Innocent until proven guilty?
During the Education Sector Group Meeting hosted by the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) this week, Lyn Gavin from the DBS informed the audience of what circumstances can lead to the DBS adding a disclosure on to an individual's check.
Whilst the Police, in order to make a prosecution, need to be able to prove that an individual is guilty of an offence, the DBS do not. They are able to act on "the balance of probability" i.e. the likelihood that an incident took place. If it decided that it "probably happended" this can lead to a Disclosure being added.
Furthermore, they outlined the responsibilities of agencies and employers to report individuals to the DBS. These included, amongst others, when the individual has been refused or had permission withdrawn for them to engage in regulated activity with children. Also included, is if they met the "harm test", which places indivudals on the barred list, if the DBS is satisfied they could do harm to children or vulnerable adults in the future, even if they have not yet committed an offence.
There is still many misconceptions about DBS checks, but we certainly found Lyn's presentation enlightening. Found out more here .