London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Metropolitan Police in London is reviewing 300+ recruit vetting cases (2016–2023). Sir Mark Rowley called the 2022 Baroness Casey report “appalling.” Over 1,400 officers removed; refusal rates doubled to 11% by 2023.
As BBC News reported, the Metropolitan Police in London is carrying out a full review of its recruitment process after concerns about the vetting of hundreds of officers. Scotland Yard confirmed the investigation following reports that more than 300 cases are being examined. Some recruits may have had criminal convictions, cautions, or connections that were not properly checked.
The review covers recruitment from 2016 to April 2023. This period included a fast-hiring programme under the previous Conservative government, which aimed to recruit 20,000 officers nationwide. Many jobs had been cut during the austerity measures from 2010. The Met said the review is part of efforts to raise professional standards, improve procedures, and rebuild public trust in the police.
What steps is the Metropolitan police taking to fix recruitment and vetting?
The inquiry also focuses on concerns about the speed of recruitment. Sir Mark Rowley, who became commissioner in September 2022, expressed concern that rapidly recruiting thousands of officers could be dangerous. He challenged the question of whether the force was hiring the right people, with problems related to training and support for the recruits.
Forces were under pressure to recruit to their targets through the police uplift programme. The Metropolitan Police were the only force in England and Wales not to hit the target. The Metropolitan Police was the only force in England and Wales to miss its target.
The Metropolitan Police has faced repeated criticism over its vetting and standards in recent years. In October 2022, a report by Baroness Louise Casey found that hundreds of officers had been allowed to act with misconduct or break the law without facing proper consequences.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was “appalled” by the findings. He added that the report showed hundreds of officers should have been dismissed. Concerns about vetting were also highlighted after the 2021 murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens.
Further issues were identified in a February 2024 report by Lady Elish Angiolini. The report found that Couzens should have been rejected when he applied to join the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in 2011 due to outstanding debts. Additional failures occurred when he joined the Met in 2018, as an allegation of indecent exposure was missed.
In 2019, he was allowed to become a firearms officer. In response, the Met said it had carried out its largest-ever overhaul of professional standards, removing more than 1,400 officers since 2022 for failing to meet requirements. The force also strengthened entry vetting, doubling refusal rates from 5% in 2020–2021 to 11% in 2023, making it one of the most rigorous recruitment systems in UK policing.