CRB necessary bureaucracy?

What are Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks?

CRB checks were established by the Police Act of 1997 and were fully launched by 2002. The checks replace a system where police checks were only carried out on Public sector staff that had “substantial” unsupervised access to children. During the early days of the CRB system there was a system of Portability recognised by Criminal Records Bureau, they no longer recognise it and organisations that use a previously issued "disclosure" do so at their own risk.

Could the current system be changed?

CRB checks are required for public safety but bureaucracy of the current system needs to be and can be safely reduced. Multiple CRB checks could be replaced by a CRB card ensuring that only one check a year was required, reducing the costs of the additional checks directly on employers and indirectly by reduced bureaucracy. For voluntary posts CRB checks are free, the cabinet office quotes a saving of £26.6 million for the voluntary sector in 2007/8 due to the check being free. A reduction in the number carried out could reduce bureaucracy and allow volunteers to get on with volunteering. This could also save the public sector money as workers often have to be checked by law, for each separate role the employee holds.

A reduction in the volume of CRB checks would allow the Criminal Records Bureau to be downsized. The downsizing would save the public purse money. So a restructuring would be good for the Private, Public and voluntary sector, lets hope the government looks at it.

Who is a volunteer?

The definition of a volunteer, is

‘a person who performs any activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travelling and other out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit someone (individuals or groups) other than or in addition to close relatives’.

Some voluntary organisation argue that this definition is too closed, it does not for example cover those who do voluntary work for a college course as this is considered “work experience”, that is automatically for personal benefit.