Vetting in Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Operational Command Unit

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.028234

I note you seek access to the following information:

Please provide information as follows:

1) What police vetting procedure is in place for a police officer to be allowed to work in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Operational Command Unit?

2) What is the rank of police officers who undertake this vetting?

3) Is it necessary for an officer to undergo vetting by the security services and obtain security clearance, in order to be able to work in this unit?

4) In each of the five years to 31 March 2022 how many officers failed police vetting, or security services vetting, to work in this unit?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

The MPS Vetting and Referencing Unit have advised that all police officers are subject to vetting procedures at the time of joining the MPS. Both Police and National Security Vetting regimes are utilised. The minimum level of clearance required in order to undertake a role within the MPS is Recruitment Vetting (RV) and a Counter Terrorist Check (CTC). Certain posts throughout the organisation are designated to require an enhanced level of clearance in order for individuals to be posted. Enhanced clearances include Management Vetting (MV), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV).

There are a variety of roles within the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, some designated as requiring enhanced clearance and some not. Vetting level is not linked to rank, but designated by the requirements of the role.
When an individual applies to move departments, the recruitment teams will check their clearance level as standard. If they hold sufficient clearance for the role, no additional vetting is required. If the individual does not have the clearance required, they will undergo additional vetting prior to being posted.

Vetting refusal data for internal applicants is therefore only available for those applying for designated posts requiring an enhanced level of vetting.

Upon review of this data for the last 5 years, there were no refusals of enhanced clearance for any applicant to PaDP.