Hundreds of Police officers both from South Yorkshire Police and West Midlands Police, currently serving and former officers, will be investigated in an independent investigation unrivalled in British policing.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, and the deputy chair of the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) both announced they would be launching separate investigations in to possible crimes committed by the police.
Whilst the IPCC may not have a magnificent record on prosecuting errant members of the police force - the size and scale of the Independent Report into Hillsborough meant that investigations in to criminality was almost certainly likely.
164 police statements were altered in what appeared a systematic cover-up, of these 116 were altered to remove any negative portrayal of the behaviour of the South Yorkshire Police force. Numerous others were amended to remove references to Liverpool supporters helping the injured and dying.
Sir Norman Bettison, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, who last week announced his early retirement will be investigated on two counts. Not only on his initial involvement in the events immediately after Hillsborough, but also over alleged interference with his own force's decision to order an IPCC investigation on him.
Deborah Glass, deputy chair of the IPCC said:
"The potential criminal and misconduct offences disclosed by the panel's report fall into two broad categories.
"They are the allegations that go to the heart of what happened at Hillsborough in April 1989 and individuals and institutions may be culpable for the deaths, and there are allegations about what happened after the disaster, that evidence was fabricated and misinformation was spread in an attempt to shift blame."
The Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:
"The families have waited 23 years to obtain justice and this announcement sets the wheels in motion at long last.
"I sincerely hope that no stone will be left unturned in delivering the outcome that the families deserve.
"I also welcome the fact that they and the Independent Police Complaints Commission will be investigating both former and serving South Yorkshire Police officers, including Sir Norman Bettison.
"The part he and others played, revealed by the independent panel's report, showed that there must be a full investigation into their role in the cover-up."
The Chief of West Midlands Police and a spokesman for West Yorkshire police both said they 'welcomed' the investigations.