Cumbria chief constable vows 'no complacency' on vetting

Michelle Skeer has been with the Cumbria force since 1990

The chief constable of Cumbria Police says she will never be complacent about the vetting of her officers.

Michelle Skeer said she was "pretty confident" with her workforce after a new screening system was adopted last year.

Her comments follow Baroness Casey's review of the Metropolitan Police which found systemic failings.

She unearthed evidence of institutional racism, homophobia and misogyny in her year-long study of the London service.

The review followed the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in 2021 and raised questions about standards of policing in the capital.

'Never complacent'

Ms Skeer said: "We brought in a new system over 12 months ago for vetting and we checked everyone who works within the constabulary.

"We also have additional higher levels of vetting for people being promoted or working around the organisation.

"We encourage independent scrutiny as well, so we have an ethics and integrity panel made up of people from outside the organisation," she told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"We can never be complacent, you have to constantly look at how the workforce is absolutely fit and proper and that there are the mechanisms to weed out anything inappropriate and wrong," she said.

She added the force will continue to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour as public "priorities".

"I think we get a lot of support from the Cumbrian communities, I've had letters of thanks, but you need to work at it and respond to the priorities the communities are telling us about."

Ms Skeer said additional recruitment had seen 169 officers join Cumbria Constabulary in fewer than four years.

She said the influx had made the force "more visible" and increased "public trust and confidence".