Independent report

Police accountability: rapid review

An independent report on whether there is a case to make changes to legal tests on the use of force and unlawful killing conclusions at inquests.

From:
Home Office, Ministry of Justice and The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP
Published
23 October 2025

Documents

Recommendations by Tim Godwin and Adrian Fulford to the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for the Home Department

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Government response to the police accountability rapid review

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Details

In October 2024, the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor appointed Timothy Godwin OBE QPM and Sir Adrian Fulford to rapidly assess whether there is a case for change in relation to:

  • the legal test for use of force in police misconduct cases and whether it should be raised to the criminal standard

  • the threshold for determining a short-form conclusion of unlawful killing in inquests

Following extensive evidence gathering between November 2024 and May 2025, the reviewers recommend amending the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 to apply the criminal law test for use of force in misconduct cases. On unlawful killing, the report advises a full public consultation before any decision on a change to the standard of proof for unlawful killing inquest conclusions.

Updates to this page

Published 23 October 2025

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