Gânduri Eclectice – Eclectic Thoughts

It’s time to fix Police Vetting

“It is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. Whilst holding a position of trust, in reality he was a serial sex offender. Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed. We believe that Sarah died because he was a police officer – she would never have got into a stranger’s car.”

— Sarah Everard‘s family, 2024-02-29

In the wake of a report accurately decribed as “devastating”, there are calls for action to improve Police Vetting.

Vetting/Clearance is something that I have written about quite a lot recently. Having worked within the Criminal Justice Community for over a decade now, I’d like to offer my constructive opinion and suggestions.

A Little Background

The basic vetting for Officers is RV – Recruitment Vetting. Moving much above the lowest ranks requires MV – Management Vetting. Both of these are carried out by the local police force. There is a nationally agreed standard, but there is evidence, not least in this case, of uneven application. Civilian staff employed by the forces undergo the same vetting.

The fact that one force typically does not accept the vetting done by a different force, nor exchange information with other forces which have carried out similar vetting for specific individuals, indicates that something is rotten in the state of Policing.

In contrast, for supplier staff working with policing systems and/or policing data, there is a parallel system: NPPV – Non-Police Personnel Vetting. Level 2, NPPV2 is equivalent to RV, and Level 3, NPPV3 is equivalent to MV. The big difference, however, is that a single organisation carries out the NPPV checks. This gives consistency. It also give a clearance that is accepted by all policing organisations.

If I were in charge for a day….

Here are the changes I’d make.

1. Central Vetting Organisation for Policing

One vetting organisation responsible for Police and related vetting. One organisation can be well-funded, mandated to rigorously follow the agreed standard, and audited (HMIC or whoever) for correct behaviours. This would also result in a single source for vetting results (including historical ones).

As an added bonus, when Bad Actors are identified, central statistics can be kept. More of that hard data I’ve been seeking.

2. Incorporate NSV – National Security Vetting – Elements

Police Officers have to be trustworthy. Surely that should include not being a spy for a foreign power, or being susceptible to being coerced or pressured by a foreign power? Incorporate the checks carried out for an SC that are not done for NPPV/MV, it’s not rocket science. I’m not going to be specific here, deliberately, just add that it seems crazy (to me) for this not to be done already.

3. Errr… That’s it.

Not such a big change after all, really. Apart from addressing the currently broken elements.