Avon & Somerset’s top police officer admits she has concerns about how some cops are allowed to continue working for the force, following a damning report into national vetting failures. A government watchdog last week found that potentially thousands of recruits across the country should have failed crucial checks and concluded a culture of misogyny and predatory behaviour against women was prevalent in many forces.
The report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), ordered after Sarah Everard’s kidnap, rape and murder in March 2021 by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, did not include Avon & Somerset in its investigation. But Chief Constable Sarah Crew says that while initial screening for new recruits in the force is “strong”, she is “uncomfortable” with both the appeals process and misconduct hearings when the outcome is not to sack officers but to find a more suitable role where “threat and risk is mitigated”.
HMICFRS, which made 43 recommendations, found many cases where applicants should not have become cops, including those with links to organised crime, along with predatory sex offenders, robbers, drug criminals and domestic abuse perpetrators. Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner (PCC) Mark Shelford, whose elected role is to hold the chief constable to account, asked Ms Crew about the report at a quarterly public grilling called the performance and accountability board.
