Police who fail vetting checks face automatic dismissal

Police chiefs will be able to automatically dismiss officers who fail background screening under new government measures.

The new measures will be introduced next month in response to an independent inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.

In her report, Lady Elish Angiolini found that Couzens should never have been given a job as a police officer, and recommended a radical overhaul of vetting procedures and workplace culture.

This included asking applicants to undergo an assessment of psychological suitability and more robust use of the Police National Database.

Currently, some officers who do not pass vetting checks can remain in the force on full pay, despite not being able to undertake public-facing roles.

Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Police revealed that 29 officers and staff were on “special vetting leave” receiving full pay and pension.

Further complicating the picture, in February the High Court ruled that an police sergeant accused of rape could not be dismissed because the process was fundamentally unfair. The court ruled that the dismissal was unlawful as those suspected of wrongdoing were denied an opportunity to defend themselves.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said that decision had “left policing in a hopeless position”.

The new measures make passing background checks a legal requirement for all serving police officers, and will come into effect from 14 May 2025.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It is simply not acceptable that officers who are clearly unfit to serve or pose a risk to their colleagues cannot be removed.

“These new rules are essential, and it is why this government has been working closely with forces to overcome these barriers to restore confidence in policing.”

She added: “In recent years, serious cases which have badly failed all proper policing standards have damaged public trust in the officers who are supposed to protect them, and undermined the majority of brave, committed officers who work tirelessly to keep us safe”.

Rowley said that it was “never right that an officer could lose their vetting, but not their job”.

“These reforms close that glaring gap in the law and will allow us to move swiftly to remove those who have no place in policing.

“This matters not just for the public we serve but for the vast majority of hardworking officers who should be able to feel safe, have full trust in those they work alongside and have the confidence of the public.”

Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, the lead for vetting at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said the changes will “provide clear routes for action to remove individuals who fall below the high standards the public and our workforce rightly expect and deserve”.

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