Even Bichard is back-pedalling on vetting now

Paedophile database 'will catch people unnecessarily'

The Government's new database of paedophiles must be reviewed because
some people will be caught up in it unnecessarily, according to Sir
Michael Bichard.

By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent

Telegraph.co.uk, UK: 6 August 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5980534/Paedophile-database-will-catch-people-unnecessarily.html
[ http://tinyurl.com/o8kx7z ]

Sir Michael, who led the child protection inquiry that followed the
murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, said he has taken his
concerns to Sir Roger Singleton, the chairman of the Independent
Safeguarding Authority which is responsible for assessing who should
be included on the register.

In an interview with _The Independent_, Sir Michael said the idea that
people like actors, authors or entertainers, who only occasionally
visit a school, should register with the scheme should be
reconsidered.

"If you visit one school in January, and then don't visit that school
again, but visit another school in February and another in March, is
that frequent or intensive? I think that's something which might merit
reconsideration," Sir Michael said. "Based on the discussions and
conversations I've had, clearly there is an issue."

He said a number of issues "need to be looked at again" and that
"there will always be situations where you could argue that the line
has been drawn in the wrong place".

His comments come as it was disclosed that the controversial database
has suffered a security breach even before its official launch.

A message containing confidential data was sent to the wrong email
address by a worker at the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Its annual report also discloses that "information risks" and
"weaknesses" have been discovered in the organisation, which is being
set up to check the backgrounds of more than 11million people who want
to work with children and vulnerable adults.

It comes just days after _The Daily Telegraph_ disclosed that the
Criminal Records Bureau, from which the ISA will take most of its
data, had made 1,570 errors over the past year, in many cases wrongly
branding innocent people as criminals.

Josie Appleton, the convenor of the Manifesto Club, a libertarian
group that is campaigning against the vetting and barring scheme,
said: "The ISA has had a security breach before it has even begun:
what will happen when it is monitoring 11 million people, and emailing
their employers 'updates' on their 'monitoring status'?

"Of course there are data security risks, and it is shocking that the
ISA has only just started to put procedures in place - but this is
entirely in line with its record of lateness and sloppiness.

"The ISA is founded on a suspicion of absolutely everyone, and a blind
faith in bureaucrats: these errors show that this faith is misplaced."

The ISA was proposed as a way to avoid the Soham murders by ensuring
that everyone who wants to work or volunteer with children has their
past checked beforehand.

When it is fully operational, an estimated 11.3m people will have to
register with the organisation before they can take up their jobs,
including almost all NHS staff; anyone who works in a school including
builders and visiting children's authors; clergy; private tutors; and
even parents who want to have overseas students staying with them.

Since January this year, ISA staff have begun assessing the records of
teachers who were previously banned from the classroom under the List
99 database.

Those applying for new jobs with children or vulnerable adults such as
pensioners, disabled people or prisoners will have to register with
the ISA from November 2010, with the rest of the workforce phased in
over the following five years.

Staff will get information on a candidate from the CRB and if they are
deemed suitable to work with children or vulnerable adults, their
names will be added to the approved list. Employers will be able to
monitor the status of staff.

The annual report of the Home Office-funded body, published last month
and covering the 2008-9 financial year, shows that it has already
suffered a security breach.

It states: "There has been one security incident in respect of
information handling in the current year when an email containing
confidential data was issued to the incorrect email address.

"A full investigation was carried out into this incident which
concluded that there were no systematic failures in procedure and that
the incident was due to human error. The incident did not result in
any risk to safeguarding."

A separate section on the "management and control of information risk"
states: "While all staff are made continuously aware of information
assurance issues, the lack of ISA policies to direct staff could have
an impact on the confidentiality, integrity or availability of
information. Policies are close to being finalised."
.

Loading