REFEREES
 

Child Protection Awareness Training and

Criminal Records Bureau Checks
 
GETTING YOURSELF CHECKED OUT written by Alan Clarke - London FA Child Protection Officer, FA Accredited Child Protection Tutor and FA CRB Panel Member
(Telephone: 01304 379677)
 
Should a man with a conviction for Grievous Bodily Harm be allowed to coach a youth football team ?
A question I always ask during the part of the FA Child Protection Workshop covering Criminal Record Bureau checks. ‘No’ is the immediate response from majority of those present. A few seconds pause and someone (who has not joined the chorus of condemnation!) will ask ‘When was he convicted?’ followed by someone else asking ‘What are the circumstances?’ Clearly the deep thinkers have it right and are not immediately jumping in with what is the normal and understandable reaction when dealing with children.  
  
This is the scenario:  
At the age of 18 this man “did a G.B.H. job” on a 19 year old in a pub after the other guy insulted and hit his girlfriend. He is now 41, married to the same lady and they have three children. One wants to play football and he wants to coach the team. ‘Should this man be allowed to coach this team?’ The now predictable answer is a full chorus ‘Yes, of course’. Clearly, even with a previous conviction for a violent crime, it is highly unlikely that this man ever was or is likely to be a danger to children. And this is the whole heart of the Football Association Criminal Record Bureau process: “Is this person likely to be a threat to children?” This is the criterion that the FA CRB Panel, of which I am a lay member, is constantly reminding itself when dealing with cases involving people in football with previous convictions.
 
A few facts:  
a)    11% of the adult population in the UK has a criminal conviction:

many of us may well say ‘There but for the grace of God go I!’  
b) Most convictions are obtained between the ages of 18-22:

I need not elaborate as to why this age group is so vulnerable to getting a conviction - youth speaks for itself !

 
So how does the process work?  
Everyone being checked has to send to the FA CRB Unit or produce to a County FA Verifier a completed form with certain documentation. The documentation must include a Birth Certificate, a Passport and a Driving Licence. If you cannot produce all of those items, then other specified supporting documentation can be included. At least one item MUST show your current address. The completed form is sent to the FA CRB Unit at Nottingham and after being logged is sent to the Criminal Records Bureau at Liverpool. Some 4-6 weeks later (according to the CRB – I believe it actually takes longer) Liverpool will send the applicant back an ‘Enhanced Disclosure’ indicating what convictions, if any, are currently recorded against him/her. A copy is also sent to the FA CRB Unit at Nottingham, which then decides whether a conviction is relevant and what action, if any, should be taken.  
 
One of three courses of action will be taken if there is a conviction:  
a)    The conviction is so old or irrelevant that it is disregarded.  
b) The conviction is so serious and relevant that it goes straight to the FA Child Protection Unit Case Management Department for consideration as to immediate action: any decision to suspend a person is taken by a senior FA Review Commission.  
c) The FA CRB Panel considers those cases which the FA CRB Unit Manager, Elizabeth Hubbard, places before it. These are cases that a Panel must adjudicate upon and decide whether the information should go to Case Management (and then possibly on to the Review Commission with a view to suspension) or whether to take no further action (in which case the person concerned is free to carry on in football). The Panel consist of an independent Chairman, The Head of Ethics & Sports Equity at the FA, a representative of the FA Review Commission, The FA Case Manager (Lisa Wilkins), Elizabeth Hubbard (FA CRB Unit Manager) and ‘lay’ Panel Members (of which I am one) from both within and outside football. ‘Guests’ include County Representatives of whom both Ken Benham (Sussex FA) and Ray Lewis (Surrey FA) have been participants. Some 40 case are discussed by the Panel at each meeting and invariably only one or two are referred to Case Management. The aforementioned criterion (“Is this person likely to be a threat to children?”) is the predominant consideration.  
 
So who is likely to be a threat to children ?
Certainly people in the following bracket;  
a)    Sexual offenders;
b) Violent offenders against children;  
c) Continuing drug abusers.  
 
As Cheryl Stepton mentioned at a recent London FA Council Meeting, these are not the sole persons that may be a danger: Cheryl pointed out firearms offenders could also be banned. It might also be considered that a persistent ‘drink drive’ offender might be a danger if s/he is a youth team coach and drives children to games. So the criterion is not hard and fast and might vary greatly with both time lapses, changes in living circumstances or evidence of rehabilitation.  
 
Before bringing a case to the Panel the FA CRB Unit might make the following enquiries:  
a)    Write to the local police for further information.  
b) Write to the applicant asking for the circumstances.  
c)  The applicant might be asked to provide two references as to his/her present good character.
 
As not all police forces are equally co-operative, sometimes it is necessary to take course b). The responses from the applicant are normally open, honest, productive and assist the decision making considerably. Occasionally, they are aggressive, discourteous and impolite, sometimes by way of abusive telephone calls. This attitude helps nobody, especially the applicant by his/her lack of co-operation.  
 
At a recent Child Protection Workshop, a Youth Team manager expressed his surprise and some indignation at receiving a letter from the FA CRB unit regarding his conviction for causing actual bodily harm, similar to the circumstances in my opening paragraph. He got into a fight and the other guy came off worse. My reply was ‘Was your conviction for actual bodily harm against a child?’ ‘Of course not!’ was the even more indignant response. I pointed out that available records did not clearly indicate the circumstances and that the conviction required further clarification to ensure that children were not involved.  
 

The FA CRB Panel is there primarily to decide one thing only: “Is this person likely to be a threat to children?” The procedure for banning people coming into contact with children in football is there for one reason – the protection of children. If you have a criminal conviction (and the refereeing fraternity reflects the adult population, 11% of which has a conviction), you have nothing to fear from either the system or the FA UNLESS you are likely to be a danger to children. I therefore urge any referees out there who have not yet applied for a CRB check to get themselves checked out. There is really very little to it! If you are still unsure, then by all means contact me to discuss your circumstances in confidence. I am there to help and assist.

 
I leave you with the profound words of Nelson Mandela which always conclude my Child Protection Workshops: ‘Children are the most important people in the world – they are also the most vulnerable’.