Failed Vetting Process - but SAR denied

[NameChangePoP]

Hello Wise M’Netters

Name change for this, and prob not an AIBU but posting here for traffic in the hopes that some wise person may be able to help.

Backstory:

DIL (22) was born to a white British mum, and Muslim (Pakistan) Father. Relationship between her parents was a secret (they met at 16 and fell in love). He father was sent away to be married early 20’s. When he returned to the UK they continued their secret relationship, and DIL was born. None of his family know about her existence and her relationship with her Father has been sporadic and strained throughout her life. He became a successful Business man and has provided for DIL and her mother since she was born (house, cars, money etc).
Father has been in trouble with the police on occasion, but minor reasons were given and we don’t know the full truth about what these are (This could be relevant)

DIL sees her father occasionally. They don’t have a close relationship, and she tolerates him for the sake of her mother (who is still madly in love with him)
Fast Forward to 2022 and DIL applied to the police force. Passed interviews, medicals, and everything needed. She then had to submit the details for the vetting process. She was unsure whether to put her Father on there as on paper he is nothing to her. He’s not on her Birth Certificate and she has her mothers name. The only real link between them is money he sends her occasionally.
I advised that she should still name him as her Father. She did.

Once submitted, she got a couple of calls from the Police Force asking her to clarify various bits about her relationship with him, which she did with complete honesty.

After a few weeks she was told that he had failed the vetting process. This came as a shock as she has never been in trouble with the police, nor has her mum, her credit is great and she’s not even gotten a parking ticket.~

The letter said she could appeal and also request a SAR – which would give the details as to why she failed. So we sent the request for the SAR and the appeal.
We heard back from the SAR after 3 weeks – they said they can’t give her any further information and won’t tell her why she failed the vetting.

The appeal took much longer (was meant to be 21 days) in total she waited almost 3 months.
The result of the appeal is that they are upholding their decision. It also states that they can’t tell her why due to Data Protection.

She is naturally devastated. She doesn’t understand why, and no one can (or will) tell her why. The only thing we can think of is that it’s something to do with her Father. But if so, how can they punish her for his mistakes/dealings? She explained at length to them the extent of their relationship, that she’s a secret from his family, that she resents him for this, that she speaks to him very occasionally.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do (if we even can) now? This poor girl has done nothing to deserve this, she’s worked so hard to get into the Police and now she’s been rejected for something which isn’t her fault.

Again, it’s harsh but she’s been told NO, she has to accept that means NO.

In this sort of situation, no means no, and her only option is to accept that and move on. Security vetting is serious, in depth, and you can’t argue your way out of it.

The only thing she can try is go no contact with her father, then apply again in a few years if allowed. As he is a criminal, their relationship means she could be vulnerable to blackmail/bribery/exploitation. That is why they do these types of checks.

This. Everything else is just shouting.

It's OK to be dissapointed that she can't apply for a job that she's always wanted to do and to feel like she hasn't given been given a fair shot at trying. But, as has been mentioned several times, this is a security issue to those who make the decisions, and it's THEIR take on things, not yours or hers, that stands.

She can be dissapointed, angry, upset and any other emotion, but ultimately she needs to move on for get own sake.

@NameChangePoP She’s living with her mum - is she your actual DIL, married to your son, or is she is girlfriend? The two of them should be aware that this could affect the careers of any children they have in a similar way, if their grandfather is the reason.

No MP will be able to involve themself in this

'MP Helps [Dodgy Character's] Daughter Bypass Vetting Process'. That would make a great headline, wouldn't it?

Has the young woman considered that the more fuss she creates about this, the more likely it is that her and her mother's existence will become known to his other family? How would he react to that?

Any calls made to an applicant during the vetting process are logged. Sometimes it might be that some information has been received which just needs clarification and so a follow-up call might be necessary to establish the facts.

For the applicant, they receive a call out the blue from a 'friendly' member of the forces team who makes them feel comfortable, has an almost informal chat and the applicant makes a disclosure. How that disclosure is made can be analysed and taken into account.

An applicant having a criminal record does not mean an automatic rejection (depending on the nature of the offence of course) so its best not to over analyse this.
Bear in mind, there are plenty of other professions that work alongside the Police who are recruiting!

Many years ago I had a friend who failed vetting for the diplomatic service - she was half Spanish. We assumed that it was because she was considered something of a liability having mixed loyalties, I suppose. It is probably something similar given that you are aware the father has something of a criminal background.

Well first, if she wants to pursue this, then she needs to go back to the department who issued the SAR and ask them to confirm under what exemption the information is being withheld. So, is it (most likely) because the disclosure may compromise the right to confidentiality of a third party (i.e. her father) or is there some other reason. If the police refuse to provide her with specific details of the exemption they’ve applied, I’d suggest she escalated her complaint to the ICO.

This is a bit of a flier, but I know that sometimes people rejected in one police force may be accepted in another. If she's really that keen, then applying to other forces whilst at the same time being honest about this and perhaps also tackling her father about anything he knows might get in her way might get her a result. If she's really committed she has nothing to lose and will only end up equally disappointed. A police force in an area where her other family don't live or do business may be less concerned about ties provided they know about them.

Problem she has is she doesn't know enough detail about her father and his other family. She needs to find that information out before she applies elsewhere.

I get that she has no emotional relationship with him.

However, the fact that he owns their house AND sends her money, is a huge connection. Especially for a Police Officer.

If you read in the paper that a serving police officer was accused of wrong doing and was receiving payments and lived in a house owned by a criminal parent and they claimed they barely knew them, would you believe it?

She would be extremely vulnerable to accusations of wrong doing.

It may not feel fair to your Dil. She didn’t choose this. But this specific process of vetting, isn’t there to make sure everything is ‘fair’. It’s to prevent future problems.

She doesn't even know if it's her dad who has made her fail her vetting

You won't get anywhere complaining either, it's not a 'service' . The people doing vetting will have signed the official secrets act

I would get her to make contact with the training department and see if they have someone she can talk to. They are struggling to recruit and will be fined millions if they don't hit targets. Also they have positive action to support recruits from diverse backgrounds. They will be able to approach vetting and maybe there can be something done to negate risk.

You don't get s pass for any of those reason, for goodness sake
They have discovered something and it's a no
It's not harsh it's the reality of life. Disappointing for her though

I didn’t say you get a pass I said they may look deeper to assess the risk and see what they can do to negate it. For goodness sake 🙄

Nothing can be done to negate it? A decision has been made using current guidance and that's that.

The naivety is astounding

Perhaps a read of this will help her understand why she may have been rejected:
BBC report on police vetting

Alas, it would seem that the young lady’s connections, to either aspects of her family, how the family is financed, or social links as there is also an intelligence database and she may unknowingly be in contact with individuals of interest, are enough to warrant rejection.

As this is the case, then perhaps it would be in the young’s persons interet to consider in more detail what it is that could be questionable, to distance themselves, whilst gaining additional life experience or qualifications….

Vetting is continuous through their careers, so it’s going to be a cause for concern that may well affect prospects too.

Sadly, i suggest an alternative career. Perhaps military or law. Tis sad, we need more great officers who are worthy of the level of trust that our society places on them, but clearly there is a risk somewhere and that perhaps she just isn’t aware of it because it’s never tried ensnare her. This is a good thing. And i hope she remains outside it.

Actually not naive at all. If he is a member of an OCG fair enough, but potentially working in a different area of the force if it's a large enough force. Moving out so she is not reliant on his money etc.

I actually interview police officers and the direction we have had is unless there is a major reason to say no we should accept them. There are some terrible anecdotes of people on interviews who we have still had to say yes to.

So yes it's worth asking recruitment/training. It still might be a no but that's my advice for the OP.

So potentially her father could be a member of the Bin Laden family or has a similar name to someone on their watch list or they just think it's a bit dodgy. My mother's first husband was refused entry to the army as his father was Irish.

It maybe just the relationship she's described is the red flag let alone anything else however I do think she needs to pursue it as how many other jobs could be closed to her?

They have been through the process, you can't have one rule for one and another rule for someone else just to fill a quota. It's part of our national security
You said you interview police officers - so people who have already passed through the process

It might not even be the dad though

Do you know all your Dil history? You know as much as she has told you. Could be any reason

So true @TheLittlestLightOnTheXmasTree It will remain a mystery-that would bug me

It seems unfair, because it is unfair to judge someone based on the actions, or even potential actions of someone else. But Police vetting, which is more in depth than standard National Security Vetting to SC level, is a risk exercise. And the view taken, rightly in my opinion, is that the rights of the individual are outweighed by the wider risk to the public. Incredibly difficult to accept, I know. It is, however, accepted in law (sadly, your daughter is far from being the only one to have fell foul of this, so the process has been challenged numerous times).

Technically, I believe the only option available is if you can prove the decision has been based on incorrect information. But seeing as you don’t know what that information is, then practically that’s almost impossible. Of course, the thing is it’s really only (educated) guesswork, the judging of risks and potential. Failing vetting doesn’t mean that something would have occurred in the future, nor does passing mean the individual is suitable- see Wayne Couzens, for example.