PCC Response – Vetting and anti-corruption part 2 How effective is the National Crime Agency at dealing with corruption

5th September 2024

Dear HMICFRS

I acknowledge that the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire &
Rescue Services (HMICFRS) team published on the 19 July 2024 – Vetting and anti-corruption part 2 How effective is the National Crime Agency at dealing with
corruption.

I welcome the report as it evidences the importance of the partnership between the police service, police and crime commissioners and the national crime agency (NCA) throughout the wider criminal justice system and the relationship with the NCA which is a focus within my Police and Crime Plan.

I would like to respond to the one recommendation directed at Chief Constables:

Recommendation 4
By 30 June 2024, chief constables should make sure they tell the National
Crime Agency the outcome of investigations into suspicious activity reports
relating to their force’s personnel. The National Crime Agency should include
a summary of this information in its annual national strategic threat
assessment, ‘The Threat to UK Law Enforcement from Corruption’.

I have visited the BCH PSD to discuss and seek reassurance and I am assured that the Chief Constable for Bedfordshire has a strong focus on stamping out corruption, along with colleagues across the collaborated professional standards space in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (BCH). In relation to
recommendation 4, I am assured that PSD already reference the serious activity
reports and their outcomes within the police service corruption threat assessment, which feeds up to a regional and then the national threat assessment.

My office and I have been working with Bedfordshire Police and partners to ensure dealing with corruption remains high on the Bedfordshire agenda. I have held meetings to hold the police to account for the Angiolini report and how it is being implemented in Bedfordshire. There are and will be regular reports to Performance and Governance Board on this and wider vetting and professional standards issues.

Yours Sincerely
John Tizard
Police and Crime Commissioner