Police Checks
Background checks for staff working with children or vulnerable adults.
Many charities undertake work that involves caring for children or people who are vulnerable (because of age, physical or mental ability, or ill health). The trustees of a charity are responsible for ensuring that people are protected and, as such, there are certain safeguards that such organisations should take.
In the same way that charities should consider matters of Health and Safety, or IT security, any organisation that is involved with children should produce a clear plan for their care. This will usually include producing a child protection policy (covering what to do if there are concerns about a child’s welfare) and a written code of behaviour outlining good practice when working with children. It is far better to prevent things from going wrong in a project by putting safeguards in place in advance of any incident or suspected abuse. Organisations caring for vulnerable adults may find it helpful to adopt similar procedures.
A significant part of this plan should concern the procedure for recruitment and selection of staff (or volunteers). This should involve investigation of a candidates past and, in particular, any criminal convictions. This process is known as ‘Enhanced Disclosure’.
UK Based Charities
If your organisation is the local branch of a UK charity, then you should be able to obtain Enhanced Disclosures through the parent charity, head office or umbrella body. In the UK, this information is obtained from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) which can undertake a thorough background check of an individual. This will include disclosure of any relevant police records (from any police force in the UK or Channel Islands). The CRB also have access to POCA (Protection of Children Act list), POVA (Protection of Vulnerable Adults list), List 99, etc. These lists, which are compiled from several sources, including UK Government Departments, contain details of those who are barred from working with, or pose a risk to, certain categories of people.
In order to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure background check from the CRB, you will need to contact your charity’s head office in the UK. They should already be registered with the CRB and have a procedure in place to apply for a background check.
Guernsey Charities
If your organisation is based in Guernsey, and does not “belong” to a UK charity, you cannot currently access any data from the CRB. Neither can you obtain any information from the various “lists” detailed above. However, you can obtain an Enhanced Police Check from Guernsey Police, who will undertake a search of police records. This will show all spent and unspent convictions and cautions, plus any relevant non-conviction information, held by Guernsey Police or any UK police force where the subject has resided in the past five years.
How to obtain an Enhanced Police Check
Applications need to be made using the Guernsey Police Request for Enhanced Police Disclosure. Guernsey Police require a person holding a responsible position in the organisation requesting checks to become a single point of contact for Police checks.
That person will need to be checked first and must complete sections A to D of the Request for Enhanced Police Disclosure. They should then take (in person) the form, together with an accepted form of ID, to the Guernsey Police Station between 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. A member of the Police Disclosure Unit will verify the information and complete section E on the form. Once a satisfactory check has been completed on them they will be able to submit any future requests and complete Section E themselves.
Enhanced Police Checks regularly take between 4-6 weeks to complete, which is due primarily to the work involved and depth of searches undertaken. Many agencies are now requesting checks on employees/volunteers on a 3-yearly basis.
Guernsey Police currently make no charge for charities requesting Enhanced Police Disclosure. Further information is available in a separate leaflet entitled Enhanced Disclosure, produced by the Guernsey Police Disclosure Unit.
The Data Protection aspects of Disclosure, and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Law
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Law, prohibits the disclosure of any criminal convictions that are considered 'spent' under the Law, except in a number of circumstances, specified by the Commencement, Exclusions and Exceptions Ordinance, 2006 which was approved by the States of Guernsey at the April 2006 meeting. This Ordinance (a copy of which may be downloaded from the Data Protection section of the States of Guernsey website, www.gov.gg/dataprotection and select “Rehabilitation”) specifies a commencement date for the Law of 1st July 2006.
The States of Guernsey Data Protection Commissioner has published a series of booklets, including a code of practice which is aimed at anyone who is involved in the disclosure or receipt of information concerning someone’s previous criminal record, in connection with employment, including:
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individuals (e.g. an applicant for a job or an employee)
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employers, prospective employers, States Departments, regulatory and licensing bodies, or voluntary organisations
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those involved in obtaining the criminal record (e.g. police officers and civilian police employees)
These publications are available as A4 leaflets or A5 booklets and may also be downloaded from the States of Guernsey website (see above). Copies of all these publications and other guidance on Data Protection are also available free of charge from the Data Protection Office.
Further information and guidance on how organisations can introduce practical ways to safeguard children can be found on the NSPCC website – www.nspcc.org.uk
We are grateful to the Guernsey Police and the NSPCC for their assistance with this guide. This information is offered to assist charitable organisations. It should not be regarded as comprehensive and charities should take appropriate advice to ensure they comply with their obligations. The Association of Guernsey Charities accepts no responsibility for any person or organisation using these guidelines.
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The Enhanced Disclosure Request Form and information sheet can be downloaded using the following links:
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© The Association of Guernsey Charities
Website produced and updated by Malcolm Woodhams
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