Police handling of case to be reviewed, says commissioner

• The College of Policing has been asked to review the police’s handling.
• Including the disclosure of her private information.
• She vanished on January 27 and was discovered on Sunday in the River Wyre.

An independent assessment of how the police handled Nicola Bulley‘s disappearance will be conducted, according to Lancashire’s police and crime commissioner.

She vanished on January 27 and was discovered on Sunday in the River Wyre.

The College of Policing has been asked by Andrew Snowden to review the case, including the police department’s disclosure of Ms. Bulley’s private information.

Lancashire Police had “done their utmost” but “the narrative has been lost at times”, he said.

Officers came under fire for admitting the 45-year-old was having menopausal and alcohol problems.

The investigation and search, communication and public involvement, and the release of personal information will be the main topics of the evaluation.

Mr. Snowden said the review was “being held because there are questions that, quite rightly, members of the public and across different political spectrums want to have answered about the search, the investigation and around the release of information.

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“My job is to hold the police to account for providing an efficient and effective policing service… and now that the investigation and search is concluded it is right we ask those questions around why that information was released and make sure that is properly reviewed,” he said.

He said the case was “completely unprecedented in the scale of social media and media interest”.

“Overall [Lancashire Police] have done their utmost in what has been a media frenzy at times to get across those key messages but I do think… those messages did not get through at critical times and control was lost over the narrative about why the police were making certain decisions,” he said.

“I have therefore taken the decision to commission a full independent review into the handling of this case, with clearly defined terms of reference, to ensure lessons can be learned, not just for Lancashire, but for all forces.

“This includes how such cases can be best investigated and communicated under such spotlight and scrutiny.”

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