Police force's vetting procedures 'inadequate'

A police force's vetting and counter-corruption arrangements have been rated inadequate by a watchdog.

Durham Police has been told to improve all parts of its integrity arrangements after an inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

The HMICFRS said some of the findings were "disappointing" and the force needed to make sure its vetting unit was well staffed.

Durham Police said "long-term underinvestment" had led to "inefficient IT systems and discrepancies in the data used by different teams", resulting in vetting delays.

It added it had made a "major investment" to boost its professional standards department and overhaul vetting systems.

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said the HMICFRS would continue to monitor the force's progress.

Chief Constable Rachel Bacon said the report made a "very difficult, but not entirely unexpected, reading".

Durham Police was graded "inadequate" for its vetting of police officers and staff, "requires improvement" for professional standards, and "inadequate" for counter-corruption arrangements.

It was told current practices might result in vetting clearances being issued to people who "are not suitable to work in or with the police service" and the monitoring of its IT systems had to improve.

The inspection found the force did not have a dedicated force vetting manager, with about 684 vetting applications not started at the time of the watchdog's visit.

The report also said as of 14 July 2025, 42 people did not have the correct level of vetting.

The report also said the force was "inadequate" at collecting, assessing, monitoring and developing corruption-related intelligence.

"The constabulary's approach to risk assessing and managing sexual misconduct intelligence is fragmented," it added.

"And it hasn't completed a constabulary-wide workplace sexual harassment risk assessment."

The inspection also found Durham Police needed to make sure it had enough resources to manage complaints and improve how it handled conduct cases.

However, the HMICFRS also said the counter-corruption unit had "experienced investigators" and workforce awareness of the need to report any changes in personal circumstances had improved.

Skeer said the force had strong relationships with external agencies supporting vulnerable people.

"But we were disappointed to find that the constabulary's vetting and counter-corruption arrangements are inadequate," she added.

"The constabulary needs to ensure its vetting unit has sufficient staff and capability and must improve how it monitors IT systems and collects counter-corruption intelligence."

Bacon said Durham Police had commissioned its own independent audit of vetting prior to the inspection, which had found areas for improvement, caused "in part by a legacy of underfunding".

"It is also clear that, for some time, the force had not adopted national policies and procedures and that a shortage of resources led to unacceptable delays in our vetting regime," she said.

"These long-standing problems stem from decisions made over many years and the significant funding challenges faced by the force."

She added there had been "decisive measures" to tackle the issues, including 12 extra staff joining the professional standards team and more than £200,000 of new IT systems to "tighten up monitoring".

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