Tens of thousands of police officers and staff have not had the proper vetting clearance which could root out sexual predators.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) estimates that around 35,000 of the 202,000 people working in forces across the country do not have the appropriate level of vetting.

On average 13% of people in each force have not been vetted, but in some areas the figures were much higher.

Inspectors believe 37% of the Metropolitan Police do not have the correct vetting, followed by nearly half of the second biggest force in the country, West Midlands (52%), followed by 42% in Thames Valley Police.

The HMICFRS report into those who abused their positions for sexual purposes interviewed victims as well as staff and officers.

Among the cases highlighted were rapist Ian Naude – who preyed on his 13-year-old victim while a student Cheshire police constable – and West Midlands officer Palvinder Singh, who bombarded vulnerable victims with hundreds of messages.

Inspector of constabulary Zoe Billingham said the figure of 35,000 for staff who had not been vetted properly was a “best estimate”, but admitted the real figure could be higher.

She said there “there have been cases in almost every single force” with victims including suspects, victims of crime,
children, and vulnerable people.

She added: “Most of the victims are women and most of the perpetrators are men.

“Too often their abuser plays the role of the saviour in policing. They play the role of the knight in shining armour.”

She also said police predators who “get wind” of a complaint “run before they are caught and move from force to force”, adding: “There is no agreed way of passing soft intelligence between forces at the moment of transfer.”

Cheshire Constabulary PC Ian Naude, 30, was jailed in December 2018 for raping a 13-year-old girl.

At his trial he was described as a “committed paedophile” who only joined the force “to gain the keys to a sweetshop”.

During the investigation it emerged he had been named as a suspect to Staffordshire Police in January 2017 for sexual activity with a child.

The same month, the West Mercia force also received an allegation he was persistently asking a girl on social media to meet him.

Responding to the report National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for counter corruption, chief constable Stephen Watson said: “Sexual harassment in the workplace and the abuse of position for sexual purposes by police officers and staff represents a fundamental betrayal of the public and our code of ethics.

“In 2017, all police forces signed up to an action plan to root out those who have abused their position for sexual purposes and they regularly monitor their performance against this plan.

“We do however recognise that more needs to be done to ensure that all forces perform to the standard of the best and we remain committed to further improvement.

“We have been working closely with HMICFRS to tackle abuse of position and we are already taking measures to act on their recommendations.”

The HMICFRS said all forces had been given until December to put in place national standards – which had been introduced in 2006 – and vet all staff. But so far only 25 have met this requirement.

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