Police Scotland ordered to overhaul vetting procedures by watchdog

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) found that Scotland’s national force had no easily identifiable requirement or process by which officers or staff had to notify their superiors of any off-duty criminal conviction, offence, or charge, and that not all employees had records held on the force’s central vetting system.

It also revealed that the force does not have any process in place to review vetting clearance following incidents misconduct, with the use of vetting interviews ‘sporadic’. The watchdog said there were a number of cases where such interviews could have been used to secure further context to information where “potential risks” had been identified.

In the wake of the wide-ranging review, HMICS has called for all officers and staff at Police Scotland to be subjected to vetting at least once every decade. It also said the Scottish Government should introduce legislation requiring all of the force’s employees to obtain and maintain a minimum standard of vetting clearance, and which would allow the chief constable to “dispense with the service of an officer or staff member who cannot maintain suitable vetting.”

As things stand, HMICS said, the lack of any such laws limited the force’s ability to remove those who “cause concern or pose significant risk,” with misconduct processes the only alternative option open to management. However, HMICS said that was “not always a suitable route.”

The scrutiny of the force’s vetting standards comes amid nationwide changes in the wake of the high-profile convictions of Wayne Couzens, a Metropolitan Police officer who was sentenced to a whole-life term in September 2021 for the murder of Sarah Everard, and David Carrick, another Met officer who was sacked in January after he pleaded guilty to 49 offences against 12 women over two decades.

In the wake of Carrick’s conviction, forces across the UK moved to check their officers against national policing databases, with Police Scotland describing it as a measure that would “further enhance” its vetting measures among its 22,000 staff. However, the HMICS inspection indicates that further improvements should be made.

Its 36 page report found that prior to the creation of the single national force, there was no standardised approach to vetting, with legacy forces not revetting officers or staff who held only recruitment vetting - the minimum level required for applications. There was no check or review of the vetting clearances held by employees when Police Scotland came into existence a decade ago.

HMICS also reserved criticism for the way the force handled appeals from existing officers and staff who had been refused management vetting – an enhanced form of vetting for certain critical posts within Police Scotland which involve a higher level of access to intelligence, information or working with vulnerable people. Those appeals that had taken place between 2019 and 2022, the watchdog concluded, varied in quality, lacked consistency, with “poor recording of rationale” evident. It also said that while the majority of vetting cases reviewed were of a high standard, there were some “cases of concern,” identifying areas for development in training and processes.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, said: “There is no doubt the public’s confidence in and the reputation of policing has been damaged by officers who have behaved inappropriately and broken the law. Significant steps have been undertaken following recent high profile cases in England to ensure that officers and staff have been checked and any risks identified, highlighted and managed appropriately.”

He added: “Vetting should not be viewed in isolation or as a standalone process and must be part of an overall system to identify and manage potential risks posed by officers and staff. By its very nature, vetting is a snapshot in time and no regime, however rigorous, can ever guarantee a person will not go on to become a risk. Where these risks cannot be managed, it should be possible to remove that individual from their role or, if necessary, from the service.”

Other recommendations made by the HMICS include: a review, as “a matter of urgency,” of designated posts and guidance relating to those posts that involve working with vulnerable people; an annual integrity review so as to remind staff of their obligations; and a review of specific cases identified in the inspection to consider whether the vetting clearance granted is appropriate.

There is not, nor has there ever been, any legal requirement for police forces in Scotland to vet officers and staff, but Police Scotland said it will carefully review the report to identify any improvements.

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “The safeguarding of our values and standards has never been stronger and HMICS rightly highlights the high standards of our vetting.

“Over 5,000 officers and staff are vetted to an enhanced level with annual reviews and we will ensure all roles have the right clearance levels. We’ve invested to enable additional checks for new recruits before they are sworn into office and, working with staff associations and unions, we are introducing a programme of re-vetting.

He added: “We know the onus is on us to earn public confidence and will carefully review this report to identify any further improvements which can strengthen our vetting.”