Humberside Police requires improvement on vetting, says watchdog

A watchdog found a number of Humberside Police staff were working with expired clearance

Humberside Police has been found to "require improvement" at vetting staff.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services found the force had a small number of staff working with expired clearance.

Of these, a dozen required a higher level of vetting as their roles may involve working with vulnerable people.

Following the watchdog's report, the force said it had made "significant headway in updating systems, resources, processes and policies".

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found:

• As of April 2023, Humberside Police had 3,878 police officers, special constables, police staff and police community support officers

• From the overall total, 42 were in post without the correct level of vetting for their roles because it had expired

• Of the 42, 12 required a higher level of vetting due to their role potentially involving access to sensitive information and/or vulnerable people

• Out of 40 vetting clearance decisions in the last three years, the force "hadn't considered all the identified risk factors" in 16 cases

• These involved police officers and staff "who had previously committed criminal offences or those that the force had other concerns about", the watchdog said.

The HMICFRS report found the force introduced a new IT vetting system in August 2022, with the force telling the watchdog it was working to resolve "some problems" with the new process.

Investigating the risk of corruption, the watchdog found there "didn't appear to be any process in place to discuss across departments" anyone who may pose a risk to the public or the force itself.

The watchdog praised the force's anti-corruption unit for mostly "thorough" investigations, although it spotted eight cases where it had missed opportunities.

'Historical position'

The force said it welcomed the report and thanked HMICFRS for its recommendations.

Deputy Chief Constable David Marshall said: "The inspection, which took place in early 2023, looked at our historical position and quite rightly made a number of recommendations in relation to staffing, processes and IT infrastructure.

"We are assured that many of the recommendations highlighted in the report are already in delivery phase, and it is anticipated that we will feel the positive effect of these changes in the coming months."

In November 2022, Humberside Police received six "outstanding" grades from HMICFRS in preventing crime, treatment of the public, protecting vulnerable people, managing offenders, developing a positive workplace and good use of resources.