Too easy for the ‘wrong people to join and stay in the police’, new report finds

It 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 “prevalent” in many forces.

The inspection was commissioned in October last year by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder by serving Metropolitan Police Service officer Wayne Couzens.

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.

HMICFRS looked at 11,277 police officers and staff, examined 725 vetting files, considered 264 complaint and misconduct investigations as well as interviewing 42 people.

Inspectors found cases where:

• Criminal behaviour, such as indecent exposure, was dismissed as a “one-off”;
• Applicants with links to “extensive criminality” in their families were hired by forces;
• Warnings a prospective officer may present a risk to the public were ignored;
• Incidents that should have been classed as gross misconduct were assessed as a lower-level disciplinary matter or “not treated as misconduct at all”; and
• Basic errors led to the wrong vetting decisions.

According to the report, 131 cases were identified where inspectors described the decisions made as “questionable at best”. In 68 of these, they disagreed with the force’s decision to grant vetting clearance.

It said: “We found officers and staff with criminal records, or suspicions that they had committed crime (including some serious crime), substantial undischarged debt, or family members linked to organised crime.

“In other cases, officers and staff had given false or incomplete information to the vetting unit. We also found officers who, despite a history of attracting complaints or allegations of misconduct, successfully transferred between police forces. This is wholly unsatisfactory.”

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.”

HMICFRS said no system is watertight so, inevitably, “unsuitable applicants will slip through from time to time”. And some who are assessed as suitable when they join may become unsuitable later in their career.

“When this happens, forces also need effective systems to identify these individuals and, if necessary, dismiss them,” it said.

“Over the last decade, there have been many warning signs that these systems aren’t working well enough,” said he report. “Some police officers have used their unique position to commit appalling crimes, especially against women. Some forces have repeatedly failed to implement recommendations – from us and other bodies – that were designed to prevent and detect such behaviour.”

HMICFRS also carried out an online survey of officers and staff and received more than 11,000 responses – the largest it has ever received to one of its surveys.

“An alarming number of female officers and staff who responded to our survey alleged appalling behaviour by male colleagues,” said HMICFRS. “Their allegations included sexual harassment and serious sexual assault. We concluded that far too many women had, at some stage in their career, experienced unwanted sexual behaviour towards them.

“Even worse, in many cases the perpetrator was someone who had previously been reported for similar behaviour, which the force either didn’t take seriously or investigate thoroughly.”

The report found some forces have failed to consider the link between misogynistic behaviour towards colleagues and similar behaviour towards members of the public. And some were not responding “robustly enough” when presented with misogynistic behaviour in the workplace.

“We examined 264 complaint and misconduct investigations. In almost one in five cases, we were unimpressed by the force’s decision-making,” said HMICFRS.

Inspectors examined several examples where applicants had come to police attention as suspects in criminal investigations.

“Often, these investigations had been concluded as ‘no further action’ and the case didn’t lead to a prosecution or other formal outcome such as a caution or reprimand,” the report said.

HMICFRS has made 43 recommendations, which it says is “an unusually high number for one of our reports”. These 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.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “It is no secret that recent high-profile incidents have shattered the public’s trust in policing and His Majesty’s Inspectorate’s report shines a stark light on some police vetting practices, which make it too easy for the wrong people to enter and remain in policing.

“As part of its commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers, the Government has provided funding to deliver significant improvements to recruitment processes and improve infrastructure, so it is disappointing that HMICFRS have found that, even in a small number of cases, forces are taking unnecessary risks with vetting.

“It is also unacceptable that women, whether working in policing or members of the public seeking help, continue to experience misogynistic and sexist behaviour.

“I have been clear that culture and standards in the police need to change and the public’s trust in policing restored.

“This will only happen if communities have confidence that the police will take swift and decisive action against those not fit to hold a warrant card, root out inappropriate behaviour amongst the ranks and get the basics of policing right; driving down crime and delivering high-quality outcomes for victims.

“Chief constables must learn these lessons and act on the findings of this report as a matter of urgency. At its best, policing in this country is an example to the world and we need to make sure this standard is consistently met across all forces.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council chair Martin Hewitt said the report agreed with 90 per cent of the vetting decisions made by police forces and found 80 per cent of misconduct investigations were effective.

“But they also identified some flawed processes and questionable or wrong decisions, which allow the wrong people to enter or stay in policing and do harm to their colleagues or the public,” he added.

“Chief constables, supported by national bodies, will act on these recommendations and put the problems right because we cannot risk predatory or discriminatory individuals slipping through the net because of flawed processes and decision-making.

“The confidence of the public and our staff is dependent on us fixing these problems with urgency, fully and for the long term.  Police chiefs are determined to do that.

“A number of changes and actions are already underway to improve standards in vetting, misconduct and counter-corruption and ensure those standards are consistently followed. These recommendations will be addressed in full and included in ongoing activity where appropriate.”

College of Policing chief executive, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, said: “It is essential that everyone working in policing upholds the highest professional and ethical standards.

“The College of Policing’s recent review of misconduct outcomes guidance makes clear how seriously we expect any behaviour that could damage confidence in the police to be taken. We welcome HMICFRS’s inspection report, which builds on our work to consistently raise the standards of policing in this area.

“Thorough and effective vetting by police forces is a key part of assessing the integrity of our officers and staff and allows us to be as sure as possible that we have the right people working for the service.

“We will act quickly to translate these recommendations into practical guidance that furthers the high standards we set, while maintaining the ability of officers and staff, the majority of whom serve in policing with dedication and integrity, to do their jobs, protect the public, and fight crime.

“Vetting will only ever provide a snapshot of the problem, and it must be backed up by strong leadership at all levels and people who can spot and call out behaviour which does not belong in policing.

“The college’s new entry training and National Centre for Police Leadership will deliver world class leaders who are equipped with the skills to call out wrongdoing, improve results and bring the service up to the highest standard the public rightly expects.”

Marc Jones, chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), said the public rightly expects the highest standards from officers and this report “presents a deeply concerning picture in relation to vetting, misconduct and misogyny in our police service”.

He said: “To ensure we have a service of the upmost professionalism, it is vital that forces are getting it right from the point of recruitment. We welcome an urgent and comprehensive review of the processes currently in place to ensure that forces are effectively and consistently identifying unsuitable candidates.

“What is also clear is that there is much more to do to address the toxic misogynistic culture which remains engrained in some areas. Complacency is not an option and forces must get better at identifying and eradicating these behaviours if they are to uphold the standards expected by the communities they serve.”

APCC leads for transparency and integrity, Giles Orpen-Smellie and Alison Lowe, added: “While disappointing, this report shines a light into problems with both the vetting and misconduct processes, with constructive recommendations for getting the right processes in place and increasing public confidence in the long term.

“Police forces have acted at pace to recruit the 20,000 new officers as part of the uplift programme, but without the corresponding police staff, perhaps due to pressures on police budgets, vetting standards have clearly slipped.

“It is essential that chief constables take urgent action to ensure that only the highest calibre of officers are recruited, and that any problems are rooted out at an early stage.

“More comprehensive College of Policing guidance, more rigorous vetting for officers transferring between forces and the use of vetting interviews are essential.

“We also envisage that the Home Office including the use of Regulation 13 of the Police Regulations 2003 within the forthcoming Dismissal Review will help to ensure that forces are able to effectively dispense with the services of probationary officers who will not become well-conducted officers. This provides a relatively straightforward way to discharge an officer while they are within their probationary period.”

Read the full report at https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publication-html/an-inspection-of-vetting-misconduct-and-misogyny-in-the-police-service/