The organisation was set up to help make safer recruitment decisions. By providing wider access to Criminal Record information, employers are helped to identify a candidate who may be unsuitable for certain work.

There are three levels of Disclosure:

			Basic Disclosure Is available for all types of employment and voluntary positions not covered by the higher-level Disclosures. The basic disclosure contains details of convictions held on the Police National Computer (PNC) that are 'unspent' under the Rehabilitation of the Offenders Act 1974. The Basic Disclosure will not be issued to organisations directly. Instead it will be made available to individuals on request when they are seeking employment. All organisations are entitled to request that any applicant who is offered employment should obtain a Basic Disclosure before they are confirmed in a position, although the applicant is under no obligation to comply with the request. The Basic Disclosure was introduced in April 2002, after this date it will be an offence for organisations to require applicants to run police checks on themselves under Section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
			Standard Disclosure Applies to positions exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and relates particularly to certain sensitive areas of employment, such as jobs involving regular contact with children and vulnerable adults. The Standard Disclosure contains details of both spent and unspent convictions, as well as cautions, reprimands and final warnings held on the PNC.
			Enhanced Disclosure Applies to posts involving greater contact with children and vulnerable adults, for example jobs involving caring, supervising, training or being in sole charge of children and vulnerable adults. The Enhanced Disclosure contains the same information as the Standard Disclosure along with non-conviction information from local police records if that is thought to be relevant to the position being applied for. The Standard and Enhanced Disclosures can be made only by organisations that have been registered with the CRB. Application must be made with the express agreement of the individual concerned and signed by both the applicant and the registered body.

It is not only criminal records that are available from the Criminal Record Bureau (CRB). Amendments made to Part V of the Police Act 1997 mean that records held at the following can be ascertained:

			Department for Education and Skills (DFES)
			List 99 and the Department of Health
			Protect of Children Act List Service (POCA)
			Under the Care Standards Act 2000 called the Protection of Vulnerable Adult List (POVA)

The disclosure service is a valuable addition to best recruitment practice and there will be considerable benefits to organisations who use the service.

Recruiters will unquestionably be able to make more informed decisions. Furthermore, these decisions will reduce the risk of appointing an inappropriate person, to both the organisation and the rest of society "What ever the position"

Existing employees whom you have found to have a criminal record

Organisations may decide to see Disclosure of information in relation to existing employees. In cases where someone has been employed, and it is then discovered they have failed to disclose an 'unspent' conviction, they should not necessarily be dismissed. Only after a full appraisal of the situation, including the risks that are involved, should dismissal be considered. The organisation should first establish whether the conviction is relevant to the employment post.

Overseas Applicants Employers seeking to make use of Disclosure information should consider carefully before deciding whether to request a Disclosure in respect of an applicant who has lived overseas for a substantial amount of time. Applicants falling into this category include United Kingdom residents, whether British nationals or otherwise, with recent periods of overseas residency and applicants with little or no previous United Kingdom residency.

It may be difficult to obtain satisfactory evidence of identity in respect of such applicants. The PNC contains a limited number of overseas convictions but this data is by no means extensive.

Nova Risk Management can offer guidance about the availability of criminal records checks in a variety of foreign countries.

Some countries, the majority in the EU, have arrangements in place, which allow their citizens to obtain certificates of good conduct or extracts from the criminal record to show to prospective employers. The level of information provided varies from country to country. The CRB cannot currently provide information from other countries as part of a Disclosure.

Determining the appropriate level of Disclosure Legislation indicates which level of Disclosure is required for a particular position. The range of positions for which HIGHER-LEVEL Disclosures are available is determined by and set out in the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Police Act 1997 and other associated legislation sets out the eligibility of Enhanced Disclosure.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 sets out to help people who have been convicted of a criminal offence and who have not since re-offended. In general a person convicted of a criminal offence and who receives a sentence of no more than 2½ years in prison, benefits from the Act if they are not convicted again during a specified period. This period is called the rehabilitation period.

In general, the more severe a penalty, the longer the rehabilitation period! Once the rehabilitation period has expired and no further offending has taken place, a conviction is considered 'spent'. Once the conviction has been spent, the convicted person does not have to reveal or admit its existence in most circumstances, for example, when applying for a job.

In most circumstances an employer cannot refuse to employ someone, or dismiss them on the basis of a spent conviction.

The ROA Exceptions Order There are some exceptions where 'spent' convictions are declared. When assessing the suitability of an applicant for certain positions of trust, an employer is entitled to ask an applicant to reveal details of all convictions whether spent or not.

These positions of trust, or excepted professions, are set out in the Exceptions Order to the ROA.

Retrospective checks The Disclosure service enables organisations to check new applicants and for the first time, checks on existing staff can be made but only with their consent. Where employers wish to ask existing staff to undergo checks, attention should be paid to relevant contracts and conditions of employment.

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