At what costs to our kids will the recent government proposals come?
Since the CRB was launched 6 years ago, 130,000 people have been prevented from working with vulnerable members of society, that’s 21,500 people each year. This figure will be halved under the government’s recent proposals.
Currently the CRB process covers a wide range of posts and anyone working frequently or intensively with children and vulnerable adults have to undertake a criminal record check to access the suitability to work with or have contact with such groups.
The new scheme will only cover those who have regular or close contact with children and vulnerable adults. In future a school bus driver, a plumber or builder working on a school or hospital site, a linesman at a children’s football match, or a maintenance worker at a school or hospital (i.e. contractors) will not be required to obtain a criminal record check.
Legislation is there to keep children safe and whilst there are positive elements of the new scheme such as portability of a check, we think the reforms being suggested are a retrograde step and are being made to save money.
Should they go ahead, they will make it easier for adults in a position of trust to abuse children and vulnerable adults as many of these individuals will now not need to be checked.
The safety of our society should not be compromised. You cannot put the genie back in the bottle; parents are used to the fact that all adults who have access to their kids are checked. Child protection experts warn that offenders are very devious; they are very calculated and will seek out opportunities to go where those checks don’t exist. Yes it’s a nuisance completing a form, but the reforms will come at a price and the cost of not checking these groups of people will come back to haunt us.
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