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Thumbs up for
ID
card and
CRB check
trial
Monday 01 October 2007
Plans for a new service using ID cards to help
make Criminal Records checks faster and more robust have been given
a resounding thumbs-up by volunteers in a trial of the new
process.
In line with recommendations from the Bichard Report, the
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is examining the security benefits
that ID cards may bring. In a joint trial with the Identity and
Passport Service (IPS), 160 volunteers piloted two online services
aimed at accelerating and toughening-up background checks on people
who want to work with children and vulnerable adults. The first is
a short-term process using UK passports, the second a longer-term
process using ID cards under the National Identity Scheme.
A report published today reveals that the overwhelming majority of
trial participants back the new services, with 96% saying the
passport-linked service is an improvement on current arrangements,
and 87% saying that the ID card-linked service would be even
stronger.
Home Office Minister Meg Hillier said:
“I am very pleased by the positive reaction of the volunteers in
this joint venture between the CRB and IPS.
“Clearly, establishing identity quickly and accurately is
absolutely crucial when dealing with people who want to work with
children or vulnerable adults. Employers have to make sure that the
person applying for the job is actually who they say they
are.
“By linking your details to your fingerprints, the National
Identity Scheme will make it easier and quicker to prove identity
as well as protecting your personal details from fraudsters.”
Sir Michael Bichard, in his June 2004 Inquiry Report, said there
should be improvements to ‘the systems for checking identity’ and
that the Government’s proposals for ID cards ‘would go a long way
to solving this problem’. The process enhancements trialled jointly
by the CRB and IPS are in line with recommendation 23 of the
Bichard Inquiry Report. In combination with a range of improvements
the CRB is making to its service, turnaround times for some checks
could be reduced from four weeks to as little as four days.
CRB Chief Executive Vince Gaskell said:
“The CRB constantly works to enhance its processes and accuracy.
The National Identity Scheme will help make the Criminal Record
check even faster and more robust.
“That is good news for employers and employees, and good news for
the children and vulnerable people they work with.”
IPS Chief Executive James Hall said:
“IPS and the CRB have been in close collaboration to explore how
the National Identity Scheme can help further strengthen the CRB
process, in particular around verifying the identity of an
applicant for a CRB disclosure.
“As we move forward with procurement and delivery of the Scheme, we
are also taking forward other joint ventures with organisations
such as the Border and Immigration Agency and retailers.”
The CRB/IPS trials took place between 25 May and 26 June 2007 in
Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, London, and Manchester,
involving volunteers mainly from organisations with extensive
experience of the current procedures for Criminal Records
checks.
At the trials all volunteers went through a simulated experience of
applying for a position requiring a CRB check including meeting
their prospective employer, filling out the CRB Disclosure
application form, having their identity authenticated by a
counter-signatory and receiving their Disclosure. Each
volunteer completed two circuits; one using a passport and one
using an ID card which enabled experience of both proposed
processes to derive comparisons. An independent company, FDS ,
carried out interviews with the volunteers and analysed the
research.
The CRB has issued over 13 million Criminal Records disclosures
since it began operation in 2002, and is now issuing more checks
than ever, faster than ever. However, an improved application
process using ID cards to confirm identity via online application
could dramatically reduce turnaround times. The first ID cards for
UK citizens will be issued in 2009, with large-scale volumes being
issued by the Identity and Passport Service in 2010.
Notes to Editors
- The report, ‘Identity Service Proposition – A Joint Venture
with the Criminal Records Bureau’, was published on 1 October and
is available at http://www.passport.gov.uk/publications-research.asp
- For more information on the National Identity Scheme and
passports, see the Identity and Passport Service website, http://www.ips.gov.uk/.
- For more information on Criminal Records Disclosures, see the
Criminal Records Bureau website, http://www.crb.gov.uk/.
- Sir Michael Bichard’s 2004 report following the conviction of
Ian Huntley for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in
Soham, Cambridgeshire, is available at http://www.bichardinquiry.org.uk/.
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