PBW Law Partner Pamela Rodgers Addresses Police Re-Vetting Reforms at Scottish Police Conference

PBW Law Partner, Pamela Rodgers, delivered a seminar to police officers and representative bodies at the Scottish Police Conference last week in Turnberry, Scotland. The seminar discussed changes to the law in Scotland which require police officers to be re-vetted throughout their entire career.

The new law marks a significant departure from current vetting procedures in Scotland whereby police officers are vetted upon entry to the police force, re-entry, and when seeking higher levels of clearance for specialised roles or ranks. For the first time, vetting of law enforcement will be placed on a statutory footing rather than left to policing organisations to self-administer.

The Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2024 introduces continuous vetting for police officers in a surprise addition to a piece of legislation which was initially intended to introduce only a duty of candour for officers. The surprise introduction of statutory re-vetting has sparked concern for serving officers and their representative bodies.  The new law is not yet in force with changes pending whilst Scottish Ministers produce Regulations to define the parameters of the new statutory vetting provisions.  A vetting manual is also required, but there is widespread concern about the implications of the new legislation for those already serving with Police Scotland.

The introduction of statutory police vetting in the UK follows the murder of Sarah Everard in England by a police officer.  Ms Everard was abducted, raped and murdered in 2021 by Wayne Couzens, then a serving Metropolitan Police officer, in circumstances whereby he used his warrant card to trick his victim under the guise of a fake arrest for breaching coronavirus guidelines. Couzens handcuffed Ms Everard, abducted her, and later burned her body before being arrested. Couzens is now serving a whole-life term of imprisonment for the murder of Sarah Everard but his actions sparked outrage in the UK with the Metropolitan Police accused of failing to investigate previous incidents of indecent exposure and predatory behaviour.

Following this and several other incidents in England, re-vetting of police officers is to be introduced in England and Wales, with similar provisions now being introduced in Scotland. However, Scotland has become the first jurisdiction in the UK to bring into force legislation.

The implications for serving officers are far-reaching. Those already in service for many years may now be at risk of dismissal if they cannot meet vetting requirements. Whilst this may be a positive development for those officers who display predatory behaviour and should not be in service, there are many others whose employment is now at risk by mere association with a relative with a criminal conviction. There are questions over whether re-vetting can be made a requirement of continued employment for officers who began their employment with no such conditions. Furthermore, the legislation appears to permit Police Scotland to re-vet officers when a need arises, with this vague and unqualified definition permitting seemingly endless vetting if an officer falls out of favour.

Pamela Rodgers discussed the current Regulations in force in Scotland which address matters of unsatisfactory performance or misconduct by police officers, and the prevalence of misuse of those Regulations to dispose of officers unlawfully. She also discussed the potential for abuse of the new vetting provision once in force, and the risk that Police Scotland abuses the vetting provisions to subvert procedural safeguards applicable to officers.