Surrey Police all clean in the wash

In January of last year, the Home Office asked all police forces to submit details of all serving police officers, staff and volunteers in order to check them against the Police National Database (PND) to identify any areas of concern that may have been missed and warranted further investigation.

To be as transparent and thorough as possible, Surrey Police also took further action than those mandated by the Home Office, which included checking all employees against its own police records management system.

Of the 4,593 individuals that were cross-checked, one officer and one staff member were flagged as requiring a vetting clearance review and one staff member was flagged for a management intervention.

None of the individuals who were identified required further criminal or disciplinary investigation as a result of the integrity screening exercise.

Head of Professional Standards, Superintendent Andy Rundle said; “The work that was carried out, not only across Surrey but across all forces in the UK, will help to ensure that the correct checks and balances are in place and that the Force is seen as an open and transparent organisation which is fit to serve its local communities and where employees can also feel safe and supported.

“The large majority of our officers and staff are professional and a credit to the Force. However, it is essential that we deal robustly with those who do not meet our high standards or compromises our integrity.

“We have invested in a comprehensive programme of cultural change towards challenging, reporting and tackling unethical or unprofessional behaviour. This included every officer and staff member under-taking mandatory training and plenary sessions in abuse of position for a sexual purpose, gender and racial bias.

“We also have a confidential internal anti-corruption reporting tool ‘Anonymous’ which encourages colleagues to report anything concerning them to us in a safe and supportive manner.

“While the number of individuals identified as part of the data wash is low, we are not complacent and remain determined to root out any individual not fit to serve the county and its communities, as part of our commitment to ensuring that Surrey is not only safe, but feels safe.”