Over the years this had gone through some changes, like becoming a single streamlined organisation known as Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) from the previously known Criminal Record Bureau or CRB. This change occurred in 2013 and it brought several enhancements to the service such as more comprehensive checks, continuous monitoring of an individual’s criminal record and portability where one may work in two different organisations. All these actions are aimed at improving the service, creating a safer working environment for everyone and thereby preventing serious cases of abuse and harm as some high-profile cases highlighted in this article.
The Role of DBS checks in High Profile cases
Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were two 10 years old girls who were murdered by Ian Huntley, a school caretaker who should have never worked there in the first place.
Relevance of disclosure?
Huntley had been accused of sexual offences prior to the murders on multiple occasions but was not convicted which meant that the accusations did not come up on his record. This led to him passing the criminal record checks and being allowed access to work in the school.
This is considered part of the largest sexual abuse scandal of sports history. Larry Nassar was gymnastics doctor who was accused multiple times of sexually abusing hundreds of young female athletes over several decades.
Relevance of disclosure?
Nassar was allowed to continue to work for several years despite countless complaints of abuse raised by former athletes as well as issues related to his background checks. He was arrested and convicted in 2016.
Hundreds of vulnerable children, teens and adults were abused by British TV personality Jimmy Savile. His work in charity settings allowed him access to vulnerable populations.
Relevance of disclosure?
In the absence of thorough background checks and despite complaints and rumours the harm was not prevented and went on for decades.
Several priests of a Catholic church were found guilty of sexually abusing minors. The most startling findings is that the church officials did not report them to the police but instead moved them to other locations.
Relevance of disclosure?
Failure of the Church officials to demonstrate transparency prevented disclosure of historical abusive behaviour of priests thereby failing to prevent harm to further vulnerable individuals. It is important to note that cooperation between disclosure services and employers is requires to keep people safe from harm.
In all cases disclosure plays a key role in creating awareness about someone’s criminal past, therefore preventing them from being placed in the same environment with vulnerable people. This also highlights the important of the barred list which contains people that are prohibited from working with children or vulnerable adults.
To read about the impact of past convictions on DBS checks, click here to read our blog about it.
Resources:
Soham murders https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-62335807
USA gymnastics scandal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66154758
Catholic church scandal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66154758
Jimmy Savile scandal https://people.com/crime/jimmy-savile-netflix-documentary-disgraced-british-tv-personality/