Rebuilding the beat

Public trust in the police has been shaken in recent years. High-profile cases of misconduct and criminality by serving officers have impacted the public’s confidence in the very people entrusted to keep them safe. These concerns can cause long-lasting damage for the relationship between the police and the communities they serve.

The vast majority of police officers serve with professionalism and dedication. But when officers or staff behave unlawfully or unethically, it damages confidence in the entire service. People become less likely to report crimes, support investigations, or believe that the police will treat them fairly. Rebuilding that trust requires more than reassuring words. It demands rigorous, independent scrutiny of how forces vet and hold their workforce to account.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces across England and Wales. We ask the questions we believe the public would ask, use our expertise to interpret the evidence, and publish our findings in accessible reports. And our integrity inspection programme examines how well forces are taking the necessary steps to ensure the right people join and remain in policing.

Vetting

Vetting is a critical safeguard. Forces must have the governance, capacity and expertise to assess applicants thoroughly, identify risks, and make sound decisions about who should be entrusted with police powers. We examine whether vetting units record robust rationales for their decisions and have effective quality assurance processes to review them.

Officers and staff must be subject to initial vetting and ongoing reviews throughout their careers. Our inspections examine whether forces have robust systems to ensure everyone holds the correct level of vetting for their role, with regular renewal and continual monitoring. We also look at whether forces know which roles all officers and staff are working in and regularly review the vetting requirements for each.

We assess whether vetting decisions are fair and consistent. Forces must collect and analyse data to understand if there is disproportionality in their decision-making, and take action to address it where it exists. Vetting units should also support positive action and force initiatives to build a workforce that reflects the communities it serves.

Professional standards

Of course, vetting is only the beginning. Forces must actively promote high standards of professional behaviour and make clear what is expected of everyone who works in policing.

Through our inspections, we assess whether forces use a variety of methods to regularly reinforce these standards and ensure their workforce understands them. We look at whether forces embed a culture of organisational learning, with an effective structure in place for identifying and disseminating lessons.

When things go wrong, forces must be willing to examine what happened and ensure lessons are applied across the service. And when allegations of misconduct arise, the public rightly expect them to be handled thoroughly, fairly and without delay. Professional standards departments must have enough officers and staff to carry out their work and comply with statutory requirements. The workforce must be experienced and trained to an appropriate level.

Crucially, the complaints system must be accessible to everyone, including people with protected characteristics and those from hard-to-reach groups who may face additional barriers to coming forward. And our inspections examine whether forces understand the needs of all complainants and keep them informed throughout the process in line with statutory requirements.

We also look at whether forces document their professional standards systems and processes clearly, ensure their workforce understands them, and share relevant information across departments including HR, training, vetting and legal services.

When misconduct is identified, the response must be proportionate, fair and consistent. We examine whether forces make decisions about potential breaches of professional standards in a way that ensures similar behaviours attract similar outcomes. The confidence of the public and internally of the workforce depends on the assurance that standards are applied evenly regardless of rank or role.

Counter-corruption

As well as failings with vetting and professional standards, corruption is one of the most serious threats to public confidence in policing. It can take many forms, from misuse of police systems to abuse of position for a sexual purpose, a particularly insidious form of corruption that exploits vulnerable people.

Our inspections assess whether forces have dedicated counter-corruption units with sufficient capacity and capability to collect, assess and act on intelligence about potential corruption. We examine whether forces monitor the risk posed by individuals suspected of corruption and take appropriate action to develop intelligence.

We look at whether forces have the capability, capacity and appropriate policies in place to monitor their IT systems to prevent and detect misuse. We also assess whether forces conduct thorough and proportionate corruption investigations.

Forces must recognise abuse of position for a sexual purpose as serious corruption. We examine whether they train supervisors to identify warning signs and maintain effective working relationships with external agencies and organisations that support vulnerable people and encourage intelligence reporting.

Effective counter-corruption work also requires strong communication. We assess whether forces communicate corruption threats effectively to their officers and staff and engage with external organisations to tackle corruption together.

Our inspection programme

Our integrity inspection programme provides a comprehensive assessment of how well forces are safeguarding the integrity of their workforce. We examine whether forces have the governance, capacity and capability to:

• vet their workforce effectively and fairly
• promote and uphold high standards of behaviour
• identify, handle and investigate potential misconduct
• hold officers and staff to account proportionately and consistently
• protect information within IT systems
• tackle corruption and manage corruption-related intelligence

Each force receives separate graded judgments for vetting, professional standards and counter-corruption, providing clear and transparent assessments for the public.

The vast majority of police officers and staff serve with integrity and dedication. But the actions of those who fall short cause lasting damage to public confidence.

Rebuilding trust takes time, transparency and sustained effort. But through independent scrutiny and a commitment to improvement, we can help ensure policing provides a service the public rightly deserve and expect.