The report ordered after the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard by the serving Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens, has been published by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
It has shone a light on a ‘wholly unsatisfactory’ vetting process, and an ‘alarming’ continuing culture of misogyny and predatory behaviour.
The police vetting process aims to identify unsuitability for service due to criminal involvement, a demonstrable lack of honest, unethical behaviour, or financial vulnerability.
The report reviewed 725 vetting decisions, finding 131 to be ‘questionable at best.’ The review team further disagreed unanimously with 68, which included applicants with criminal records of sexual offending, common assault in a domestic setting, and robbery of a vulnerable elderly victim. Even before the vetting stage, some forces have chosen not to check applicant’s submitted employment history and character references.
More ‘challenging’ types of adverse information, such as criminal association or non-conviction criminal information, is often not adequately considered or considered at all. A senior manager expressed that an ‘innocent until [proven] guilty’ approach was taken, contrary to vetting guidance.
A culture survey of over 11,000 officers and staff revealed a continuing environment of misogynistic and predatory behaviour. Reported behaviour included senior male officers pursuing women in lower ranks for sex and sending pornography to female colleagues’ phones. More serious accounts included allegations of criminal offences such as sexual assault in the workplace or at social events.
Inspectors also found instances of officers transferring between forces, despite having a history of misconduct or complaints used in the re-vetting process. For instance, a chief constable approved the transfer of an officer who was accused, over the span of several years, by members of the force and a member of the public, of sexual assault.
Politicians are suggesting that the report be a ‘wake-up call for chief constables.’ The first section of the report details a decade studded with high profile vetting failures leading to police criminality (notably in 2011, 2013, and 2018), and a series of subsequent and detailed independent reviews (see, here and here) whose recommendations were not properly implemented.
Last month, PC James Ford was found guilty of 10 counts of sexual abuse against a child, having been cleared after a vetting process that identified inappropriate social media use. Yesterday, PC Jonathon Cobban and former PC Joel Borders were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment due to the content of messages in a whatsapp group shared with PC Wayne Couzens.
The report is clear that forces have had ‘ample warning that behaviours, cultures, and processes need to change.’ HM 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… The police must do more to prevent unsuitable people from joining in the first place.’
