The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is the organisation that runs criminal record checks, on people who are applying for jobs in positions of trust such as for nurses and nannies. Employers who recruit people for such positions have to get a CRB check done before an applicant can begin work. The CRB relies on employers validating and verifying the identity of the person on whom the check is required, to ensure that they are who they say they are.
Offender ‘A’, a care worker, has previous convictions for theft, violence and indecent assault. He moves from the South of England to the North, where he stays with a new male partner who has no idea of his criminal record.
Offender ‘A’ explains to his partner that he needs to get a job quickly and that, because he has recently moved, he has little in the way of identity documentation with him and nothing that proves he lives at his new home. The partner gives Offender ‘A’ his birth certificate and two recent utility bills. Offender ‘A’ tells his partner he will use these to get a job and then, once he is established at their address, will apply for another job using his true identity.
Offender ‘A’ successfully applies for a job as a care worker in his partner’s name, using the borrowed birth certificate and utility bills. His employer fails to notice that documents relate to another person and completes an application for a CRB check in this false identity. The partner has no convictions and so when the results of the check are returned it shows no criminal record.
Offender ‘A’ starts work in the care home where he has access to the personal effects of those he is caring for. Shortly afterwards he indecently assaults an elderly patient and steals her valuables worth £1000. Offender ‘A’ then moves to another part of the country and reassumes his proper identity.
Under the National Identity Scheme Offender ‘A’ would have been asked to prove his identity using his ID card and a biometric. Offender ‘A’ would be unable to use his partner’s or anyone else’s ID card as he would fail the biometric check.
When the scheme becomes fully operational, each person will have a unique Identity Registration Number (IRN) which could ultimately be used to cross-check other secure databases such as police records. As a result, the CRB would be able to compare a confirmed identity against the IRN on the police records and complete their checks far quicker than at present.
