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How DBS Checking Has Changed…

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Criminal Record Checking has changed dramatically since the introduction of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) in 2002. This article explains some of the key changes in a snapshot.

In 1997 under Part V of the Police Act, the Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) was formed. This was due to growing concern at the time for the safety of children and vulnerable adults. It was agreed that the police authorities would not be able to cope with the demand for checking so an authority was established.

2004 saw the introduction of the Pova 1st check (later named the ISA Adult 1st). This was aimed to get care employees working quicker under a supervised basis on a clear result, to reduce the strain on waiting for the full CRB Check. A Pova 1st check took only 2 days to complete whilst a full CRB Check took weeks!

Many million Disclosures were requested for the following years through the time intensive paper application form method. Some Disclosures took months to complete which saw employers losing potential staff.

Criminal Record Checking saw a dramatic change in 2010, when online portals were developed to speed up the process. This saw private businesses linking to the CRB and Criminal Justice to speed up the process for organisations in the UK. Disclosure processing times were then slashed from a matter of weeks to days.

In 2012 the Disclosure and Barring Service was formed through the merger of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This was aimed to further streamline the process and as part of the Government’s drive to make checking more applicant led, saw the introduction of the Update Service in 2013. Applicants can pay £13 a year to subscribe, giving them the ability to re-use their DBS certificate when changing employer.

For further information regarding DBS checking please don’t hesitate to contact the uCheck support team on: 0300 140 0022, or email: info@ucheck.co.uk.

Our blogs are advisory in nature and reflect uCheck Limited’s current thinking about best and common practice in the subjects discussed.

The information contained in our blogs have been provided for information purposes only. This information does not constitute legal, professional, or commercial advice. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the content is up to date, useful and accurate, uCheck gives no guarantees, undertakings, or warranties in this regard, or, for any loss or damage caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with reliance on the use of such information.

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