First Independent Reviewer Appointed

Tracy Hawking is a retired Police Officer. As former Detective Chief Superintendent and Head of Public Protection Command for Essex Police from 2014-2017, she had responsibility for over 400 members of staff.

She led on all public protection matters for Essex Police, managing numerous teams whose remit included safeguarding and investigations into child abuse and sexual offences, domestic abuse and crimes involving vulnerable adults.

She was also responsible for the management of sexual and violent offenders, the disclosure and barring service and a strategic team driving policy and procedure.

Mrs Hawking is available to be contacted by any victim or survivor who wishes to talk to her about abuse they may have suffered from someone in the church either recent or non-recent.

Her email address is reviewer1@salisbury.anglican.org, or call her on 07484 744867 all in confidence.

Mrs Hawking will be one of two Independent Reviewers - the Diocese will appoint the second after Easter.

This diocese was one of a number asked by the National Church to repeat a review they had first undertaken ten years ago, and asked that the Diocese carry out independent reviews of all known cases of abuse, for any evidence of concerns which had not been addressed.

At the start of the process, Bishop Nicholas sent out a letter to all clergy that said:

"In the spirit of the Gospel, we all want to protect and care for our children and all adults at risk of harm. We wish to ensure that our churches and church related activities are as safe as possible for everybody and to have the best possible safeguarding policies and practices. But in order to be certain that we are fulfilling our duty of care, it is important to establish that all known past cases of concern have been considered and dealt with appropriately. We are, therefore, embarking on a comprehensive and historical safeguarding review."

Parishes have been asked to report back by the end of May, but anyone who is affected by church-related abuse as a victim or survivor is also welcome to contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA), Heather Bland.

A list of the most frequently-asked questions and answers on the review is available here.