Who is authorised to conduct checks on the Sex Offenders register?

[naomi24]

I was under the impression that details on the Sex Offenders register were available only to the Police or to authorised bodies, but a friend (a retired teacher) has told me that she is (through her church) working as a volunteer conducting checks on members of the general public who work with, or who want to work with children, to ensure they are not on the register. I've no doubt she is telling the truth, but it doesn't seem right to me that a volunteer who has no connection to any official body is allowed access to information that is not in the public domain.

[annie0000]

Are you sure that you picked her up correctly? My husband used to work for an organisation that processed applications for people who were volunteers e.g. scout leaders or who worked for charitable organisations. They didn't do the checks, they checked that the correct forms had been filled in and processed the payment for these. The organisation he worked for was government funded, so that volunteer and charity orgaisations didn't have to pay the fee required for the checks to be done. The organisation had "volunteer" in their title, but the staff were not volunteers and they also did not conduct the checks, only process the forms. Is this perhaps what she was doing? He did this part time in the evenings.

[chelle7272]

yes i agree with the answers given. I could say the same as your friend but don't have access.
I complete a CRB application form with employees and volunteers. I check ID and enter details on the application. I then send it to our umbrella registered body (local authority council) who send it to the Criminal Records Bureau.(Only registered bodies can do this). The CRB check is sent to0 the employee / volunteer and as the employer we get a brief statement stating whether or not any convictions were on record. It does not give great detail. I imagine this is the process your friend is referring to, and that she herself therefore does not have access to such information directly.

[naomi24]

Thanks very much for your answers everyone. In my professional life I worked closely with the Police, Social Services, etc, etc, but that was before the Sex Offenders register came into being. However, bearing in mind my past experience, I seriously doubted that this could be true. She actually said she was checking people against the Sex Offenders register, but didn’t elaborate, and despite my initial doubts, I didn’t pursue it. I now get a sneaking suspicion that she is indeed working in that area, so she didn’t actually lie, but she is out to impress! Now it makes sense. Thank you.