With the Prison Service following the police in the outing of lacking public sector employee vetting practices, reform is long overdue, says Susie Thomson, pictured, Chief Operating Officer of Matrix Security Watchdog. She looks at the latest techniques that could transform the process.
A recent newspaper report suggests that insufficient screening in high-risk public sector environments is not restricted to the police. The repercussions of such neglect have been starkly revealed through the terrible abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by off-duty Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens. A recent report from the inquiry into the incident concludes police vetting procedures need an urgent overhaul. It seems that the same would also apply to the Prison Service, which hired Times journalist Paul Morgan-Bentley as a prison contractor escort at HMP Bedford with minimal screening.
Morgan-Bentley applied for the role as part of an investigation into security in UK prisons. He used his real name and details during the application to test the vetting process. Within three weeks he started working at HMP Bedford, during which time he believes he could have easily smuggled materials into the prison primarily due to the irregular security scanning of visitors and employees. Morgan-Bentley’s role took him physically close to prisoners, so it’s obvious the havoc someone looking to smuggle items into HMP Bedford – from drugs to weapons – could cause, and how easy it would seem to be for them to gain similar employment.
Tip of the iceberg
What’s arguably even more frightening is that these cases are likely to be the tip of the iceberg of what appears to be systemic failure to screen candidates effectively in high-risk public sector organisations. These are bodies that purport to have rigorous vetting processes in place, yet clearly do not, suggesting the existence of a disturbing and dangerous culture of paying lip service when screening candidates and staff – something that should be prioritised rather than avoided.
Not only does this fan the flames of calls for a root and branch review and modernisation of public sector screening processes, which is clearly needed, but also raises the question whether this can be carried out successfully internally. There would seem neither the knowledge, the expertise nor the will to do this. Meanwhile independent specialist involvement is also key to re-establishing and growing much needed public trust.
Bullet proof
The good news is that screening processes are evolving rapidly, embracing the latest digital technologies and tools, such as artificial intelligence, that could make public sector vetting bullet proof for both candidates and existing staff if applied in the right way by skilled professionals. For example, there is actually a solution aimed at identifying journalists looking to infiltrate an organisation. This is often called undercover journalism, but that can’t be said in the case of HMP Bedford as the journalist wasn’t even trying to hide his identity! And it’s becoming increasingly important to both public and private sector organisations looking to protect their reputations, particularly those in the spotlight.
The specialist journalist checks use payroll and open banking data to quickly determine who’s paying an individual confirming their current and previous employer. This would be deployed along with the searching of freelance journalist databases to identify self-employed writers and reporters. Payroll and open banking checks are increasingly used to verify candidate credentials in general and are now a vital part of modern effective screening.
Social screening
Another invaluable vetting innovation is social media screening, which can be fast, accurate and cost effective if carried out in the right GDPR-compliant way. These checks audit an individual’s online presence, painstakingly looking for behaviour incompatible to the role they are applying for. This might be activity that would compromise their ability to carry out their job to the required standard, put colleagues and the general public at risk, or be politically sensitive, potentially damaging the reputation of an organisation. The process also identifies possible privacy issues, such as the leaking of information.
Performed correctly, social media checks are more detailed and quicker than traditional screening methods and can be presented in an easy-to-interpret report. This helps protect an employer without breaching trust with the candidate, accelerating as well as improving the selection process. Ideal for high-risk public sector bodies, like the police and prison services, which are both cash strapped and resource light.
Trust and safeguarding
Thorough social media background checks require specific expertise, using powerful screening and online behaviour evaluation tools designed to assess a candidate’s social media profile fairly and objectively. This is not something that can easily be handled in house without the risk of breaching privacy guidelines. But the introduction of independent screening in public recruitment would protect the vetting process from any internal bias, not only preventing the current high-profile disasters by making it more robust, but also building public trust and better safeguarding citizens.
This is what the future of public sector recruitment should look like. Over to the powers that be to prove there’s a real will to make the change.
