These are documents submitted as part of anonymity applications, created to assist the Inquiry Chair determine if there are particular risks to former Special Demonstration Squad and National Public Order Intelligence Unit officers which the Chair should take into account when determining if the officers’ real or cover names should be restricted.
They set out some of the background to the undercovers’ careers, family life and health, and identify where they would be at risk of danger if either their real or cover names were made public. As part of this, research was done on their target groups as well, which led to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act issue. They also looked at the broader career of the officers to identify whether there were other risks they faced.
They follow a standard format and are produced following an interview with the former officers by specially appointed risk assessors. Initially these were done by Metropolitan Police officers (see the Cairo-Jaipur-Karachi issue ), but this was deemed insufficiently independent, leading to that work being abandoned and new risk assessors being appointed.
Due to them containing sensitive and personal material (including medical and private life details) those that were made public were often significantly redacted or gisted.
Some of the officers said in their statements that they had issues with or disputed what was reported in the risk assessments (including around relationships while undercover) and for the most part it appears they did not have a final sign-off from the subject officers themselves.