Following a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), it has emerged that many of the country’s serving police officers have not been vetted properly.
And the report says that police forces need to do more to ensure they are able to detect and root-out ‘abuse of position for a sexual purpose’ by officers and staff.
Among the worst offending forces were the Metropolitan Police, where 37 per cent of police officers and staff had not been vetted, Thames Valley, with 42 per cent and the West Midlands with more than half at 52 per cent.
Following a request from the Bedford Independent, Bedfordshire Police confirmed that vetting had lapsed for just 7% of their staff across the county.
A spokesperson said, “Everybody who works for Bedfordshire Police undergoes a vetting process before joining the force, however due to the length of time people serve with the force a number of those vetting clearances have now expired and require re-vetting – there are currently 158 officers whose vetting has lapsed across Bedfordshire.
“We had already identified this issue as a potential risk and have a robust plan in place to ensure every officer and member of staff is re-vetted.
‘This is prioritised according to individual roles and the risk associated with that role, so firearms officers and those working in counter terrorism or intelligence roles are re-vetted ahead of those in general office or low risk areas.
“Further to the vetting process we have a number of confidential reporting mechanisms which can be used by officers, staff and members of the public who have concerns about Bedfordshire Police employees.
“We also have a dedicated Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Anti-Corruption Unit which investigate any issues raised.”
HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoë Billingham said:
“It is important to recognise that this sort of abuse of power is thankfully incredibly rare, and the vast majority of officers and staff are dedicated public servants who would never contemplate this inexcusable behaviour.
“Nonetheless, even one instance of abuse of position for a sexual purpose is one too many. It is an appalling betrayal of often vulnerable people, and can be devastating to those who fall prey to it.
“Although the numbers of people involved are small, forces must do all they can to prevent, detect and deal with this serious form of corruption.
“We have been urging the police to act on this issue for some years now. Many forces have listened and are already making changes.
“But I’ve been deeply disappointed to find that others have, after all this time, still not put some basic measures in place. Forces should reflect on the findings of this report and take action: to maintain the legitimacy of the police and, most importantly, to protect the public from predators who have no place in policing.”
