North East police bosses 'have confidence' in force's vetting of officers after Sarah Everard murder
North East police bosses have backed their force's vetting of officers, after the fallout of Sarah Everard's murder.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness told councillors in Newcastle that she had been "horrified" by the murder and that the government ministers "fail to understand the size of the problem".
When asked about the strength of Northumbria's own vetting process for officers, the Labour PCC defended the procedures and said she was given "real hope" by the "hundreds" of new recruits motivated to join "to solve this exact problem".
Ms McGuinness told a Newcastle City Council meeting on Wednesday (6 October): "I have confidence in Northumbria Police. Myself and the chief discuss this all the time: what is the vetting procedure, how is it working, where are people falling down on vetting, what is the training officers receive, how is that going, how is it detected if there is something wrong?
"This is something that is picked up in Northumbria and, crucially, when something is going wrong or is amiss with a colleague then it is their colleagues who bring it to our attention. It is important that it remains an environment where people feel able to do that."
The PCC recently announced an £800,000 package to improve public safety in parks and on public transport, including through more CCTV and lighting as well as a new app where people can report places they feel unsafe.
However, she said the government-funded programme was "just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we need to bring about real change".
Chief constable Winton Keenen said that Northumbria Police had the highest levels of public confidence of any force in the country, but that he did "recognise the culture in policing" he had experienced during a 37-year career.
He also pledged that he would sack any officer found to be using their position "for sexual or any coercive control".
He added: "We will be seeing, I'm sure, some national guidance coming out from the centre on the back of the Sarah Everard case and some of the lessons learned from that."
It comes as Home secretary Priti Patel announced this week that an inquiry would be held into how Wayne Couzens was allowed to continue serving as a Met Police officer despite concerns about his behaviour before he kidnapped, raped, and killed 33-year-old Sarah Everard from York.