[holding answer 25 January 2007]: Trevor Cross was a temporary member of staff recruited by an employment agency to work in the Disclosure Unit of the Devon and Cornwall constabulary. The termination of his employment is a private matter between Mr. Cross and his employer.
Mr. Cross raised two principal concerns; that Devon and Cornwall constabulary have downgraded their checks on certain positions which involve applicants working with children and vulnerable adults, and that he has concerns about the accuracy of checks overall because of the Criminal Records Bureau’s data capture processes.
I have been assured by the Devon and Cornwall constabulary that there has been no downgrading or reduction in the consistency of the work conducted by their disclosure unit and that the enhanced checks for the occupations Mr. Cross has referred to are being carried out to the required standard.
The CRB employs a wide range of measures and quality controls to ensure that the information provided on application forms is correctly captured from the forms and used when checking for any criminal record.