Avon & Somerset Police investigating 10 misconduct cases after checking database

Avon & Somerset Police is investigating 10 potential misconduct cases among its officers and staff after recently checking a national database. Police forces across the country were told to check the Police National Database in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard.

Investigators trawled through thousands of data files on the database this summer and found 56 cases of potential concern in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Somerset. 10 were highlighted as potential misconduct, and a further 91 cases could impact on the vetting status of police officers or staff.

The database checks were recommended late last year by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. An update on the local results was given to the Avon & Somerset performance and accountability board on Wednesday, September 20.

Chief constable Sarah Crew said: "We completed the checks in July, two months before the deadline. We've pulled together from across the organisation a number of people with the right research skills, and they were presented with 3,000 pieces of data that have been scraped from the Police National Database.

"They researched those to proactively identify if there were any potential concerns for our employees. Those could include members of staff where they're of a similar name, or members of staff who were a victim of crime in another police force area.

"Once that was completed what we were left with were 56 matters, which were highlighted as potential concerns and flagged to the appropriate authority. In this case that's the head of professional standards with oversight from the deputy chief constable. They assessed those matters for any potential misconduct."

Government inspectors recommended that police forces carry out database checks, after fears that serious concerns or allegations could slip through the net as officers transfer from one police force to another. They said it was "too easy for the wrong people to join and stay in the police" due to a lack of checks on concerning intelligence, complaints and allegations.

Ms Crew added: "Of those 56, actually 10 were recorded as potential misconduct matters and they are now under investigation. Another 10 of those 56, we voluntarily referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for transparency reasons — they've already returned their assessment and they don't think there's any further action required.

"We saw 91 matters not from a conduct perspective, but which could potentially have an impact on vetting status in the current role that a person is doing. Our vetting department is now working through those 91 just to check if this will have an impact on the vetting status."