Personnel Checks (established 2004) is an approved Umbrella Body of the Criminal Record Bureau and is one of the top 200 CRB Umbrella bodies in the UK.
We welcome enquiries and can provide expert advice on all areas of the CRB Check process, Disclosure Scotland and ISA registration. We offer a variety of checking options with specialist advice on the process of gaining the correct level of disclosure as well as information on the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
Personnel Checks agree to act on behalf of organisations to administer and obtain criminal record disclosures (CRB Checks) for their prospective and present employees, based on the information supplied by the organisation.
Personnel Checks plays a very important role on behalf of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to ensure smaller organisations can gain access to its valuable public service. We act as the main point of contact for all interaction to the CRB applications we process on behalf of an organisation.
We cannot answer queries relating to CRB applications not made through Personnel Checks
Umbrella bodies must comply with the Criminal Records Bureau code of practice and we take reasonable steps to ensure that organisations to whom we are providing the service are able to comply with the relevant obligations of the same code. Ultimately however, the responsibility for complying with these obligations which relate to “all recipients of Disclosure information” rests with each individual recipient of the CRB check.
Personnel Checks is listed as an official CRB umbrella body on the Criminal Records Bureau website where further information can be found.
How Checks are Processed by the CRB
This is the processing procedure for an Enhanced check:
The application is sent to the CRB and goes through 5 processing stages:-
Stage 1 – the CRB accept and validate the application
Stage 2 – the Police National Computer is checked*
Stage 3 – the Children’s and/or Vulnerable Adults list is checked
Stage 4 – Local Police Searches start
Stage 5 – Completion – the disclosure is printed, 2 copies are printed – 1 is sent to the applicants home address and the company copy is sent to us
The first 3 stages are fairly quick – usually within a week or so, stage 4 is the longest due to the police forces being inundated with applications (some can receive 14,000 applications a week and they cannot prioritise and all are dealt with in date received order). If applicants have had several different addresses then their application will go to several different police forces.
*When the police national computer is searched if an applicants details match someone who is known to the police then the applicant may have to undergo a fingerprint test – the CRB will issue a request for this which we pass onto the client.
The police have 60 days to complete their searches and we cannot chase until this has passed. This is 60 days from Stage 4 and not from when we sent it to the CRB. It is our responsibility to chase these applications.
After an application has been at Stage 4 for 60 days we can request that this is prioritised by the CRB. The CRB will then email the police and send us a 10 day completion request letter (a copy of this is sent to the client).
After 10 days if the disclosure is not completed the CRB will release the name of the police force holding the application and we can write to them asking why it is taking so long to process (a copy of this letter is also sent to the client).
When an application gets to this stage then we chase it weekly with the CRB until it is completed. Every time we speak to the CRB then they send another email reminder to the police and we also update the client.
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