Bichard recommendations not yet implemented fully

Courts should feed back into the police national computer, says the review

A number of key recommendations made by an inquiry into the Soham murders have failed to be implemented by police, according to a report published yesterday.

The Bichard Inquiry into the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells found that improved information sharing between police could have helped prevent the murders.

But a recommended central database for police to check the background of offenders has been delayed until 2010, and the cost has doubled to £367m, according to the report for the Home Office by Sir Ian Magee.

And a system to electronically send court results to be entered onto the police national computer has also not been implemented.

The review also found that police forces in England and Wales hold 70 million records split across more than 350 systems.

The UK also operates 77 "watch lists" for suspects and other wanted criminals, which Sir Ian describes as "inefficient as well as unhelpful in minimising risk".

Magee recommends a full review of police IT systems as they relate to criminality information management, in consultation with the National Police Improvement Agency and the Home Office.