Force failures Vetting blunders let in pimps and sex predators

Vetting failures have allowed pimps, gangsters and predatory sex offenders to join and stay in the police, a recent report revealed.

An investigation by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services warned that thousands of corrupt officers had probably slipped through the net and were serving in forces across England and Wales.

In one case a man who had been investigated by the police for renting out his flat to a sex worker for use as a brothel was allowed to join up. It turned out that a member of staff had misread his file and had approved his application.

In another case a special constable also passed vetting despite having exposed himself to the same woman seven times in a two-week period.

In a further case of a vetting blunder an officer who had been accused of sexually touching members of the public and other officers applied to transfer to another force.

His application was initially rejected but the decision was overturned by the Chief Constable, who argued that accepting the applicant would make the force “more diverse”.

Inspectors also found examples of officers with criminal records or suspicions that they had committed crime getting through the vetting systems.

Other officers were found to be in huge debt and susceptible to bribery while others were found to have family members who were linked to organised crime.

In one case inspectors found an officer whose brother and wider family had extensive criminal connections. The applicant claimed he only had minimal contact with his brother but it was discovered they lived together.

His application was approved, however, after it was decided his lie was “not significant enough” to deny him his chance to fulfil his dream of joining the police.

Another officer was allowed to join despite having been convicted as a juvenile for a violent robbery of an 80-year-old woman.

Female officers described how some male colleagues would regularly watch pornography at work and pester them for sex at social events.

One described how male officers would stop cars driven by pretty women, in a system they described as “booty patrol”.