James Ford: Rapist Hertfordshire officer's Facebook use to be reviewed

James Ford, an intervention officer for Hertfordshire Police, was found guilty of 10 counts of sex offences against the same girl

Facebook posts by a rapist before he became a police officer will form part of a review into a force's vetting.

Hertfordshire police officer James Ford was jailed on Friday for what a judge termed a "horrific catalogue of serious sexual offending" against a girl.

The force has said it found several inappropriate Facebook "likes" during his vetting but Ford had said they "did not reflect his adult lifestyle".

It has now said there would be a "full review" of how he became an officer.

Ford, 31, formerly of Bishop's Stortford, was jailed for 18 years and three months after a jury found him guilty of committing 10 sexual offences against the same girl.

He was also convicted of carrying out an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, in that he "deliberately wiped his phone" by factory reset.

Ford joined Hertfordshire Police in 2019 and was a uniformed response officer based in the east of the county.

His sentencing judge, Mr Justice Bryan, said Ford's "appalling course of sexual offending pretty much spans the whole time during which you have been a serving police officer".

Hertfordshire Police said that during Ford's vetting process "there were several 'likes' which were inappropriate".

"Ford confirmed the 'likes' were from his youth when he had a much darker sense of humour and did not reflect his adult lifestyle," police said in a statement.

"As there were no other matters for concern, it would have been disproportionate to refuse vetting at that time. This decision was reviewed and ratified.

"Vetting regularly finds that people who have had Facebook or other social media accounts from when they were teenagers do require reviewing and editing when they become adults.

"James Ford's explanation was reasonable and credible and his account fell into this pattern."

The force has said Ford faces a fast-track misconduct process, and it said afterwards "there will be a full review of the process he went through to become a police constable with Hertfordshire Constabulary".

"This is to identify any learning opportunities moving forward and how we can better improve our existing practices," the police statement said.