CRB and a job that don`t invole driving !!

driftaround_2

hi all. First time poster, but have been a lurker for two or three years. this thread is the only one I've felt compelled to subscribe to though!! (mind you, I have no doubt that in itself will attract criticism from some quarters).
Having had 20yrs experience of working in Prisons, I can confirm that a criminal record is a hindrance to the minority of offenders who are looking to get their lives back on track. The large majority of offenders aren't bothered about such stigma, because they don't want to work anyway and custody is an occupational hazard....
However, what has most astonished me is the forums sheer intolerance that somebody may have made a mistake in completing an application form and the subsequent holier than thou attitudes. The fact is that the CRB check unearths a lot of issues that previously, over the normal passage of time, would have meant 'do the crime - do the time'. This is no longer the case and it is now 'do the crime - for all time'. I'm not talking about serious offences (please don't suggest that I am) but we all make mistakes. The chances are, when you are out having dinner, or drinking in a pub, you will be mixing with ex offenders who are just getting on with their life after being given a chance - a chance which most of you beleive shouldn't be given.

More importantly, there remains controversy as to what exactly a criminal record is. Most driving offences, whilst criminal in their broadest sense, are not disclosable on any CRB, even Enhanced, and do not constitute part of a criminal record. This lack of clarity is not helpful. You only have to Google to find individuals who have committed driving offences which have not been disclosed on their CRB. Working on the forums adage that it is better to confess everything, where does it stop?

i would have thought a more progressive approach would be to ask why she had not disclosed it on her application form and work from there. What if someone hasn't got a good grasp of English and makes a mistake?

'Let he who is without sin....'