Video guides
Welcome to the Warwickshire Police Non Police Personnel Vetting Guidance video for external contractors.
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. Vetting through the National Contractors Vetting Scheme enables unrestricted access to police premises, police systems and secure information.
You will need to have been resident in the UK for three years prior to submitting your vetting application.
An applicant who is successful in their application for vetting clearance will be granted Non Police Personnel Vetting - you may see this abbreviated to NPPV. This is a nationally recognised certification and gives you access, through your contracted company, to police premises, systems and data.
Being granted NPPV clearance is a privilege that also comes with a high level of responsibility and so the Vetting Unit conducts a series of back ground checks on the applicant, their family and close associates to ensure each applicant meets our criteria. Honesty and openness are two important factors that we look for when the applicant fills in the form, so we ask you to make sure that you fill in each section fully and honestly. If in doubt please contact [email protected] and ask.
Be assured that all the information you provide is treated confidentially and is not shared outside of the Vetting Unit. We never discuss the information you give us with your employer. We may share your personal data with other police vetting units if you make an application to them. You can read the Warwickshire Police Privacy notice on the Warwickshire Police website.
If you are unable to answer a question please make sure you provide an explanation in the relevant additional information section for why you have not given a response – don’t just leave the section blank.
If you don’t provide full information (or an explanation why you’re unable to provide the information) it will delay your application and may even result in you being refused clearance.
The majority of refusals are as a result of people not disclosing relevant information.
It takes a few weeks for your application to be processed and you may be contacted by a Vetting Case Officer if they need to clarify some information. They will contact you by your telephone number or via email, so please make sure you provide daytime contact details.
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 (May 2019), for guidance in making their decisions. You can find these documents on-line 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.
When all the checks have been completed your Company Liaison Officer will inform you when you have been cleared. Although the clearance is in your name your NPPV clearance remains the property of your company, not you. So if you leave your current employment you can’t automatically take your vetting clearance with you. It can be transferred, but only if the Warwickshire Police Vetting Unit also carries out the vetting for your new company.
Your NPPV clearance lasts for either seven years, if you have applied for NPPV level three or three years if you have NPPV level two. But you will also have an annual review each year to make sure you still meet our security criteria. It is also your responsibility to inform the Vetting Unit of any change in your personal circumstances. This includes getting married, or divorced, starting a new relationship, moving house, any financial issues or if you have any contact with the police. Your Company Liaison Officer will be able to provide you with the forms required to let us know.
The vast majority of people applying for NPPV clearance do not have any problems filling the form in correctly, but the following guidance will help to ensure you minimise any potential errors.
NSVS Applications
Some applicants will also have been submitted for a higher level of clearance – Security Clearance, most commonly referred to by the initials SC. Clearance at SC level, alongside NPPV allows applicants access to a higher level of secure information and systems.
Occasionally a National Contractor will be submitted for Counter Terrorism Clearance, or CTC instead of SC.
If SC or CTC clearance is required you will receive an email from the Warwickshire Police Vetting Unit advising you that your name has been submitted to the UK Security Vetting who process this element of the application. UKSV is the Government agency that processes National Security Vetting applications.
This initial email from the Warwickshire Police Vetting Unit contains important information about the number of days you have to complete the e-form. It will also give details of exactly how you should enter your details.
Please follow this guidance carefully as your application must match the information provided by the Vetting Unit.
The Vetting Unit is able to re-send the link to the form if you get locked out, but once you have opened the e-form and you start to fill it in Warwickshire Police Vetting Unit has no further access to it.
If you run into any problems while filling the SC e-form in you will need to contact the NSVS/UKSV Enquiry Centre via the email address which is contained within the email we sent you advising that you had been set-up for the SC process.
While your application is being processed you may be contacted by a case officer from the UKSV if they need further information, or an explanation of something you have included. Please respond as soon as possible failure to do so will result in the UKSV withdrawing your application.
Once the Warwickshire Police Vetting Unit hears back from the UKSV to say your application has been processed your clearance level will be updated on our data base. Your Company Liaison Officer has access to this data base and will advise you whether your application has been successful.
SC clearance, if granted, is valid for seven years.