Blitz Bureau
POLICE chiefs will be able to automatically sack officers who fail background checks, under new Government measures to boost confidence in policing reported BBC.
The reforms, which come into effect next month, will make passing background checks a legal requirement for all serving officers. Calls for a change to police vetting procedures began after an independent report into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called the reforms “essential” to the Government’s plans to “restore confidence in policing”. In some circumstances, those who do not pass vetting – a background check used to identify unsuitable individuals – can currently stay in their force on full pay, but are not allowed to undertake a public-facing role.
Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Police said 29 officers and staff were on special vetting leave and receiving full pay and pension.
“It is simply not acceptable that officers who are clearly unfit to serve or pose a risk to their colleagues cannot be removed,” Cooper said, adding that only “officers of the highest standards” would be allowed to wear the uniform.
Chief Constable Alex FranklinSmith, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vetting, supported the proposed changes, saying they provided “clear routes for action” to remove officers.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the reforms close a “glaring gap in the law” and “will allow us to move swiftly to remove those who have no place in policing”.
