Terms of reference for the managed (Operation Resolve) Hillsborough investigation - 20 January 2022

The investigation into the events leading up to and including the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989. This is a managed investigation overseen by the IOPC, delivered by Operation Resolve.

In January 2022, the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for both the IOPC and Operation Resolve investigations into the Hillsborough disaster had some minor revisions made to them which are detailed below.

1. To reflect the changes in the names of organisations (e.g. the IPCC to the IOPC, Police Authorities to the Police and Crime Commissioners) and to update who the Hillsborough Decision Maker is.
2. To ensure our legal powers are more accurately represented and that they stand up to scrutiny before the Hillsborough Decision Maker Sarah Green finalises her decisions. This is something we regularly do across all IOPC investigations.
3. Following a review of the TORs against the allegations in the complaint reports, we have identified some gaps and revised the TORs to ensure that all complaint allegations are covered.

Please note: The ToRs are kept under review and as a result, in August 2022 they were updated to include some specific conduct matters relating to former West Midlands Police Assistant Chief Constable Mervyn Jones. These matters relate to Mr Jones’ conduct whilst he held the positions of Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary.