Officers failing vetting

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.034926

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. The number of police officers failing vetting since January 2019 up to the current date.

2. Of those, the number that left the force.

Decision

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

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Operation Assure

In March 2023, the Met became the first police service in the UK to adopt a new process to consider dismissing officers who can no longer pass vetting and who, as a result, have lost the Commissioner’s confidence.

Vetting reviews can now be triggered in a number of circumstances, including the conclusion of a criminal investigation, following a misconduct hearing where a written warning, final written warning or a reduction in rank has been issued, or when adverse information about an individual comes to the notice of Professional Standards officers.

If an officer or staff member can no longer meet the minimal vetting requirement, they will be unable to fulfil the duties expected as part of their role which may result in a finding of gross incompetence. Such a finding could lead to dismissal.

The below data is accurate as at 27 November 2023.

The figures for Operation Assure since March 2023 are:

• 37 MPS Employees have had their clearance withdrawn of which:
• 29 were Officers, 2 Staff, 3 Special Constables and 3 PCSO’s.
• Of the 37 withdrawn, 23 are at appeal stage, 7 are still within the time frame to still appeal, 7 did not appeal, 1 has been dismissed via the gross incompetence (GI) process, 2 resigned and the other 4 have been referred to GI.
• A further 3 have resigned prior to a vetting decision but after they were informed their vetting was being reviewed of which:
• 1 was a PC, 1 PCSO and 1 Special Constable.

Prior to Operation Assure no clearances were withdrawn following the standard vetting renewal process.