header-logo header-logo

19 July 2007 / Richard Scorer
Issue: 7282 / Categories: Features , Child law
printer mail-detail

A vetting epidemic?

Computers shouldn’t replace common sense in child protection procedures, says Richard Scorer

Is there too much vetting going on, or too little? Fears about inadequate checking of people working with children and vulnerable adults are rarely out of the media. In 2006, the issue was sex offenders in schools. In May and June 2007, fears were voiced after a BBC survey found that 68% of health trusts in the UK do not routinely run checks on staff who began work before the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was set up in 2002.

Other commentators, however, complain of an “over vetted” society in which innocent activities such as dressing up as an elf at a children’s Christmas party are becoming impossible due to a toxic obsession about paedophilia out of all proportion to reality. Do we need more and better checking, or have we gone too far already?

different lists

On any objective view, it is reasonable and necessary to vet those who work extensively with children and vulnerable adults. It is also obvious that the

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll