What do you need to know about recruitment vetting when working with the police?

What do you need to know about recruitment vetting when working with the police?

If you’re looking for a new job working with the police in the UK, one of the key steps you’ll need to go through is recruitment vetting. This applies to officers, police staff and members of the Special Constabulary and is an essential step for any applicant.

Recruitment vetting is a thorough police vetting process that takes a deep examination of your life, including personal history, financial records and your family and friends. As such, the chances are you’ll have questions about what to disclose and what areas of your life will be investigated. This article will answer those queries.

Why is recruitment vetting needed?

Being able to demonstrate integrity is essential for all employees of the police, whether officers or civilians, as this is critical in maintaining public trust. 

Police officers and supporting staff are potentially vulnerable to approaches from criminals and other parties – including personal friends and relations, the press and private detectives – asking or pressuring them into disclosing information. 

Those with direct access to the most sensitive information and intelligence are at a higher level of risk. Therefore, employers must be satisfied that potential employees are not exposed to blackmail, bribery or other corruption.

What information will applicants need to disclose?

Applicants will be required to complete a detailed questionnaire when starting the recruitment vetting process, providing thorough details on the following information:

• Personal information (identity, present and former addresses, dates of birth)
• Financial history (particularly any bankruptcies or large debts)
• Criminal history or other police interactions
• Personal relationships, including family, partners and friends that have criminal history

Aside from these details, you’ll also be asked to provide any information about prior contact with the police. It’s important to remember that this is not limited to just yourself. Recruitment vetting will also look at family and other close associates, so you’ll need to be open about these individuals as well.

You should disclose all incidents from your past – even for minor offences such as shoplifting as a juvenile or motoring penalties. These types of incidents are not likely to be disqualifying, but being open and honest about them helps your application, as not doing so can indicate you have something to hide.

West Yorkshire Police, for example, says: “You should assume that if you have come into contact with the police during your life that it will be recorded on our systems, so if you fail to declare it, we will probably find out and you would be refused due to honesty and integrity issues.”

Similarly, convictions of family members should be mentioned, even if it was some time ago and you weren’t involved. Ultimately, the advice is: ‘when in doubt, disclose’.

What could prevent you from passing recruitment vetting?

Individual forces will each have their own standards for what are considered disqualifying factors when conducting recruitment vetting, but there are a few common issues that are likely to block an application.

Joining the Police notes there are a few factors that class as a mandatory rejection for an application. These are:

• If you have been convicted of any offence resulting in a prison sentence (including suspended or deferred) 
• You are, or have been, a registered sex offender or are subject to a registration requirement in respect of any other conviction
• You are currently on the Police Barred List

Apart from this, there are a number of other concerns that are highly likely to result in an application being rejected. These include:

• You’ve committed offences of domestic abuse, discrimination or that targeted vulnerable people
• You have an outstanding County Court Judgement (CCJ)
• You have an undischarged bankruptcy or Debt Relief Order, or one that was discharged less than three years ago
• You don’t meet the minimum UK residency requirements

Each case is assessed on its own merits, so if there are mitigating factors or evidence of change that could help your application, these will be considered. If you’re unsure, it can be useful to get in touch with the relevant force’s vetting units before starting an application.

Key tips for making recruitment vetting as smooth as possible

Recruitment vetting varies depending on the individual, as some cases are more complex than others. In general, however, most applicants can expect the process to take up to two months. However, if information is missing or more checks are required, this can slow proceedings further.

The most common errors seen on vetting applications include:

• Failure to provide full address history
• Failure to list all family members including step parents, step siblings, half siblings
• Failure to include details of boyfriend/girlfriend under the spouse/partner section
• Failure to declare previous involvement with the police 

Other top tips for completing a recruitment vetting application you should bear in mind include:

• Be honest – declare all convictions, cautions and involvement in criminal investigations.
• Make sure you provide full details, including maiden names, dates of birth and addresses for everyone listed on your vetting forms.
• Include details of any criminal associates.
• If you can’t remember or are otherwise unable to provide specific details of an incident, include an explanation of why.
• Check your credit history and make sure it’s up to date before applying.
• Make sure any CCJs are satisfied.
• If you have payment plans in place for any debts, provide up-to-date documents to show you’re not defaulting on these.
• Check your emails regularly, including your spam folder. This ensures you’re not missing any communications or requests for information.

Once you’ve completed the recruitment vetting process and are ready to start your job search, you can look for vacancies on dedicated platforms such as SecurityClearedJobs.com.

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