By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter: Avon & Somerset Police recruited officers who had criminal records or cautions without properly considering the risks when vetting them, government inspectors found.
A report published today (Wednesday, October 29) by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) judged that the force needed to improve vetting procedures, professional standards and counter-corruption arrangements.
The government inspectors said that of 37 cases it investigated on vetting new recruits over the last three years, the force did not “consider identified risks or relevant risk mitigations” for 10 of them.
One of these posed “several significant corruption risks” and was initially refused clearance by the vetting unit which “correctly highlighted the relevant corruption risks”.
But this decision was overturned by senior officers and the person was employed, and only years later – immediately before HMICFRS’s inspection – were they granted clearance without the correct procedures being followed.
The report said: “Given the corruption risk posed, this isn’t acceptable.
“We brought this case to the personal attention of the chief constable.”
The government watchdogs, who inspected the constabulary in February, concluded that the force needed to improve the way it made vetting decisions, handled complaints and allegations of misconduct, and monitored its IT to identify potential misuse.
Their report said: “We reviewed 37 vetting clearance decisions from the three years preceding our inspection.
“These files related to police personnel who had previously committed criminal offences or who the constabulary had other concerns about.
“We agreed with 27 of the constabulary’s decisions.
“But in the remaining 10 cases, the recorded rationale didn’t consider all identified risks or relevant risk mitigations.
“Of these, six were cases that predated our 2022 national report ‘An inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service’.
“In these cases, the vetting researcher should have recognised information as adverse and referred it to a supervisor.
“The constabulary would then have further reviewed the clearance decision.
“These cases included applicants with criminal records or cautions, and an applicant whose son had serious criminal matters recorded on police systems.”
The report said the constabulary had not recorded a rationale for its decisions in five of these cases.
It said: “In one of the 10 cases, the individual posed several significant corruption risks.
“The vetting unit’s initial decision to refuse clearance had a detailed rationale.
“It correctly highlighted the relevant corruption risks.
“But the constabulary overturned this decision and didn’t record its rationale.” More on the website.
“The individual was employed.
“The vetting IT system was updated to show that vetting was granted, but the correct procedures weren’t followed.
“The constabulary didn’t put in place any suitable risk mitigation measures.
“Immediately before our inspection, the constabulary formally granted the individual vetting clearance.
“They had already been in post for several years.
“Given the corruption risk posed, this isn’t acceptable.
“We brought this case to the personal attention of the chief constable.”
The inspectorate reviewed 13 investigations into complaints and conduct but found supervisory oversight by senior officers in the Police Standards Department (PSD) in only three conduct cases and in none of the complaint cases.
In response, Avon & Somerset Police said: “We recognise that our integrity is fundamental to the public’s trust and confidence in policing, and to our legitimacy to serve our communities.
“Over the past four years, we have invested significant resources – money, technology, and some of our best people into our Professional Standards Department, Counter Corruption Unit (CCU), and vetting.
“We are grateful that the recent report from HMICFRS acknowledges the progress we have made and highlights other areas for improvement, which will be invaluable in our journey to becoming an outstanding police service.”
The force said it accepted the inspectors’ findings with “humility and determination” and that it had already taken action in response to the recommendations.
This included introducing new guidance on outside business interests to prevent conflicts of interest, creating a new Inspector role to strengthen complaint and conduct decision-making, implementing detailed investigation plans and supervisory reviews for complaints and misconduct, and boosting the size of CCU.
Deputy Chief Constable Jon Reilly said: “We are committed to continuous improvement and welcome ongoing scrutiny.
“We know that maintaining integrity is a journey, not a destination, and we will not be complacent.
“Our communities deserve nothing less.
“Public confidence in police depends on officers and staff showing high standards of professional behaviour day in, day out.
“The vast majority of officers and staff dedicate their lives to keeping the public safe, but there is no place in policing for those who do not share our values.
“It is pleasing to see the report recognise we have adequate staffing arrangements in place to manage vetting demand, and we use a range of risk mitigation measures in conducting vetting checks.
“This helps prevent people not suitable to work in policing from joining the organisation in the first place.”
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