DISCLOSURE & BARRING SERVICE (DBS) PROCEDURE

Transcription

1 DISCLOSURE & BARRING SERVICE (DBS) PROCEDURE Authorised Professional Practice (APP) APP is developed and owned by the College of Policing (the professional body for policing) and can be accessed online. It is authorised by the College of Policing as the official and most up-to-date source of policing practice. The range of subjects covered by APP is growing all the time. It has the same legal status as previous guidance; it is not the law and so, while Police Officers and Staff are expected to have regard to APP in discharging their responsibilities, the status of APP is advisory. There may be circumstances when it is legitimate to deviate from APP, providing there is a clear rationale for doing so. This Procedure has been checked against APP. Gwent Police has adopted the APP provisions, with supplementary information contained herein, which reflects local practice and the needs of the communities served by Gwent Police. Those provisions are shown in the links below and can be accessed via the home page of the APP website: Information Management Prosecution and Case Management PRINTED VERSIONS SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON. THE MOST UP TO DATE VERSION CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTRANET POLICIES SITE. A LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE POLICIES SITE TO THE EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO THIS PROCEDURE. Page 1 of 9

2 Introduction a) This Procedure ensures that Gwent Police carries out its responsibilities in relation to Part V of the Police Act 1997, in order to protect children and the vulnerable. b) The Procedure aims to outline the DBS Disclosure Process and is not a training manual. c) The Procedure must be read in conjunction with: Part V of the Police Act 1997 The Statutory Disclosure Guidance The Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) The current ACPO/DBS Service Level Agreement. Page 2 of 9

3 1.0 Procedure 1.1 Overview of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) The DBS was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and started operating on 1 st December It carries out the functions previously undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for England and Wales and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Its purpose is to help organisations make safer recruitment decisions, by providing wider access to criminal record information, and helping employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors identify candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, specifically that involving contact with children and the vulnerable The role of the DBS is to reduce the risk of abuse by ensuring that those who are unsuitable are not able to work with children and the vulnerable The information provided to applicants via a DBS Certificate is called Disclosure and constitutes a national standard throughout England and Wales. Information is also provided to the Barring Side of the DBS, either by a Disclosure or requests for information, following referrals from organisations, relevant to Vulnerable Adult and Children Workforces, for Barring decisions. They maintain the DBS Children s and Adults Barred Lists The legislation for the above processes is Part V of the Police Act 1997; The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, and Part 5 of the Protection of Freedoms Act Organisations wishing to use the disclosure service can ask successful job applicants to apply for one or two types of Disclosure. The type will depend on the position. They are the Enhanced and Standard Disclosure; both require a fee, but are free to volunteers Enhanced and Standard Disclosures are available to organisations, via the applicant s Certificate, who are entitled to ask exempted questions under the Exemptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) and who are registered with the DBS. Further information can be found at the DBS website Disclosure Enhanced Disclosures a) Enhanced Disclosures contain details of all convictions on the Police National Computer (PNC) including spent convictions. They also contain details of any cautions, reprimands and Page 3 of 9

4 warnings (not including those covered by the PNC Filtering Rules, (details on DMU PNC U Drive)) and will contain any other relevant information disclosed at the Chief Police Officer s discretion (known as Approved Information). The Certificate will also contain any Barred List information held by the Barring Side of DBS. Enhanced Disclosures are available for persons regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in charge of children or the vulnerable. b) In addition to all other checks, Enhanced Disclosures involve an extra level of checking with local Police Force intelligence records. c) It is these Enhanced Disclosures that are processed within the Data Management Unit, Information Disclosure DBS Unit. d) Forces will search their databases for any information considered relevant to the Vulnerable Adult and Child Workforces and/or the post applied for. Further guidance on what is considered relevant and what ought to be disclosed, can be found in the in the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) Version 9 documents (held in PNC U drive) Checking Force Systems The research processes are documented on the QAF AT1 (held in PNC U drive) Information Recording and Decision Making Applying Test of Relevance and Recording Decision Making (for information, AT documents are Audit Trail, and MP documents are Method Product) a) Initial Decision Making When all the systems are searched information found is taken through the appropriate QAF Flowcharts (MP s) and any relevant information recorded on the AT2/3 Form. At this point the researcher will use their first decision making skills, and discard information, recording suitable rationale for their decision, and/or pass further relevant information for consideration by a Supervisor b) Second Level of Decision Making Supervisor/Decision Maker will review this further relevant information, using the QAF processes to determine whether it is reasonable to believe the information should be considered further. The Supervisor will complete Sections 1 and 2 of the AT3 document, either discarding, recording the appropriate rationale, Page 4 of 9

5 or putting forward any information for consideration of disclosure. At this stage the supervisor will consider offering representations to the applicant and appropriately record the decision. (See Reps. Guidance on U drive). If forwarding on, Supervisor will recommend the wording of the potential disclosure, as per the Wording Template. The AT3 will be submitted to the Manager of Data Management Unit for review. c) Third Level, Manager, Data Management Unit. The Manager will review the information recorded by the Supervisor, and complete Section 3 of the AT3. Recommendations, either way, together with rationale will be recorded and if going further for disclosure consideration, the AT3 will be forwarded to a Chief Officer or Chief Officer Delegate (COD). d) Fourth and Final Level, ACPO/Delegate ACPO or Delegate will review the information recorded on the AT3, and complete Section 4, with the applicable rationale for their decision. If the decision is to disclose, the final text of the Disclosure will be recorded at the end of Section 4, the last paragraph of the Wording Template to be completed by ACPO/Delegate. It is this final text that will be entered on the DBS Certificate. Any complex file may be forwarded to the ACC, for their review. The ACC is the nominated ACPO lead for DBS. Reviewer Process Escalation:- DBS Supervisor Manager, Data Management Unit Head, Criminal Justice and/or Det./Ch./Supt., Protective Services Assistant Chief Constable Deputy Chief Constable Page 5 of 9

6 e) Legal Advice If the Chief Officer or COD consider it necessary due to the intelligence being contentious then advice can be sought from the Legal Section. Any advice or recommendations from the Solicitor will be recorded on the AT Returning the Notification All notifications are closed electronically on the DBS system. There are 3 categories for closing notifications: No Trace Not Relevant Relevant Information a) Returning the Notification as No Trace If nothing is held on the applicant. b) Returning as Not Relevant If information is found, but deemed not relevant under QAF V9, and no paperwork is created. c) Returning as Relevant Information If information found is deemed relevant under QAF V9 and paperwork is created, but following review by Analyst, Supervisor, Manager and/or ACPO, it is not approved for disclosure, the notification can be closed under the category Relevant Information No information to Disclose. If a disclosure is to be made, the notification will be closed Relevant Information, (Approved Information) and the wording is typed into the electronic notification and sent back to DBS, who will then issue the Certificate to the applicant Dispute Process a) An applicant has the option to dispute a Disclosure. If the dispute is applicable to the PNC record, such as errors on the record, or the record does not belong to the individual, this can normally be dealt with at Supervisor level, by checking the accuracy and arranging corrections if necessary, or arranging fingerprint test. If Approved Information is disputed, it needs to be reviewed by a Page 6 of 9

7 Chief Officer who was not involved in the original disclosure considerations. If any amendments, deletions or part deletions are made, DBS will issue a new Certificate, free of charge. If the disclosure is to remain, the original Certificate will still stand. b) Following the dispute review and if the disclosure remains, the applicant has the option to request referral to the Independent Monitor (IM). The IM s decision is the final process in a DBS dispute. c) Dispute and IM processes are held on the PNC U Drive Barring a) The Barring side of DBS maintains the DBS Children and Adult Barring Lists. This Department will have sight of DBS Disclosures made, PNC convictions and also receives referrals from various organisations. A referral is information regarding a person working in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults which notifies concerns that harm or risk of harm has occurred to a vulnerable adult or child. Referrals are usually made by an employer or volunteer manager, but can be made by organisations, personnel suppliers, such as Employment Agencies and Businesses, Local Authority Departments (Social Services, Education etc.) and Police. b) When such information comes to the attention of the Barring Section, they will write to nominated DBS staff at Police Forces (in our case the DBS Supervisors), requesting information surrounding the incident(s). Various information and documents are requested by the Barring Section to assist in their barring considerations. We decide what documents will be sent on a case by case basis. c) Barring and Referral information held on Page 7 of 9

8 2.0 The Legal Basis and Legitimate Aims 2.1 Legal authority: Part V Police Act 1997 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Children's Act 1989 Human Rights Act 1998 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (Part 5) 2.2 The aims of this Procedure are to: Prevent crime and disorder Protect health and morals Protect rights and freedoms 3.0 Human Rights Certification of Compliance 3.1 This Procedure has been checked for compliance with the Human Rights Act; with particular reference to the legal basis of its precepts, the legitimacy of its aims, the justification and proportionality of the actions intended by it, that it is the least intrusive and damaging option necessary to achieve the aims and that it defines the need to document the relevant decision making processes and outcomes of actions. 4.0 Compliance with The Welsh Language Scheme 4.1 This Procedure aims to comply with the organisation s Welsh Language Scheme in terms of dealing with the Welsh speaking public, impact upon the public image of the organisation and the implementation of the Language Scheme. 5.0 Risk Assessment / Health & Safety Considerations 5.1 The Gwent Police Service Dynamic Risk Assessment should be applied as necessary. A training package in the use of risk assessment will be provided to all police personnel if requested or required. Page 8 of 9

9 6.0 Identification Section Procedure Title: Disclosure and Barring (DBS) Reference: 133/25 b issue 3 Chief Officer Lead: Service Area Owner: Assistant Chief Constable Jointly: Head, Criminal Justice and Data & Information Management Detective Chief Superintendent, Protective Services Department Responsible: Data Management (Information Disclosure / DBS Unit) Links to other Policies/ Procedures: Code of Ethics Data Protection Disclosure of Information to Police from Non-Police Sources for Policing Purposes Freedom of Information Information Security Licence to Lead PNC Operating Procedures Vetting Implementation Date: 21 April 2016 Review Date: 01 April 2018 Page 9 of 9