How Volunteers can Apply for CRB Clearance

Applying for Criminal Records Bureau Clearing De-mystified

Sep 18, 2008 Christine Fadhley

Doing a CRB Application is daunting. Useful information to make this process speedier and easier. Find an Agent like Amber Valley Volunteer Centre.

Working with vulnerable people? Applying for a voluntary position as a befriender or carer? Recent legislation made it optional for bodies working with the public to seek Criminal Records Bureau clearance for their employees or volunteers. The CRB Bureau was set up to co-ordinate this process.

The CRB Bureau

The Criminal Records Bureau, based in Liverpool in the North West of England, UK, is a department of the Home Office charged with the task of checking that volunteers or those who are employed to work with people do not have criminal records. This need arose out of recent cases where convicted paedophiles succeeded in gaining employment in schools by falsifying their records.

Four organisations are contacted by the CRB Bureau:

• The National Police Computer – for criminal records
• The Department of Education – for child protection
• The Department of Health and
• The Local Police Force – also for criminal records

Who Can Apply?

It is normally an organisation that applies for CRB clearance for their prospective employees or volunteers. However in some cases an individual volunteer may find that their employing organisation is unwilling to apply on their behalf for some reason, e.g. lack of funds.

In this case it is possible for an individual –with the permission of the “employing body”– to instigate CRB checks for themselves.

Using An Agency

One way to do this is to employ an Umbrella Body or Agency who can supervise this process. Such a body is recognised by the CRB Authorities as being qualified to act as an agent. This enables an individual or organisation to be helped through the process.

Amber Valley Volunteer Centre

Located in Ripley in North Derbyshire, UK, Amber Valley Volunteer Centre is one such umbrella organisation which helps 85 organisations nation-wide in processing CRB checks for their volunteers. They also assist individuals. Their aim is to provide a quick, efficient and affordable service.

Charges

Organisations are charged £35 per application or £40 for enhanced disclosure. An enhanced disclosure is needed where the volunteer will be working with young people as well as adults. The good news is that it only costs £4 to apply as an individual volunteer.

Amber Valley Volunteer Centre can help organisations anywhere in the UK. However, Emma Rodgers, their CRB expert, comments “individuals need to come in person to the centre. For this reason they should look for an umbrella organisation in their own area, starting with their local CVS.”

Tracking Your Application

Frequently there are delays in the service due to high demand. Emma Rodgers advises “After one month one is allowed to make enquiry about the progress of an application. There is a tracking service that makes this quite easy.” Tracking can be done on-line or by telephone on 0870 90 90 811.

References

Amber Valley Volunteer Centre, Tel: 01773 512075, Address: 33 Market Place, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3HA email:admin@avcvs.org, Amber Valley

Criminal Records Bureau, PO Box 110, Liverpool, L69 3EF: Minicom: 0870 90 90 344

The copyright of the article How Volunteers can Apply for CRB Clearance in British/UK Affairs is owned by Christine Fadhley. Permission to republish How Volunteers can Apply for CRB Clearance in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Emma Rodgers, CRB Expert, CVS

Amber Valley Volunteer Centre

Visiting the CVS Volunteering Centre