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It’s been 10 years since the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was set up. Barbara Ball, Head of Disclosures and Training at Thirtyone:eight, writes more about the role disclosure checks play in safer recruitment, how it all started, and what else needs to be considered.
From CRB checks to DBS checks
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was established in 2002 as part of the Passport and Records Agency, and later became an Executive Agency of the Home Office in its own right. The CRB provided wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service for England and Wales. Before its introduction applicants were only checked against List 99 (the then barred list) or by requesting details of a criminal history at a local police station.
CCPAS, as we then were named, became one of the first Umbrella Bodies to process CRB checks. I remember sitting in a small office – with just enough room for two desks – waiting for the phone to ring, hoping that I knew the answers.
I needn’t have worried as we quickly became established as the go-to organisation for CRB checks for the faith sector, regularly recruiting new members of staff to process the ever-increasing workload.
As a result of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was formed under the Coalition Government by merging the functions of the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). DBS started operating on 1 December 2012. Its equivalent agencies are Disclosure Scotland in Scotland (for PVG Checks) and Access Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland (for AccessNI checks), although it covers convictions from every part of the UK.
A DBS check/PVG check/AccessNI check gives information held by the police and government departments on a person’s criminal record, which enables an organisation to assess the suitability of a person applying for a paid or volunteer role with them. It's a requirement of charity regulators that organisations will check anyone whose role makes them eligible for a check.
Radical overhaul
The DBS formation meant that there was a radical overhaul of those who are legally eligible for a check of the barred lists. This resulted in millions of people being removed from regulated activity, so while they can now mostly still have an enhanced DBS check, many have been left being unable to have a check of the relevant barred list.
Unfortunately, it means someone who has been barred from working with vulnerable people can still legally work with the same vulnerable group/s as long as the work isn’t in regulated activity. The criteria has not been easy for organisations to understand and this has resulted in much confusion and consequently many calls to our Disclosure helpline.
Each check provides details of an individual's current criminal record including information such as convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the police national computer and those held by local police forces.
Thirtyone:eight was one of the earlier organisations to offer online checks and is now the largest provider of DBS checks to the faith sector, with ten members of staff processing around 80,000 checks each year and answering around 26,500 phone calls each year.
We now offer CPD-accredited eLearning and webinars to our Recruiters and will soon be offering digital ID checks to all those who use us for checks, enabling the ID process to be much smoother for those who want to use the new way of checking.
What else do organisations need to consider as part of safer recruitment?
Disclosure checks are an important part of safer recruitment, but more needs to be done to protect vulnerable people.
As a disclosure check provides a snapshot of a person’s current criminal record it effectively becomes out of date the moment it’s processed. To ensure an organisation is aware of any new information, a disclosure check for eligible roles should be regularly renewed.
A person who has a recent check should never be seen to have a 'free pass' to working with children or other vulnerable groups. Checks should always only be used as part of an overall safer recruitment process.
It’s important that your policy makes it clear that a safer recruitment process will be followed in all cases. Any single part of the process used in isolation reduces the effectiveness of the process and potentially increases risk to vulnerable people and the church/organisation.
In terms of recruitment there is no difference between a paid or voluntary position. The same process should be applied to both, particularly in relation to disclosure checks.
There are four steps:
Step 1. Advertise
Step 2. Interview
Step 3. Decision
Step 4. Make an offer
Children, young people and adults with additional care and support needs must be protected and DBS checks are one way of ensuring that the most suitable people are appointed to roles working with these vulnerable groups.