A review of how the Metropolitan Police, the UK’s largest police force, has been recruiting and vetting employees over the last ten years has revealed various systemic issues. These problems have allowed individuals who should not have received police powers to serve as officers or employees. This creates significant challenges for public safety, trust in law enforcement, and the victims of avoidable harm.
Many of the problems over the past decade arose because, between 2013 and March 2023, there was a significant departure from the nationally accepted standards for vetting employees. This was especially evident during the rapid recruitment expansion tied to the Government’s Police Uplift Programme, which aimed to bring in thousands of new officers. Although the programme intended to improve police presence and effectiveness on the front line, the methods used to onboard new recruits resulted in serious gaps in the vetting process for police officer applicants.
The internal review, known as Operation Jorica, found that:
- About 5,100 recruits underwent limited background checks, missing crucial elements like national security and Ministry of Defence vetting that help identify potential risks.
- More than 3,300 active officers and staff due for vetting renewal had only partial checks completed.
- Roughly 17,000 personnel lacked complete pre-employment references during part of this time, a basic safeguard meant to confirm character and suitability.
A vetting review panel, originally created to tackle disproportionality in recruitment decisions, overturned refusals in at least 114 cases. Some individuals went on to commit misconduct or crimes. The senior leadership of the Met publicly acknowledged that several thousand police officers and staff remained with the force or were hired after not meeting current vetting standards.
In a separate review of past practices, over 130 police officers and staff committed crimes or serious misconduct due to inadequate vetting. The seriousness of these vetting failures is highlighted by two high-profile cases:
- One officer was improperly vetted in 2017 and went on to receive multiple life sentences for paedophilic behaviour.
- The second officer was accepted into the Met after an Internal Panel overturned an earlier rejection of his vetting due to past child rape allegations. This officer later committed multiple serious sexual offenses.
According to the Metropolitan Police’s internal report, the police force did not follow the Vetting Authorised Professional Practice guidelines and nationally recommended best practices when recruiting officers. Many practices implemented during this period included less stringent vetting for officers transferring from other departments, fewer checks for newly hired officers, shorter timeframes for completing security clearances, and, when applicable, extending the time for completing security clearances for officers hired under alternative vetting standards.
Civil claims are one of the most effective ways for individuals to hold public bodies accountable for damages caused by negligence, whether it involves vetting, recruitment, or supervision that creates the potential for foreseeable harm.
At Slee Blackwell, we represent individuals injured due to police misconduct, including reckless or unlawful actions by officers, as well as cases of institutional negligence from failing to properly vet an officer or from poor decision-making that leads to serious, lasting consequences.
If you have suffered harm due to the actions of a police officer or force, partly due to inadequate vetting practices or other institutional failures, our team of specialist lawyers can help you explore your legal options.