False abuse allegations to be wiped from workers' records

Roy Everett - 22 June 2009

At first reading I was delighted with this news. However, having already been through this system and now re-read the article, I have to say it doesn't work at the moment, and these proposals appear flawed, though should not be discounted out of hand.

Part of the problem is the middle ground in which allegations are dropped without any criminal or indeed any adversarial hearing taking place. In this situation there may be no document or file entry saying that the accused has been "cleared": the matter is just quietly de-prioritised indefinitely but left on a computer file. The person may not even know of the accusation until it emerges in an enforced teacher reference. Alternatively an enhanced post-Laming CRB check might prevent the police from withholding an allegation. This can even happen decades later. It is then almost impossible to become "cleared" as the documentation evidence is unlikely to have survived and the witnesses may even be dead or otherwise unable to give evidence.

However, even if the accused hears of the accusations and forces the case to be heard, the principle of "multiple jeopardy" cuts in. You may well be found "not guilty" \(or some similar term) in one hearing or jurisdiction, but the verdict is not allowed to be passed on, or is not binding or even influential in another, even though the underlying facts are the same. This can lead to multiple disciplinary hearings over the same case, even within the same profession.

The fundamental flaw is that the current system, even with suggested Morgan amendments, is still "guilty until proved [completely] innocent". The use of the term "unfounded" in the proposals, which was coined by the IRSC \(who seem incapable of uttering the word "false" when dealing with allegations attributed to children) suggests to me that there has been no improvement over the last four years.

The sheer volume of CRB checks \(around 40000 per day as of last Wednesday) and the resulting volume of unearthed hidden false allegations \(perhaps around 40 per day) will swamp the system. Or it would if every such case was defended by the accused, potentially a day's hearing for each case, or much more if it goes to judicial review.

But, to take it to the hypothetical extreme, is a grandfather who fails a CRB check to be a helper on a school trip on the basis of an hitherto unknown allegation made in the 1950s seriously going to launch a £100000 judicial review to investigate the CRB disclosure and the resulting ISA disqualification? No! He will joint the growing band of excluded voluntary helpers with a grievance, rather than fund a £100 million-a-year legal gravy train with his pension, and the school trip organisers will be in despair.

david reeves - 24 May 2009

How far does this stretch to those private citizens falsey accused, perhaps mostly fathers accused by mothers in the hope of a better divorce settlement, or simply to spite the father by forcing control over the kids and depriving them access to their father .... the implications are, even when all lies have been quashed quite terrible. You may fail a CRB check when looking to contribute to your child's football team or school activities. You may find a job application brings up a similar result. Because the courts refused to communicate their exoneration of you, and indictment of the other parent for false allegations, to all parties you remain a pariah amongst others connected with the school, the nursery, the place you used to live, all influencing your children's lives.

But then, you MAY need the matter all to be on record to demonstrate your innocence if or whenit rears its ugly head again. Those who walk away scot free from making such allegations, in my experience do not accept a Famiy Court ruling, nor police report - and they BELIEVE only because of their own abuse, sad as it is, untreated and unrecognised except within their family; their tormentors going unpunished.

But, then it would be too late for the many areas where the records have already affected you. Action needs to be taken to stop, at least, certain types/forms of false allegations in our social structure - those that are used as a weapon would be a start!

Alison Jayne Stevens - 20 May 2009

Obviously Richard, you have no idea, what it is like, to be falsely accused, of Child Abuse, have your beloved Child, wrongly taken into Care,and experiance Forced Adoption.

I am one of the lucky ones, we had our youngest Son returned,to our care,after 12 agonizing weeks,he was found to be suffering from a spiral fracture of the tibia, after jumping from the side of the bath,and landing awkwardly.

The powers to be backed down in the end,and stated, that the injury, could of been, caused accidentally, Scott was later found to be suffering from Brittle bone disease.

If the incident had occurred,now, i would of been deemed,a Child Abuser for life..

I would like to hear your opinions, about proven cases of miscarriages of Justice.

I just hope you, or family, don't have to suffer, this kind of trauma.

A LIFE OF SHEER TORMENT AND PAIN..

Alison Stevens Parents Against Injustice.

richard painter - 20 May 2009

What a ridiculous standpoint to adopt. There is a need to have all records of all allegations recorded so that if further information comes to light there is at very least a record of what previous actions were taken. On one hand it may well be that further allegations come to light of a similar nature. On the other hand the accused persons also have a record of the outcome so as to avoid rumours or slurs on their character when the allegation is found to be malicious or unfounded.

Debra Gibbs-Baker - 18 May 2009

This is excellent news; thank-you all who campaigned for the proposed change. We work with many foster carers year on year in this most terrible situation of being accused and having to fight to 'prove' their innocence. Safeguarding children and young people Looked After has to be our collective priority, but abuses of the system including those against ordinary people trying to do an extraordinary job fostering on our behalf need also some safeguards. Thank-you

www.fosteringsupport.co.uk

margaret gardener - 17 May 2009

This is a great start for teachers and those on List 99, - but it needs extending to include anyone who has a false allegation dropped by the police or has been placed on the POVA or POCA list as well as directly on the Police DATA Base. There are many people in the same position as falsely accused teachers who require their CRB's cleared, just ordinary individuals such as parents, foster parents, carers of the the vulnerable adult, volunteers, and any number of people whose increasing work places require enhanced CRB checks. FASO's youngest person who has been placed on the crb list \(according to his local police force)is 14, someone who wanted to go to university to train in the care field, and wanted to be a volunteer - now he cannot do either. Along with PAIN we address the CRB issue to the Government I,as a Liberty and South Wales Liberty member address this issue to them also.

margaret gardener

False Allegations Support Organisation

www,false-allegations.org.uk

Alison Jayne Stevens - 16 May 2009

I really applaud this decision, something we at PAIN, took up within Parliament last year`.

We were so bemused, by the amount of teachers,and Carers, that have had their lives blighted by False Allegations,some have been acquitted within the Crown Court,, in some Cases Social Services have decided not to instigate Care Proceedings, within their own Family unit, but the allegations, remained on a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure for years, preventing that person, ever working with Children,and young People, a gross violation of Human Rights.

David Burrowes, Shadow Justice Minister is looking into our concerns.

A recent Daily Telegraph report stated that as many as 17000 individuals, could be affected.

Alison Stevens Parents Against Injustice.