All officers should be vetted every two years

The David Carrick case has exposed, yet again, the police’s apparent inability to detect potential offenders in their recruitment processes, and to root out offenders in the ranks.

The lack of sufficiently robust and ongoing monitoring and vetting of police officers is a great failing.

Although a nationwide issue, the problems within the Met and London forces are particularly notable.

Carrick’s home station in Merton have just logged a record high number (402) of sexual offences in the year to September 2022 within the area.

The pressure on South London forces is building.

Last year the police inspectorate pointed out that the existing vetting systems were deficient, and alarm bells had been ringing for far too long against a backdrop of officers committing serious crimes.

Police forces need effective systems to prevent unsuitable applicants from being recruited.

It would be naïve to think any system is watertight so, inevitably, unsuitable applicants will slip through the net.

However, those who are assessed as suitable when they join may become unsuitable later in their career because after all people do change. Therefore, forces also need effective systems to identify these individuals and, if necessary, dismiss them.

In my opinion there must be on-going onitoring and all officers should be routinely vetted every two years.

Currently before Parliament is the Government’s Victims’ Bill whose purpose is to give victims of crime greater purchase in the justice system.

This affords an opportunity for the inspectorate’s recommendation for improving recruitment processes and vetting to be implemented in a uniform and consistent fashion across the country’s police forces.

Now is the time to put an intolerable state of affairs right.

Alan Collins
Partner in the sex abuse team at Hugh James Solicitors