Nine criminal investigations sparked after review of 300,000 UK police employees

A mass screening of thousands of police personnel records has unearthed 461 cases classed as serious enough to need assessing by a senior officer.

The ‘historic data wash’ – carried out after a damning report following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer – revealed nine cases which required criminal investigation.

Five were police officers at the rank of chief inspector or below, with one case involving alleged sexual offences, one claim of drugs offences and two accusations of fraud.

Four members of police staff are also facing criminal investigations, with two involving alleged sexual offences, one accusation of drugs offences and another classed as “miscellaneous crimes against society”, which covers offences where there is no direct victim.

Some 307,452 officers, staff and volunteers were checked against the Police National Database (PND) as part of the ‘historic data wash’, to vet officers, staff and volunteers working in police forces across the UK, who were considered ‘a concern’.

Of those, 461 were subject to either a criminal investigation, disciplinary investigation, a vetting clearance review or management intervention.

• 9 triggered further criminal investigation

• 88 triggered disciplinary investigation

• 139 triggered vetting clearance

• 128 triggered management intervention

• 97 required no further action

The majority of those checked against the database were considered ‘of no concern’ – but these figures do not take into account those cases that police forces were already aware of, and live investigations.

Forces say the results don’t mean there aren’t other challenges, but lays the focus on issues they didn’t already know about.

And that it means police, and the public – can have confidence in forces’ abilities to identify and deal with issues when they happen.

Described as the largest integrity screening project ever undertaken in policing – the scheme aims to root out any officer, special or staff member that has brought their force into disrepute.

It was prompted by the Home Office following the conviction of one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders – Metropolitan Police Constable David Carrick – who admitted dozens of rapes and sexual assaults spanning two decades.

The Met has faced a series of harrowing scandals, as well as serving armed officer Wayne Couzens, who raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

Every force was instructed to comb their ranks for any missed opportunities to catch any predatory or violent officers or staff who may’ve slipped through the net.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) contacted all police forces in January 2023, and asked them to prepare their HR data so all officers, staff and volunteers could be checked against the PND.

The UK’s largest force, the Metropolitan Police checked the highest number of officers against the database – 50,209 – with 84 officers, staff and volunteers flagged.

Of those, 42 officers and 14 staff are subject to a disciplinary investigation.

Police Scotland checked more than 23,000 people working inside the force, with eight cases raised in the new data.

In Wales’ four police forces – only ten people were deemed of concern in the recent audit, out of 15,333 of those checked in the database.

The National Police Chief’s Council described the checks as ‘a huge undertaking for UK Policing.’

NPCC Lead for Prevention, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “I think what I can do is reassure our communities that they can trust policing.

“The majority of our workforce do have the absolute integrity and are committed to keeping our community safe.

“But those people that we have identified who are now subject to criminal investigation and also the 88 that are being subject to disciplinary investigation absolutely should not be in policing.”

“While the historical data wash has resulted in some cases which require criminal or disciplinary investigation, this low number, together with the fact these people have now been identified and appropriate action taken, should provide reassurance that we are committed to the highest standards of integrity and will continue to deal robustly with those who fall below these standards,” she added.

“In addition to the cases referred to an appropriate authority, we know significant action has been taken by local forces to address all information identified in the historical data wash through stringent processes and procedures.

“We also identified a number of people who required welfare support from their force and it is positive that we can now give them the care they require.

“These could be individuals who have been a victim or witness to a crime but have not received specialist support which they need and rightly deserve.

“We are working with the Home Office to establish a sustainable solution to ensure those working in policing are checked against the PND on an ongoing basis and highlighted at the earliest opportunity.”

In Essex a total of 6,799 officers, staff and volunteers were subject to checks and of those only one person – a member of police staff was considered of potential concern, which the force says was due to an administrative error.

But the Chief Constable of Essex Police Ben-Julian Harrington admitted that the newly released data does not take into account cases the force was already aware of, or live investigations.

Survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of predatory police officers, fear the Historic Data Wash won’t catch them all.

One serving officer who was sexually assaulted by a fellow officer from another force has told ITV News, the release of the data won’t make much difference, unless they’re identifying worrying patterns of behaviour.

The officer, whose name we’ve changed to ‘Catherine’ to protect her identity, says she told family members what had happened immediately.

But she was reluctant to report it to police over concerns how it would impact her career.

“I know how you’re treated as a victim – you’re blamed, you’re expected to act a certain way and if you don’t then you’re not telling the truth,” she said.

“I went there willingly, I had consensual sex so who’s going to believe me.”

Catherine told police three days later, and her attacker was arrested and released without charge, due to insufficient evidence.

When she appealed, Catherine was told the delay in her reporting it was one of the weaknesses in her case.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair said: “The cross checking of records on such a large scale was a significant task which shows our commitment right across policing to identify those who do not meet the high standards expected.

“Police forces responded with urgency, enabling us to carry out the largest integrity screening project that policing has ever seen. Despite the comparatively low numbers of returns the exercise was important in ensuring we have a strong foundation on which to build an automated process.

“We look forward to working with our colleagues across Government and policing to make this a reality.

“I hope that it gives further reassurance to communities, and to colleagues in policing, that the overwhelming majority of the workforce can be trusted, and that if you are involved in wrongdoing, there is no place to hide.”

The NPCC says it is now working with the Home Office to consider a ‘longer term integrity solution for policing’ which will provide forces with a solution which alerts them to any new information in a timely manner.

Source: (ITV News)