Every police officer in the country could be re-vetted in the wake of the Wayne Couzens scandal, police leaders have said.
There are growing concerns that the system intended to weed out corrupt and dangerous officers is not as effective as it needs to be and should be overhauled.
Public confidence in policing has been rocked by the appalling actions of Couzens, who used his police position to kidnap, rape and murder Sarah Everard.
It has now emerged that Couzens successfully passed the Met's vetting process despite being heavily in debt and having been investigated by Kent Police in 2015 for an alleged indecent assault.
While all applicants looking to join the police go through a basic vetting process, which looks into their background, they might not be evaluated again for many years.
The system also relies heavily on the officer being honest and flagging up any changes in their own circumstances, such as financial difficulties, personal problems or convictions.
Only officers who climb the ranks or take on specialist roles are subject to enhanced security clearance vetting.
'Re-vetting needs to be done now'
Parm Sandhu, an ex-chief superintendent at the Met, said it was time to re-vet all officers in policing in order to restore public confidence.
She told Sky News: "Everybody who works in policing now should be re-vetted. Those people who got through the vetting procedure 20 years ago, 30 years ago, all of them.
"Every single person needs to be reviewed and if anything comes up in their past – it doesn't have to be a conviction, it just needs to come to notice, because this man did not come to notice.
A court artist sketch shows Susan Everard, right, the mother of Sarah Everard, reading a victim impact statement as Wayne Couzens sits in the dock. Image / AP
"So, every person should be re-vetted and reassessed as to whether or not they are safe to be working with members of the community and members of the public.
"It needs to be done now as an urgent measure to reassure the public and rebuild the trust and confidence that policing has lost, but it needs to be done on a regular basis so that we don't have anybody that even comes close to the actions of Wayne Couzens."
Police vetting standards are set nationally by the UK College of Policing and were only updated in April.
But Dave Tucker, head of crime and criminal justice at the college, said the Couzens case had brought home the need to re-evaluate the vetting system.
He said: "We should review whether we believe that the vetting is adequate and whether it is complied with."
A College of Policing source said the calls to vet all serving police officers again would be looked at if public confidence demanded it.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick makes a statement outside the Old Bailey in London after Wayne Couzens was sentenced. Photo / AP
The source said: "We will be reviewing the support we offer the police. Public confidence remains the bedrock of policing in this country. If it is felt there is a proven need to re-vet everyone, then absolutely."
Couzens transferred to the Met from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) where he had successfully passed security clearance that allowed him to carry a firearm.
But it has now emerged that, while serving with the force, colleagues had expressed concerns about his behaviour towards women, with some even giving him the nickname "the rapist".
There were also reports that he had been abusing steroids, and that he was a regular user of prostitutes.
CCTV evidence shown in the Sarah Everard court case creates a timeline of the night she was abducted and murdered by London policeman Wayne Couzenshttps://t.co/VpGmbhEc6kpic.twitter.com/s5VgC5yMCf
Last week, Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner, Nick Ephgrave, confirmed that Couzens had been vetted when he joined the Met and had passed without any red flags being raised, despite being investigated by the Kent force over the alleged flashing incident.
He said: "Kent Police investigated that allegation and the outcome of that investigation was that no further action was taken."
Ephgrave confirmed that even if that information had been available to Scotland Yard at the time, Couzens would have still passed the vetting because the Kent investigation had been closed without him being arrested or questioned.
