Largest screening project reveals no Nottinghamshire officers to be of concern

24 January 2024

Branch chair Simon Riley has welcomed results of the largest integrity screening project ever undertaken in policing as the study finds no officers in Nottinghamshire Force to be of concern. 

Simon Riley has commented after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) conducted a study which saw more than 307,000 officers, staff and volunteers checked against the Police National Database (PND).

Of the 2,423 officers from the Nottinghamshire Force who were screened, all were found to be of no concern.

“Results from this project are very positive, as a whole, but especially for our Force here in Nottinghamshire,” said Simon.

“To hear that out of all of the officers screened in Nottinghamshire, no concerns have been identified regarding any of them is hugely reassuring.

“At a time when officers are under so much scrutiny, I hope that this helps to restore confidence in policing and build trust between us and our local communities in Nottinghamshire.”

The PND was set up in 2011 to share intelligence between forces, following an inquiry into the 2003 killings of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, in Soham, Cambridgeshire.

Nationally, the records of 307,452 officers, staff and volunteers have now been checked against six billion entries on the PND, with a total of 306,991 individuals of no concern. 

Less than 0.15 per cent of records needed to be referred to an appropriate authority, with one-fifth of these needing no further action. 

“The only way we can strengthen relationships between policing and the public is by being completely transparent and projects like this do exactly that,” added Simon. 

“Unfortunately, it’s a very small number of officers who tarnish the reputation of so many hard-working cops. I feel that work like this should be carried out regularly, to ensure those who should not, and don’t deserve to be in the Force are identified and the appropriate action taken.”

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair said that while ‘the cross-checking of records on such a large scale was a significant task’ it demonstrated their commitment to ‘identifying those who do not meet the high standards expected’.

“Police forces responded with urgency, enabling us to carry out the largest integrity screening project that policing has ever seen,” he said.

“Despite the comparatively low numbers of returns, the exercise was important in ensuring we have a strong foundation on which to build an automated process.

“We look forward to working with our colleagues across Government and policing to make this a reality. 

“I hope that it gives further reassurance to communities, and to colleagues in policing, that the overwhelming majority of the workforce can be trusted, and that if you are involved in wrongdoing, there is no place to hide.”

You can view the results here.

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