A police chief has insisted her force is working “tirelessly” to ensure officers meet the standards expected after its vetting processes were rated inadequate, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.
Chief Constable Rachel Bacon moved to reassure the public after Durham Police was told to improve its integrity arrangements following a review by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
The force was graded “inadequate” for its vetting of police officers and staff, “requires improvement” for professional standards, and “inadequate” for counter-corruption arrangements.
Speaking at a Police and Crime Panel meeting this week, the Chief Constable said: “We are working tirelessly to ensure that those trusted to serve meet the standards expected of us.”
The HMICFRS review found the force vetted a member of staff without considering an unproven allegation of sexual assault or two previous cautions. It also routinely allowed people to take up posts before getting full clearance and gave external contractors access to sites and systems without full checks.
As of last July, 42 force staff did not have the correct vetting for their roles, HMICFRS said.
The regulator’s report, published in February, said the understaffed vetting unit “routinely allows people to take up a designated post before it grants management vetting clearance”.
Ms Bacon said a shortage of resources had also led to “unacceptable delays” in the force’s vetting regime.
She added: “These long-standing problems stem from decisions made over many years, driven by significant funding challenges faced by the force. They will not be fixed overnight, but from the moment our audit uncovered the breadth of these issues, we have introduced decisive measures to address them.”
Durham Police said it has invested in recruiting an extra 12 officers and staff within professional standards, a new dedicated conduct investigation team, more than £200,000 in new IT systems, the reintroduction of random drug tests, and new training programmes.
The force was also rated ”inadequate” at collecting, assessing, monitoring and developing corruption-related intelligence – but was praised for its “improved workforce awareness”.
Bill Edgar
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
