BAWP support for legislation review

CC Blakeman has written in her capacity as BAWP President to the Home Secretary and Policing Minister in support of Sir Mark Rowley’s request for an urgent review of the legislation around the vetting of police officers.

On Tuesday this week the High Court released its judgment in the case of Sergeant Lino Di Maria v Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The judgment found that it was unlawful to terminate the claimant police officer’s service with the Metropolitan Police, following withdrawal of his vetting, and quashed the relevant decisions taken internally.

Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, President of BAWP said: “We represent the voices of women in policing across the UK and as such we felt it was important to support the Commissioner. There is an entire network of women in particular who feel vulnerable both internally and externally and have lost confidence because of this decision.

“We agree with the Commissioner that there is an urgent need for Government to update police regulations to address the ruling and to give forces the legal powers and confidence to dismiss officers. This is vital to ensure that only those who meet the highest standards are able to serve as an officer.

“It is for this reason I have written to both the Home Secretary and the Policing Minister supporting Sir Mark Rowley in his request for an urgent review of the current legislation.”

In her letter Chief Constable Blakeman said: “Since the horrific events that saw Wayne Couzens convicted of the murder of Sarah Everard and the subsequent Casey review we have seen a change of pace and emphasis on identifying and removing those individuals who should not serve the public in the role of constable. This is welcomed by us all, as in order to attract the right talent for future leadership and to ensure we retain the many skilled and dedicated officers we have we must create an environment that is fair, supportive, respectful and free of discrimination. Leaders across policing have worked hard with the framework that is available and have increased the confidence of victims , both as members of the public and police officers and staff, to raise instances of sexual abuse and abuse of position of trust that is all important in our fight to eradicate violence against women and girls.

“Vetting is a critical opportunity to look at persons background and behaviour to predict future behaviour and in doing so take a risk-based approach to suitability to serve. This is not only critical at point of entry but as an ongoing review during service. As the national lead for Police National Database I have worked closely with Chief Constable Serena Kennedy to carry out the data wash across policing to ensure we had an accurate picture. I know how critical this work has been to raising confidence.

“The judgement that we have recently seen in the Metropolitan police force now places policing in an impossible situation of identifying those who should not have a career in policing but being unable to have a mechanism for removing them. We are at a critical point in terms of public and staff confidence and if we are to continue to ask the public and our staff to raise their concerns about inappropriate behaviours, and for those around them to be an upstander, there must be a mechanism for the cessation of employment within the vetting regime. We are in complete support of the request of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley in his request for an urgent review of the current legislation with an effective and efficient process that does not see officers sat on paid vetting leave and victims without an outcome and without the confidence in us to deal with their concerns.

“As an association we would welcome an opportunity to support this issue further.”