Details within the HMICFRS report

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Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.035121

I note you seek access to the following information:

This follows approaches by more than one force who have confirmed to me the information is on record but requesting guidance on the specifics of the recommendation from the HMICFRS report.

The information I am asking you for now is therefore clearer.

Please therefore see the below request as a replacement of the earlier.

And either replace it or delete earlier and just treat the below - as a new freedom of information request.

Please provide confirmation.

Please provide the information in PDF ideally. If not, in whatever form works for you.

Please provide any guidance, as necessary, if these freedom of information request needs reformulating.

I await your response:

CLARIFICATION -
HMICFRS published the following report in November 2022

HMICFRS - An inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service

The PDF is here
HMICFRS - An inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service.pdf

With reference to the report, please advise, in simple terms, for points 1 - 26, answering each point with 3 simple answers as per guidance below A-C

A) Has the recommendation has been completed in total for your force - (yes/no) (if it is part completion - this would be no)

B) If no to (a) - is the aim for it be competed - (yes/no)

C) If yes to (b) - by which approximate date (Specify date)

By way of an example the freedom of information request might be answered as follows for the first points 1-4:

EG (FOR ILLUSTRATION ONLY)
1a) Yes b) NA c) NA
2a) No b) Yes c) May 2024
3 a) No b) No c) No
4 a) No b) Yes c) December 2025
etc until point 26

1. Recommendation 2, p 18
Chief constables should establish and begin operation of a process to identify, within their vetting IT systems, vetting clearance records where:
• applicants have committed criminal offences; and/or
• the record contains other types of concerning adverse information.

2. Recommendation 3, p18
Chief constables should take steps to make sure that, when granting vetting clearance to applicants with concerning adverse information about them:
• vetting units, counter-corruption units, professional standards departments, and HR departments (working together where necessary) create and implement effective risk mitigation strategies;
• these units have enough capacity and capability for this purpose;
• responsibilities for implementing specific elements of the risk mitigation
strategy are clearly defined; and
• there is robust oversight.

3. Recommendation 4, p19
Chief constables should make sure that, when concerning adverse information has been identified during the vetting process, all vetting decisions (refusals, clearances and appeals) are supported with a sufficiently detailed written rationale that:
• follows the National Decision Model;
• includes the identification of all relevant risks; and
• takes full account of the relevant risk factors described in the Vetting Authorised Professional Practice.

4. Recommendation 11, p20
Chief constables who have not already done so should establish and begin operation of a policy requiring that, at the conclusion of misconduct proceedings where an officer, special constable or member of staff has been issued with a written warning or a final written warning, or been reduced in rank, their vetting status is reviewed.

QUESTION FOR 3 PART RESPONSE (ANSWER A-C)
A) Has this recommendation has been completed in total for your force - (yes/no) (if it is part completion - this would be no)
B) If no to (a) - is the aim for it be competed? (Answer - yes/no)
C) If yes to (b) - by which approximate date (Specify date)

5. Recommendation 13, p21
Chief constables who have not already done so should establish and begin operation of a process to:
• identify the required vetting level for all posts within the force, including designated posts requiring management vetting; and
• determine the vetting status of all police officers and staff in designated posts. As soon as possible after this, these chief constables should:
• make sure that all designated postholders are vetted to the enhanced (management vetting) level using all the minimum checks listed in the Vetting Authorised Professional Practice; and
• give continued assurance that designated postholders always have the requisite level of vetting.

7. Recommendation 16, p22
Chief constables should make routine use of the Police National Database (PND) as a tool for revealing any unreported adverse information about officers and staff. To help this, the College of Policing should:
• working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for counter-corruption, change the Counter-Corruption (Intelligence) APP to include a requirement for the PND to be used in this way; and
• change the PND Code of Practice (and any subsequent code of practice concerning the Law Enforcement Data System) to include a specific provision that allows for the PND to be used in this way.

8. Recommendation 18, p22
Chief constables should make sure that there is a robust response to any criminal allegation made by one member of their force against another. This should include:
• consistent recording of allegations;
• improved investigation standards; and
• sufficient support for victims and compliance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales.

9. Recommendation 20, p23
Chief constables should adopt the National Police Chiefs’ Council sexual harassment policy.

QUESTION FOR 3 PART RESPONSE (ANSWER A-C)
A) Has this recommendation has been completed in total for your force - (yes/no) (if it is part completion - this would be no)
B) If no to (a) - is the aim for it be competed? (Answer - yes/no)
C) If yes to (b) - by which approximate date (Specify date)

10. Recommendation 24, p23
Chief constables should make sure their professional standards departments attach a prejudicial and improper behaviour flag to all newly recorded relevant cases.

QUESTION FOR 3 PART RESPONSE (ANSWER A-C)
A) Has this recommendation has been completed in total for your force - (yes/no) (if it is part completion - this would be no)
B) If no to (a) - is the aim for it be competed? (Answer - yes/no)
C) If yes to (b) - by which approximate date (Specify date)

11. Recommendation 25, p24
Chief constables should make sure their professional standards departments and counter-corruption units routinely carry out all reasonable
wider inquiries when dealing with reports of prejudicial and improper behaviour. These inquiries should ordinarily include (but not be limited to) sampling the following, in relation to the officer under investigation:
• their use of IT systems;
• incidents they attended, and incidents they are otherwise connected to;
• their use of work mobile devices;
• their body-worn video recordings;
• radio location checks; and
• misconduct history.

12. Recommendation 26, p24
Chief constables should make sure their professional standards departments:
• produce and follow an investigation plan, endorsed by a supervisor, for all misconduct investigations; and
• check all reasonable lines of inquiry in the investigation plan have been concluded before finalising the investigation.

13. Recommendation 28, p25
Chief constables who have not already carried out a review of all allegations relating to prejudicial and improper behaviour, should do so. The review should be of cases from the last three years where the alleged perpetrator was a serving police officer or member of staff. The review should establish whether:
• victims and witnesses were properly supported;
• all appropriate authority assessments, including assessments which didn’t
result in a complaint or misconduct investigation, were correct;
• investigations were comprehensive; and
• any necessary steps are taken to improve the quality of future investigations.
These reviews will be subject to examination during our next round of inspections of professional standards departments.

14. Recommendation 29, p25
With immediate effect, chief constables must make sure that forces use Regulation 13 of the Police Regulations 2003 for underperforming officers during their probationary period, rather than the Police (Performance) Regulations 2020.

15. Recommendation 32, p26
Chief constables should make sure that:
• all intelligence concerning possible sexual misconduct by officers or staff (including abuse of position for a sexual purpose and internal sexual misconduct) is subject to a risk assessment process, with action taken to minimise any risk identified; and
• rigorous additional oversight arrangements are in place to monitor the behaviour of officers subject to the risk assessment process, especially in cases assessed as high risk.

16. Recommendation 33, p26
Chief constables should make sure that counter-corruption units (CCUs) have established relationships with external bodies that support vulnerable people who may be at risk of abuse of position for a sexual purpose, such as sex-worker support services, drug and alcohol and mental health charities. This is to:
• encourage the disclosure by such bodies, to the force’s CCU, of corruption-related intelligence relating to the sexual abuse of vulnerable people by police officers and staff;
• help the staff from these bodies to understand the warning signs to look for; and
• make sure they are made aware of how such information should be disclosed to the CCU.

18. Recommendation 35, p26
To protect the information contained within their systems and help them to identify potentially corrupt officers and staff, chief constables should make sure that:
• their force has the ability to monitor all use of its IT systems; and
• the force uses this for counter-corruption purposes, to enhance its investigative and proactive intelligence gathering capabilities.

19. Recommendation 36, p27
Chief constables should establish and begin operation of an improved system of mobile device management, with accurate record keeping concerning:
• the identity of the officer or staff member each device is allocated to; and
• what each device has been used for.

20. Recommendation 37, p27
Chief constables should:
• convene, and hold on a regular and continuing basis, people intelligence
meetings; or
• establish and begin operation of an alternative process to support the presentation and exchange of corruption-related intelligence, to identify officers and staff who may present a corruption risk.

22. Recommendation 39, p27
Chief constables should make sure they have a current counter-corruption strategic threat assessment, in accordance with the Counter-Corruption (Intelligence) Authorised Professional Practice.

QUESTION FOR 3 PART RESPONSE (ANSWER A-C)
A) Has this recommendation has been completed in total for your force - (yes/no) (if it is part completion - this would be no)
B) If no to (a) - is the aim for it be competed? (Answer - yes/no)
C) If yes to (b) - by which approximate date (Specify date)

24. Recommendation 41, p28
Chief constables should strengthen their business interest monitoring procedures to make sure that:
• records are managed in accordance with policy and include cases where authorisation has been refused;
• the force actively monitors compliance with conditions that are attached to the approval, or where the application is refused;
• regular reviews of each approval are carried out; and
• all supervisors are properly briefed about business interests held by members of their teams.

QUESTION FOR 3 PART RESPONSE (ANSWER A-C)
A) Has this recommendation has been completed in total for your force - (yes/no) (if it is part completion - this would be no)
B) If no to (a) - is the aim for it be competed? (Answer - yes/no)
C) If yes to (b) - by which approximate date (Specify date)

25. Recommendation 42, p28
Chief constables should strengthen their notifiable association procedures to make sure that:
• they are compliant with the Counter-Corruption (Prevention) Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and that the obligation to disclose all associations listed in the APP is explicit;
• there is an effective monitoring process to make sure that any conditions imposed are being complied with; and
• all supervisors are correctly briefed on the notifiable associations declared by members of their teams.

Decision

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

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

The answer to each of your 26 questions is as follows:

A) Yes.
B) NA.
C) NA.

DUTY TO ADVISE AND ASSIST
Under Section 16 of the Act, there is a duty to advise and assist those that have made, or intend to make, a request for information. In accordance with this duty, I can confirm that the MPS publishes information about various types of crime on its website. I have provided a link to this information below.

MPS Website: Stats and Data

It may also assist you to note that the MPS proactively publishes all disclosures made in response to requests made under the Act on its Publication Scheme. I have provided a link to this section of the MPS website below.

MPS Publication Scheme

The MPS Publication Scheme can be searched using keywords and may accordingly hold other information that is of interest to you.

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Details within the HMICFRS report

Decision