Hundreds of unvetted staff in police force - report

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has been ordered to improve its vetting procedures

A police force has 313 workers who have not been properly vetted, a report has said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, which employs nearly 6,000 people, has been ordered to improve its vetting procedures by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

The cases involve existing staff whose vetting has expired or who have been promoted without higher level clearance, the report added.

The force said it had recruited a further 12 staff to make checks and had "robust processes" to identify unsuitable new applicants.

At the time of the inspection, the force vetting unit did not have enough staff to meet demand, the report said.

Fourteen analysts and three senior staff were working on 223 applications, with a further 462 cases pending, it added.

In a review of vetting decisions on new joiners, inspectors agreed with 18 out of 25 outcomes but said some risks were not identified.

The force was rated as "requires improvement" for vetting, but "adequate" for other integrity standards including challenging misconduct and tackling corruption.

However, an HMICFRS review of 40 cases identified three where potential crimes were missed.

Acting Chief Constable Sam de Reya said she welcomed the report

These included an officer who tested positive for drugs and one who sent misogynistic, homophobic and racist texts.

Both later resigned, but the report gave no outcome for a third case involving an allegation of aggravated assault.

In a statement, Acting Chief Constable Sam de Reya said she welcomed the inspection.

She added: "We had already recognised and responded to the challenges around our vetting arrangements, particularly around ensuring we had sufficient resources to meet demand.

"Our ambitious recruitment programme to increase the number of police officers within the force required us to also bring in more staff to carry out vetting checks.

"The report recognised our efforts to increase capacity within the team, and we have recruited a further 12 staff since the inspection.

"Importantly, our robust processes ensure that only those who are suitable for policing are able to join the force."

The senior officer added that the force's internal investigations had been found to be "good", with "proportionate, consistent and fair" outcomes.