An independent report has found there are areas to improve within Dorset Police over anti-corruption but says, broadly, the force is doing well.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services inspected Dorset Police between February 21 and March 4, and published their report this morning.

They highlighted an “inconsistent understanding” within the wider work force with regards to the abuse of position for a sexual purpose but acknowledged the counter corruption had been raising awareness of it.

The inspection looked at three core areas - the effectiveness of vetting, protecting information and data, and tackling potential corruption.

They found the force “effectively” managed vetting with only three people found to be in a post without the correct level of vetting for their role. Inspectors found the force “showed awareness of these cases and had already sent reminders in the weeks before our inspection.”

The report noted that while the force had previously shown some progress, it still needs to improve the management of its vetting.

An extract said: “The force has been slow to monitor all its IT systems (including handheld and remote devices) to identify improper use. 

“At the time of our inspection, the force had procured an established IT monitoring system and had begun introducing it. But this had been problematic. The force wasn’t yet using this capability to its full potential.”

Inspectors said, in respect of protecting information and data held by the force, Dorset Police “hasn’t made sufficient progress to improve its ability to monitor desktop and handheld devices. We strongly urge the force to do so”.

They added: “The force CCU recognises abuse of position for a sexual purpose as serious corruption. It has raised awareness across the force with a mandatory computer-based training video. 

“We found inconsistent levels of understanding in the workforce. As such, the force should take steps to improve the level of awareness of all its officers and staff.

"The force doesn’t have effective working relationships with external organisations that support vulnerable people. This would encourage intelligence reporting on abuse of position for a sexual purpose."

The report highlighted the following three areas for improvement: 

  • The force should improve the way it manages the vetting of its workforce to make sure all personnel have valid vetting clearance for their role. 
  • The force should introduce a system to monitor and respond to disproportionality in its vetting decisions.
  • The force should ensure that its counter-corruption unit has sufficient resources to undertake counter-corruption work effectively and proactively; and establish regular links between their counter-corruption unit and those agencies and organisations who support vulnerable people.

Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said the force welcomed the report and had made “significant improvements” since the inspection in March.

She said: “Since the inspection in March 2022 the Force has already made significant improvements to in key issues identified. We have modernised our IT systems to help us monitor and pro-actively collect intelligence from desktop and handheld devices, including the acceptable use of apps.

“I am confident that we have adequate capacity in our counter corruption unit and have recently brought in additional resources to help address the issues identified. This has increased the Force capability to weed out corruption and deal robustly with those subject to criminal and misconduct offences.”