2.20 At present most applications are for jobs which involve work with children, particularly from the education sector. In other settings, not all those working with vulnerable adults are currently subject to a criminal records check. Following the tragedy at Soham, there was increased concern about the risks to children within schools, and the Bureau gave priority to applications from people working in schools for one month. Experts we consulted have suggested that children in school may not be the most vulnerable to abuse and that vulnerable adults may also be at risk.
2.21 Experts in the protection of the vulnerable we spoke to considered that the fluid nature of employment in the voluntary sector with, for example, a high turnover of volunteers and leaders, and in many cases the absence of fixed premises, means that regulation and surveillance is almost impossible. The Government recognised the importance of this sector by deciding to provide free Enhanced and Standard Disclosures to volunteers. However, the voluntary sector complains that there are still obstacles to their accessing the service, notably the cost of funding Registered Body activities (whether their own or third parties). Organisations that wish to process applications from the voluntary sector pay an average of £310 to become a Registered Body. They also told us that they employ an average of 5-10 staff to process applications (although not all will be full time on this work) and charge volunteers an average of £6.14 for processing their applications19.
2.22 Criminal record checks on potential employees can only constitute one of a range of protection measures, a point which the Bureau has always made clear. Sixty-six per cent of sexual offenders, for example, have no previous criminal history20. Factors like this need to be recognised in educating the public about the degree of protection which the Bureau can realistically offer.
2.23 Research has shown, for example, that:
■ One third of cases of abuse against children are committed by adolescents. The Bureau's services cannot protect children from this type of risk21;
■ The report Behind Closed Doors22 stated that people with a learning disability are at greater risk of sexual abuse and assault than other groups, and that many sex offenders abuse positions of trust by working in care professions or services for those with learning disabilities23;
■ Institutional abuse of older adults. A Royal College of Psychiatrists report24 stated that abuse is common to institutional life, and that those over the age of 65 are more vulnerable to abuse than children; and
■ The Amateur Swimming Association views sports coaching as an area of higher risk to children than education. Education has had comprehensive and proven protection processes in place for some time, whereas sport has only recently begun to implement protection schemes. National policy standards for child protection in sport were only issued in March 2003, and national governing bodies of sport have five years to comply. In addition, many thousands of children take part in organised recreational activities outside the scope of affiliated sports organisations, where risks are inevitably higher.
2.24 Generally, the more varied the methods of protection, such as public surveillance, education and training, good practice codes, monitoring and supervision, the greater the level of protection likely to be achieved and the lower the level of risk of abuse. Use of the Bureau should therefore be just one element of good recruitment and management practice, as set out in the Bureau's publicity and literature.
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19 Survey commissioned by Erica De'Ath OBE, Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Child Care Organisations in July 2002.
20 Home Office.
21 Police Research Series Paper - Sex Offending Against Children, 1998.
22 Respond and Voice UK, Mencap, September 2001.
23 For the avoidance of doubt, those with substantial learning difficulty together with disadvantaged elderly people are covered by the definition of vulnerable for Bureau purposes.