Police vetting standards are not high enough and it is too easy
for the wrong people to both join and stay in the police, a new
report has found.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue
Services (HMICFRS) reviewed hundreds of police vetting files and
found too many cases where people should not have been allowed to
join the police, including officers with criminal records or
links to organised crime. It also found cases where evidence that
a prospective officer may present a risk to the public was
ignored.
Inspectors found examples of police officers transferring between
forces despite a history of concerning intelligence, complaints
or misconduct allegations.
HMICFRS said there were incidents which should have been assessed
as gross misconduct that were assessed as misconduct only, or not
treated as misconduct at all.
The inspectorate concluded that a culture of misogyny, sexism and
predatory behaviour towards female police officers and staff and
members of the public still exists and is even prevalent in many
forces.
HMICFRS has made 43 recommendations which include:
- updating minimum standards for pre-employment checks;
- establishing better processes for managing risks relating to
vetting decisions, corruption investigations and information
security;
- improving the quality and consistency of vetting
decision-making, and improving the recording of the rationale for
some decisions;
- extending the scope of the law on police complaint and
misconduct procedures;
- strengthening guidance for forces on vetting processes and
relationships and behaviours in the workplace;
- understanding and defining what constitutes misogynistic and
predatory behaviour;
- improving how the police collect corruption-related
intelligence; and
- improving how the police assess and investigate allegations
of misconduct.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr
said:
“It is too easy for the wrong people to both join and stay in the
police. If the police are to rebuild public trust and protect
their own female officers and staff, vetting must be much more
rigorous and sexual misconduct taken more
seriously.
“We found evidence of poor decision-making in police vetting,
inconsistent handling of misconduct cases and a lack of effective
monitoring of officers’ IT use, all of which can lead to
devastating consequences. Yet despite repeated warnings –
including several from us – not enough has been done to improve
standards and stamp out misogyny and predatory behaviour in
policing.
“The police must do more to prevent unsuitable people from
joining in the first place, identify any misconduct within the
force, and quickly dismiss officers and staff if they are not fit
to serve the public.
“Given the risks involved with recruiting officers at the scale
and speed required by the uplift programme, it is essential that
police leaders act now on our recommendations. Our report
highlights that they simply cannot afford to wait any
longer.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police
officer, HMICFRS was commissioned by the then Home Secretary to
inspect the police’s vetting and counter-corruption arrangements,
as well as police forces’ ability to detect and deal with
misogynistic and predatory behaviour by police officers and
staff. The terms of reference for
this inspection are available on our website.
- As part of its inspection, HMICFRS:
-
- surveyed 11,277 police officers and staff
- interviewed 42 of the survey respondents
- examined 725 vetting files
- examined 264 complaint and misconduct investigations
