Watchdog said cops behind Nicola Bulley search 'needed improvement' THREE MONTHS before she went missing
INSKIP, LANCASHIRE: Some startling news has come to light about the Nicola Bulley case. Just three months before she went missing, watchdogs criticized the police force handling her case. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had reportedly said that the Lancashire Constabulary needed "improvement at investigating crime."
The watchdogs discovered the police force was not always conducting investigations "timely" and "thoroughly," adding that that victims "weren't always briefed on developments," per The Sun. The search for the 45-year-old mother-of-two in Saint Michael's on Wyre has resulted in the Lancashire Constabulary facing three external enquires. Before dog walkers discovered her body in the River Wyre, a mile from where she is believed to have fallen in after a search that lasted 23 days, per The Mirror.
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'A lack of effective supervision
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating a welfare check at Bulley's house two weeks before she went missing. The College of Policing is also looking at the hunt for Bulley and the decision to reveal details about the her issues with alcohol abuse caused by menopause. Annual HMIC inspections revealed "a lack of effective supervision" at Lancashire Police and that the force received a "pass" in none of the eight categories in which it was evaluated.
In a statement, Lancashire Police said,"We acknowledge the findings of the HMICFRS report in which we are graded as 'good' in six areas, and where any areas for improvement were identified, work is already underway to address these," per the Daily Mail.
When did Nicola Bulley go missing ?
Bulley went missing after dropping off her daughters, ages six and nine, at school. She was taking a walk post that near the River Wyre on her regular route with her springer spaniel, Willow, at 9.10 am on January 27, per Lancashire Telegraph.
A little more than 20 minutes later, her dog was loose and her phone, which was still on a work call, was discovered on a seat by the riverbank. What followed was a massive search by authorities before they finally found her body. The department had come under fire for revealing her drinking problem.
