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.

The below explains what is involved in the vetting process starting with the different levels of vetting and where we check for information on applicants.

The Police National Vetting Service

Warwickshire Police holds the contract for the National Contractors Vetting Service. We conduct checks on people who do not work for the Police, but through their work, require access to work with the Police in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Vetting through the National Contractors Vetting Scheme enables unrestricted access to Police premises, Police systems, and secure information.

Vetting case officers are experienced decision makers who use the National Decision Model, the College of Policing Code of Practice, and the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice on Vetting (2021), for guidance in making their decision. You can find these documents online on the College of Policing website if you want to read them. Using these documents for guidance ensures that our vetting decisions are consistent with national standards.

Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV)

Assesses the honesty, integrity, 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.

Vetting Levels 

Consideration should be given to the level applied to each role, and to the information, intelligence, and other assets the vetting applicant will have access to. This ensures that non-police personnel are not subjected to a disproportionate level of vetting.

Warwickshire Police offer;

• NPPV1
• NPPV2 (Abbreviated)
• NPPV2 (Full)
• NPPV2 (Full) + CTC
• NPPV3
• NPPV3 + SC
• Developed Vetting

To read further about vetting levels and the access each level allows, please review our vetting levels.

Registering for Access to the National Contractors Vetting Scheme

We are currently only accepting registrations from organisations that have a contract to provide a service to the police community.

Due to higher than anticipated demand for our service we are currently unable to accept online registration forms. 

Warwickshire Police PNVS is using a dynamic approach to reviewing and managing the demand for our service.  With your cooperation, we can review our current and future demand. 

If you would like to register with PNVS, please email the vetting unit where one of our client support team will establish your requirements and offer advice on the next steps.

Please also have a look at our authorised portal users tile, where you will find important messages and updates, vetting rates, levels, and FAQs.

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 the vetting unit. 

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.