'Thousands' of corrupt officers may be serving in England and Wales police forces, a watchdog warned as it condemned poor police vetting standards.
The chances of someone like Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens getting a job as a police officer would have been “clearly reduced” if measures to improve screening checks had been put in place earlier, inspector of constabulary Matt Parr said. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) looked at eight forces, reviewing hundreds of police vetting files for recent recruits.
It said it uncovered too many cases where 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. The inspection, commissioned in October last year by then-home secretary Priti Patel in the wake of Ms Everard’s murder, concluded a culture of misogyny, sexism and predatory behaviour towards female police officers and staff and members of the public still exists and is “prevalent” in many forces.
