Guernsey Police Vetting Could Change

Thursday, 3 November 2022 13:00

Guernsey Police says it may review its vetting processes, after a damning UK report found it's been too easy for the "wrong people" to join the profession.

Following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the then Home Secretary commissioned His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to inspect the UK police’s vetting system.

The independent report concluded that hundreds of police officers who should have failed vetting checks had been employed in England and Wales.

They either had criminal records or family links to organised crime.

Head of Bailiwick Law Enforcement Ruari Hardy says Guernsey's vetting system, although similar to the UK's, is thorough:

"I can reassure the Bailiwick that the vetting procedures we are undertaking are with respect to local information and also criminal record and wider information from the UK.

Of course, there may have to be changes or alternations to how our practice is, to following His Majesties inspectorates report.

The latest Bailiwick of Guernsey Law Enforcement report (2021) highlighted the island's use of officers from the UK.

It said the shortage of local officers makes it necessary to source additional personnel from the mainland to adequately fill front-line operational shifts.

Chief Officer Hardy explains how incorporating officers from abroad may have to change:

One of the areas that this force would certainly look at is with respect to officers who may transfer from, for example, a UK force into Guernsey Police.

There are some recommendations around transferring officers between forces, and that is certainly something that we will have to look at in a timely way, as it is a process of recruitment that we do follow."