16 The Bureau's problems have impacted adversely on the intended level of service for customers which is not yet as extensive as the Government had planned. Checks on existing social care and health care workers, due to commence by 31 March 2003, began only in October 2003. The Government also intended that, from early 2003, the Bureau would undertake checks against the Department of Health's list of persons considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults, provided for in the Care Standards Act 2000, but implementation of these checks has also been deferred. The issue of Basic Disclosures has been delayed until at least the end of 2004.
17 The level of Disclosure sought is not always commensurate with the risk. Eighty seven per cent of applications have been for Enhanced Disclosures5 which take longer and cost more to produce, and yet only a few (0.17 per cent6) have uncovered local police non-conviction intelligence relevant to the application, and which would not have been shown on a Standard Disclosure7. Requests for Enhanced Disclosures have been partly driven by the lack of price differential between Disclosure types and partly by a desire to minimise perceived risks when employing people in sensitive positions or situations. A £5 price differential has now been introduced.
18 The Bureau cannot currently access all potential sources of data such as that held by HM Customs & Excise, and the British Transport Police. The Bureau's procedures might not identify an applicant who has been, for example, under investigation by HM Customs & Excise for smuggling drugs or pornography but who has never come to the attention of the police in the UK. Additionally the Bureau cannot access overseas crime databases, an issue for sports organisations who are concerned about the number of sports coaches working internationally who cannot be checked. To its credit, the Bureau has taken the initiative to launch an overseas advice service and to create links to the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The Home Office is planning to seek amendments to legislation to widen access to such sources of information in the UK.
19 The Bureau constitutes only one source of information and risk management for employers in making employment decisions. To minimise the risks of abuse, employers need to use a variety of methods of protection such as public surveillance, education and training, good practice codes, and monitoring and supervision. This has been correctly emphasised by the Bureau in its publicity and guidance material. Sixty six per cent of sexual offenders, for example, have no previous criminal history8, and one third of cases of abuse against children are committed by adolescents9.
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5 Covering all convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings on the Police National Computer and any relevant intelligence held by local police forces in whose areas the applicant has lived in the previous five years.
6 The Bureau analysis of a sample of one-third of applications in December 2002.
7 A Standard Disclosure is based on checks of unspent and spent convictions and of cautions, reprimands or warnings on the Police National Computer. Checks may be made on lists held by the Department for Education and Skills.
8 Home Office.
9 Police Research Series Paper - Sex Offending Against Children, 1998.