Greater Manchester Police 'has taken great care in vetting new starters', the force said in a statement following the publication of a police watchdog report.
GMP has responded to the report published by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which revealed that 'thousands' of corrupt officers may be serving in England and Wales police forces due to poor vetting standards. The report said that people, including those with criminal records or links to organised crime, should not have been allowed to join the police and that it was 'too easy' for them to do so.
Although GMP was not scrutinised specifically in the inspection, which was commissioned in October last year in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, bosses said they 'welcome' the recommendations for all police forces. This comes after the force was taken out of special measures as the most improved in the country.
READ MORE: 'Thousands' of corrupt officers may be serving in police due to vetting failures, watchdog says
Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, who was recently appointed head of GMP’s Professional Standards Branch, said in a statement: "Public trust and confidence in the police is vital and the force does not underestimate the importance of officers and staff demonstrating the highest standards of professional behaviour towards members of the public and their colleagues, as the majority do.
"Our Vetting Unit, which is subject to ongoing expansion, is responsible for ensuring the right people come through the door and that they continue to reflect the ethical values that are at the heart of British policing. Throughout the ongoing recruitment of over 1,000 additional officers, under the Public Uplift Programme, GMP has taken great care in the vetting of new starters.
"Simply put, the Vetting Unit is wholly focused on protecting the public and safeguarding the operational integrity of GMP. However, our assurance does not stop there.
"Our assessment, investigation, and organisational learning teams, together with the Anti-Corruption Unit, work in tandem to ensure that officers and staff continue to demonstrate utmost integrity and professionalism – responding to reports from members of the public, partner agencies, and GMP employees whilst proactively investigating misconduct concerns and criminal allegations without deviation from statutory legislation.
"Though we work to prevent and reduce all misconduct themes, we recognise the nationally and locally renewed focus on misogyny and violence against women and girls. With basic purposes of fighting crime and keeping people safe, GMP must be an organisation which encourages reporting, prioritises investigation of both criminal and misconduct issues, and without fear or favour takes appropriate action which secures the best possible outcomes for victims."
The police watchdog looked at eight forces in the inspection, reviewing hundreds of police vetting files for recent recruits. As well as forces linked to Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens – The Metropolitan Police, Kent Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary – the inspection scrutinised practices at Cumbria, South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Dorset and Devon and Cornwall forces.
Inspectors found cases where: criminal behaviour, such as indecent exposure, was dismissed as a 'one-off'; applicants with links to 'extensive criminality' in their families were hired by forces; a chief constable argued hiring an officer transferring from another area would make the force 'more diverse' despite a string of allegations spanning several years which could have amounted to sexual assault if proven; warnings a prospective officer may present a risk to the public were ignored; incidents which should have been classed as gross misconduct were assessed as a lower-level disciplinary matter or 'not treated as misconduct at all' and basic blunders led to the wrong vetting decisions.
According to the report, 131 cases were identified where inspectors described the decisions made as 'questionable at best'. In 68 of these, they disagreed with the force’s decision to grant vetting clearance.
It said: "We found officers and staff with criminal records, or suspicions that they had committed crime (including some serious crime), substantial undischarged debt, or family members linked to organised crime.
"In other cases, officers and staff had given false or incomplete information to the vetting unit. We also found officers who, despite a history of attracting complaints or allegations of misconduct, successfully transferred between police forces. This is wholly unsatisfactory."
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