Some ten years ago, as a criminologist at Manchester University, I was co-author of a major study on police-held criminal records systems in England and Wales and in the United States. In the book, we highlighted the concerns of many about the slowness of the system, the accuracy of information held (at that time by the police), its completeness and confidentiality, and so on.
Indeed, things were perceived to be so bad in the late 1980s that the Home Affairs Select Committee launched an inquiry, where in evidence the system was described as 'being in a terrifying condition of inaccuracy'.
Back then, rapid computerisation combined with taking the records system out of the hands of the police was seen as the answer to the poor quality of data and increases in disclosure to employers and others who, it was argued, needed access. Now we have a Criminal Records Bureau, independent of the police service.
Yet, more than a decade on, it is clearly evident that the real issue and debate at stake - the panic around child sexual abuse, and the extent and usefulness of records disclosure - was ducked. Instead, the Government gave way to bureaucratic demands for more and more access, with entirely predictable results - an over-hyped and overloaded vetting system. Criminal record checks probably add little to child protection.
Bill Hebenton. Department of Applied Social Science, University of Manchester
