Officers who fail vetting will be automatically sacked in changes being made to police regulations
Measures will be introduced to Parliament today (23) which will make it a legal requirement for serving officers to pass vetting procedures.
It will also mean chief constables will be able to get rid of officers they regard as unfit to serve from next month.
The Home Office said the changes follow recent legal challenges which have “brought to light” the difficulty forces can have removing officers who are not fit to serve.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “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.
“It is simply not acceptable that officers who are clearly unfit to serve or pose a risk to their colleagues cannot be removed.
“That’s why 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.”
The reformed police dismissal system will come into force from May 14.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vetting, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, backed the changes which he said “provide clear routes for action to remove individuals who fall below the high standards the public and our workforce rightly expect and deserve”.
The Home Office also plans to introduce further safeguards to improve vetting national standards later this year, including stronger requirements to suspend officers under investigation for violence against women and girls.
Officers convicted of certain criminal offences will also be automatically found guilty of gross misconduct.
so who gets the chief constables job now then.