Tough new disciplinary rules that will make it easier for chief constables to sack rogue officers will be unveiled by Downing Street this week.
Ministers have drawn up the reforms in response to a series of high-profile scandals that exposed serious flaws in the police vetting process.
More than 2,000 “bad actors” within the ranks, including those who have been found guilty of misconduct, face the axe under the “radical overhaul”.
It is hoped the plans will help restore public confidence in the police which has been badly damaged by cases like the murder of Sarah Everard.
The new rules will be unveiled as part of a “crime week” of policy announcements planned by No 10 as it tries to wrest the initiative back from Labour.
Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, told The Telegraph that the proposals will allow police chiefs to “act quickly to root out these bad actors”
He added: “It’s absolutely critical that forces can move very quickly to root out these sorts of offenders who do such damage to public confidence in policing.”
Serious failures in police vetting
The rules have been drawn up by Chris Philp, the policing minister, following months of talks with chief constables about the powers they need.
Last month he admitted that it is currently too difficult for forces to sack detectives even when there is clear evidence that they are guilty of misconduct.
He told MPs: “Officers who fall seriously short of the standards expected have no place in our police, and we must ensure they can be dismissed as swiftly as possible.”
“The Government established a review to consider the effectiveness of the disciplinary system at removing officers who fall far short of the high standards expected of them.
“Ministers are considering the findings of the review carefully and will make announcements on the next steps as soon as practicable.”
The review was ordered earlier this year after serious failures in police vetting and disciplinary processes were exposed by two high-profile cases involving the Met.
Wayne Couzens, a former parliamentary protection officer, was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2021 for the murder of Ms Everard.
It later emerged that he was investigated for indecent exposure six years before the abducted, raped and murdered the 33-year-old in London.
Misconduct investigations
In a separate case earlier this year, David Carrick, a former constable with the Met, was jailed for 30 years for raping and assaulting 13 women.
Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the force, has revealed there are more than 500 officers subject to misconduct investigations who he can’t sack.
Under the new rules, chief constables will be put back in charge of disciplinary panels, replacing independent legally qualified chairmen (LQCs).
LQCs, which were introduced by Theresa May when she was home secretary, have been accused of failing to dismiss many officers accused of wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the six-stage process for removing bad detectives will be streamlined to just two stages, making it easier to get rid of underperformers.
The reforms will also mean that officers who fail to keep their vetting status up to date will be automatically axed from their posts.
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