Police: Vetting

(asked on 31st January 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2023 to Question 129799 on Police: DNA, whether biometric vetting with consent always includes DNA testing against the police database; and whether the College of Policing's vetting authorised professional practice guidance is mandatory.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 3rd February 2023

Police forces are expected to carry out vetting in line with both the College of Policing’s statutory Vetting Code of Practice and Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance.

The APP highlights that successful policing candidates will be asked to provide their fingerprints and a DNA sample by consent. These are checked against the relevant local and national databases before commencing employment.

The APP is non-statutory guidance which supports the consistent application of the minimum standards of vetting, set out in the Vetting Code of Practice. Principle 4 of the Vetting Code of Practice highlights that police vetting should comply with the standards laid out in the APP.

In light of significant concerns raised around vetting of the police workforce, the Home Secretary has recently asked the College of Policing to strengthen the Vetting Code of Practice to make the obligations all forces must legally follow stricter and clearer.

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