FOI 554-24 Vetting
Enquiry Reference: 554- 24
I write in connection with regards to your Freedom of Information request. Below is your request and our response.
This should all be for the five years up to the date of your reply.
Please be aware due to different system in place for recording vetting and vetting outcomes we are unable to provide a full range of answers as below. 5 years ago we were still using a paper vetting system and subsequently when converting data to a new computer system in late 2019 the data as request below was inadvertently not capture sufficiently enough. The data we have been able to supply will be for the subsequent years when we have started to gather the data correctly. Care should be taken to understand our return when considering the interpretation or further use of the data.
- What proportion of police officers vetted during the recruitment process passed the vetting process?
- Between 2019 to present 66.3% of new Police recruits were successful in their vetting applications. Please note there are a number of reasons an applicant can be unsuccessful in the vetting process .
- What proportion of a) white b) black c) Asian d) Arab e) Chinese f) Indian g) mixed white and black h) mixed black and Asian i) non-white officers passed the vetting process?
- As explained above. We did not observe disproportionality until recently after obtaining software upgrades to vetting systems. From However from the data we currently have from 2019 to present we have been able to retrieve the below from the system.
New Police recruits who were successful in their vetting applications
- White/ English/Welsh/Scottish/Irish 54.2%
- Black 0%
- Asian 0%
- Arab 0%
- Chinese 0%
- Indian/Bangladeshi/ Pakistani 1.2%
- Mixed white and black 0.9%
- Mixed black and Asian 0%
- Non-White 0%
Please note that we are unable to establish the ethnicity of the deficit, this will be due to applicants not completing documentation to self-define their ethnicity at the application stage. The only way to establish this would be a manual search through all records which would exceed the time limit.
- Please note: for the second request regarding the ethnic background of the individuals, please provide all the information you have regarding each ethnicity, and the non-white statistic as well.
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.
If you can identify any ways that my request could be refined I would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.
- From September 2023, the new vetting application forms have been updated to include the following self-defined ethnicity selections.
Any other Asian background
Any other black background
Any other ethnic group
Any other mixed background
Any other white background
Asian/ Asian British- Any other Asian background
Asian/ Asian British- Bangladeshi
Asian/ Asian British- Chinese
Asian/ Asian British- English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northan Irish/ British
Asian/Asian British- Indian
Asian/Asian British- Pakistani
Asian/ Asian British- United Kingdom/ British
Bangladeshi
Black African
Black Caribbean
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British African
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British/ Any other/ Black African/ Caribbean background
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British- Caribbean
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British- English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northan Irish/ British
Black/ Black British- African
Black/ Black British- Any other black background
Black/ Black British- Caribbean
Black/ Black British- United Kingdom/ British
Chinese
Indian
Mixed- Any other Mixed ethnic background
Mixed White and Asian
Mixed White and Black African
Mixed White and Black Caribbean
Mixed/ Multiple Ethnic group/ Any other mixed multiple ethnic background
Mixed/ Multiple Ethnic groups- White and Asian
Mixed/ Multiple Ethnic groups- White and Black African
Mixed/ Multiple Ethnic groups- White and Black Caribbean
Other ethnic group- Any other ethnic group
Other ethnic group- Arab
Pakistani
Prefer not to say.
White- Any other white background
White- English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northan Irish/ British
White- Gypsy or Irish Traveller
White- Irish
White- Roma
White- United Kingdom/ British
Please note If applicants/ candidates do not wish to provide their self- defined Ethnic group, then we will unfortunately not hold this data and will not be able to retrieve it in a defined search format/ parameter. If further data was required, this would mean a manual search through a substantial number of records would need to be scrutinised which would exceed the time limit.
Please note that all statistical data supplied in relation to Freedom of Information requests is a snapshot of data held at the time the request was received by the Freedom of Information office and is subject to constant change/updates.
The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.
If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request, you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The Freedom of Information Code of Practice (see below link) states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced. Public authorities are not obliged to accept internal reviews after this date.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-code-of-practice
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Decision Maker