Yorkshire Ripper case ‘fundamentally changed’ policing, says former top cop

The case of the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe changed the way police forces tackle major incidents, says a former senior North Yorkshire police officer.

Dai Malyn, who this year retired from his position as detective superintendent, oversaw the homicide investigations team for North Yorkshire and Cleveland and said the Ripper case saw “fundamental” changes for police forces across the country.

Sutcliffe, who has died at the age of 74, murdered 13 women across West Yorkshire and the north west between 1975 and 1980.

He was interviewed nine times by West Yorkshire Police over the course of the investigation, but avoided arrest. He was eventually convicted in 1981.

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Amid public concern over the investigations into Sutcliffe, an inquiry was launched by Sir Lawrence Byford, the then chief inspector of constabulary, into how the case was handled.

At the time, officers said they were unable to connect vital pieces of information due to a backlog of paperwork.

Sir Lawrence Byford, who lived in Pannal, Harrogate, when he died in 2018.

Sir Lawrence Byford, who lived in Pannal, Harrogate, when he died in 2018.

Sir Lawrence , who died at his home in Pannal in 2018, recommended that major incident rooms across all police forces were standardised and that senior officers were trained for serious crimes, such as serial killers.

Mr Malyn said the most “fundamental” change was setting up the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System.

Known as “HOLMES”, the computerised system stores every piece of evidence and helps senior investigating officers link them together.

Mr Malyn said the changes helped to tackle serious incidents.

He said:

“It has changed the way we now operate major incidents, every scrap of information is put into the system.”

He pointed to the case of Mark Hobson as an example of the changes in action.

Hobson murdered four people in July 2004, including his 27-year-old girlfriend Claire Sanderson and her twin sister Diane in Camblesforth, near Selby.

An eight-day manhunt involving 500 police officers across 12 police forces was launched. He was arrested on July 25 and later sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mr Malyn said at the time it was the “biggest investigation” in North Yorkshire and was supported by the recommendations from the Byford report.