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Child
Protection Awareness Training and |
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Criminal Records Bureau Checks |
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GETTING YOURSELF CHECKED OUT written
by Alan Clarke - London FA Child Protection Officer, FA Accredited Child
Protection Tutor and FA CRB Panel Member |
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(Telephone: 01304 379677) |
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Should a man with a conviction
for Grievous Bodily Harm be allowed to coach a youth football team ? |
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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.
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This is the scenario:
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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. |
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A few facts:
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11% of the adult population in the UK has
a criminal conviction: |
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many of us may well say ‘There but for the grace
of God go I!’
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| b) |
Most convictions are obtained between the
ages of 18-22: |
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I need not elaborate as to why this age group is so
vulnerable to getting a conviction - youth speaks for itself !
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So how does the process work?
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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.
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One of three courses of action
will be taken if there is a conviction:
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| a) |
The conviction is so old or irrelevant
that it is disregarded.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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So who is likely to be a threat
to children ? |
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Certainly people in the following
bracket;
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| a) |
Sexual offenders; |
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Violent offenders against children;
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Continuing drug abusers.
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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.
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Before bringing a case to the
Panel the FA CRB Unit might make the following enquiries:
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Write to the local police for further
information.
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Write to the applicant asking for the
circumstances.
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The applicant might be asked to
provide two references as to his/her present good character. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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’.
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