide intelligence on criminality associated with protest (pdf)

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