Police chiefs granted powers to remove officers unfit for duty

Police chiefs will be able to automatically sack officers who fail background checks, under new government measures to boost confidence in policing.

Calls for a change to police vetting procedures began after an independent report into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.

The new measures, that make passing background checks a legal requirement for all serving officers, will be laid in Parliament on Wednesday and come into effect next month.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called the reforms “essential” in the government’s programme to “restore confidence in policing”.

Currently, in some circumstances, those who do not pass vetting checks can stay in their force on full pay, despite not being allowed to undertake a public-facing role.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said it is “absurd” and a “ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money” to pay for police officers who cannot be sacked to sit at home.

The Met confirmed earlier this year that 29 officers and staff were on special vetting leave receiving full pay and pension.

In February the High Court ruled that Sgt Lino Di Maria, an officer accused of rape, could not be dismissed because the process was fundamentally unfair.

He had mounted a legal challenge after having his vetting – a background check – removed following sexual assault allegations, which he denied and was not charged over.

Mrs Justice Lang said the dismissal process which had been used by the Met was unlawful as those suspected of wrongdoing were denied an opportunity to defend themselves.

She went on to say the Met’s powers did not “extend to the dismissal of a police officer by reason of withdrawal of vetting clearance”.

Sir Mark said the judgement left policing in a “hopeless position” and meant the police force did not have the ability to remove officers deemed unfit for duty via a vetting process.

The court ruling followed an independent report into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021 which called for police vetting procedures to be re-examined.

Subsequent background checks of all police officers and staff in 2024 found more than 400 links to previously undisclosed misconduct, including theft, fraud and drugs.

The current Met Police vetting model for new and present officers includes background checks on criminal records, behavioural assessments, finances and the individual’s close associates.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It is simply not acceptable that officers who are clearly unfit to serve or pose a risk to their colleagues cannot be removed.

“These new rules are essential and it is why this government has been working closely with forces to overcome these barriers to restore confidence in policing.”

She said only “officers of the highest standards” would be allowed to wear the uniform.

“In recent years, serious cases which have badly failed all proper policing standards have damaged public trust in the officers who are supposed to protect them, and undermined the majority of brave, committed officers who work tirelessly to keep us safe”.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vetting, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, also supported the proposed changes, and said they provided “clear routes for action to remove individuals who fall below the high standards the public and our workforce rightly expect and deserve.”

Speaking in the House of Commons in November last year, Cooper set out the government’s plans for further policing reforms, including strengthening requirements relating to the suspension of officers under investigation for violence against women and girls, and ensuring that officers convicted of certain criminal offences are automatically dismissed.

Responding to the announcement, Sir Mark Rowley said it was “never right that an officer could lose their vetting, but not lose their job”.

“These reforms close that glaring gap in the law and will allow us to move swiftly to remove those who have no place in policing.

“This matters not just for the public we serve but for the vast majority of hardworking officers who should be able to feel safe, have full trust in those they work alongside and have the confidence of the public.”