Thousands of British police on duty without ‘background check’

LONDON – The case of police officer Wayne Cousins ​​who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard last March has rocked the UK and beyond. A story that sheds light on customer control procedures.

Yes, because in the UK until a few years ago, submitting a clean ‘criminal record’ was not mandatory, it was the job of individual units to ensure checks. Verifications, as the BBC report showed, remain incomplete: at least 2,500 police officers and administrative staff are missing for verification.

Figures compiled by the broadcaster show that more than a quarter of law enforcement agencies have not verified national guidelines that have been introduced since 2006 for all staff (Scottish Police are excluded).

The Police Oversight Authority had given until July 2020 to complete employee checks. Agents of each agency must provide the oversight bodies with some type of criminal record, which certifies that there is no criminal record or financial problems (which could expose the agent to corruption).