The Church of England Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance states that “there are no eligibility requirements attached to Basic DBS checks and their use is left to local determination”.
The position of the Diocese of Chichester, agreed with our independent Safeguarding Advisory Panel, is that recommending the use of Basic DBS checks for roles that do not qualify for Enhanced or Enhanced plus checks, will not improve the management of risk across the Diocese, and may in fact increase risk. Furthermore, the Diocese’s position is that the very limited utility of using Basic DBS checks is more than offset by the huge administrative and cost burden of implementing them across our parishes.
Whilst parishes have the freedom to carry out Basic Checks if they wish, these points should be considered:
The use of Basic DBS checks could create a false sense of security. It is likely that many church members, including those with some responsibility for safer recruitment, will assume that a 'clear’ Basic DBS check means that the person involved has never been convicted for any offence. That is not necessarily the case: some very serious offences, with considerable implications for safeguarding risk assessments, will be excluded from a Basic check.
The use of Basic DBS checks could allow offenders to ‘drift’ into other roles. An offender with a Spent conviction, not disclosed on a Basic check, could present that check to (for instance) a Sunday school team leader in their local church, who may presume that this Basic check is sufficient. Similarly, the offender could present the check to parents looking (for instance) for childcare or instruction, implying that they have received a full criminal records check for a role at church and are therefore a trustworthy individual.