About the Police National Vetting Service
Why is vetting important?
Vetting is vital to ensure that public confidence is not affected by an individual who is employed by, or works on behalf of a police force. This is to prevent dishonest or corrupt practices and to maintain the integrity of the organisations involved.
Any individual who has access to police sites, assets, data and/or systems must hold vetting clearance issued by our service.
The below explains what is involved in the vetting process starting with the different levels of vetting and where we check for information on the applicants.
Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV)
Assesses the honesty, integrity and reliability, and the overall suitability for clearance of anyone other than police officers, police staff and members of the special constabulary, who have unsupervised physical or remote access to any of the following:
- Police premises
- Information
- Intelligence
- Financial or operational assets
- Corporate databases
- Data networks or hard copy material.
Please note the level of vetting provided will be to the standard set out in the Vetting Code of Practice.
Non-police personnel include, but are not limited to:
- Agency personnel
- Statutory crime and disorder partners
- HM Revenue and Customs
- UK Border Force
- Third party agents
- Staff of elected local policing bodies (depending on role)
- A variety of contractors.
For non-police personnel vetting we carry out the following checks on each applicant and their associates:
Police National Computer (PNC)
This provides details of any criminal records an individual may have.
Police National Database (PND)
This is an intelligence system which provides information on individuals, including investigations where there has been no formal outcome.
Special Branch (SB)
This is a counter terrorism check.
Experian
This is a financial check on the applicant which does not leave a visible footprint to third parties.
We may view other non-conviction databases if deemed necessary.
NPPV2
This level of vetting is applicable to non-police personnel with access to police premises and or systems.
NPPV3
This level of vetting grants the applicant to have unsupervised, unrestricted access to police premises and systems and could include those working in areas where the police roles have been identified as designated posts. NPPV3 allows access to classified police material or information up to SECRET and occasional access to TOP SECRET.
Security Clearance
This is required for individuals who are to be appointed to posts which require frequent and uncontrolled access to government assets marked SECRET.
Registering for access to the application ePortal
If you wish to register for access to the National Contractors Vetting Scheme ePortal (to enable you to submit staff for NPPV) please complete our online form.
You can also view the document at the bottom of this page for further help, advice and pricing information.
Equalities Act 2010 and the Gender Recognitions Act 2004
Within its vetting process Warwickshire Police recognises it’s legal obligations under the Equalities Act 2010 and the Gender Recognitions Act 2004 - with particular attention paid to section 22 (GRA 2004) regarding disclosure of Protected Information.
Additionally, Warwickshire Police acknowledges the government guidelines and requirements to secure ‘Protected Information’ (whether it is communicated verbally, materially or held electronically) as required under UK law.
Any disclosed information is managed by these protocols and is not disclosable to any other parties without explicit, written permission from the owner of the Protected Information.
Warwickshire Police acknowledges it’s legitimate aim for requesting Gender History disclosure and it’s legal obligations under these requirements.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding disclosure of information about your Gender history, please email [email protected]
All communications will be treated in strict confidence, Protected Information will be shared with only those vetting staff who absolutely need to know and only used for the purpose of vetting.
Due to Covid 19 restrictions - that are likely to have an impact throughout 2020 - the time it takes us to retrieve intelligence/information from other agencies is beyond our control and may affect the published SLAs.
Warwickshire Police continue to fully resource their Vetting Unit to support operational policing.
Vetting appeal form
If you wish to appeal your vetting decision please download and complete the vetting appeal form below and email the completed form to [email protected]