CAMPAIGN ON BEHALF OF FALSELY ACCUSED CARERS AND TEACHERS
Vol
24 F.A.C.T.ION
FACT, INFORMATION, OPINION and NEWS
Scrutiny of vetting and barring
and CRB scheme gets underway
Scrutiny of vetting and barring scheme gets underway
The system of checks that people working with children and
vulnerable adults are required to undergo will be
considered afresh in a radical examination of the Vetting
and Barring Scheme (VBS).
The Government has announced that it will undertake a
thorough review of the VBS which will re-examine whether
the scheme is the most appropriate mechanism to protect
children and vulnerable people and, if so, how many roles
should be covered by it.
As we reported in our last edition the Home Secretary,
Theresa May, made clear the Government’s intention to
bring the scheme back to common sense levels. This was in
response to public concerns that in its current form the
scheme was overly bureaucratic and burdensome.
Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone said: “While it is
vital that we protect the vulnerable, this scheme as it
stands is not a proportionate response. There should be a
presumption that people wishing to work or volunteer with
children and vulnerable adults are safe to do so unless it
can be shown otherwise.
“We are also announcing a review of the criminal records
regime which has developed piecemeal for years and is due
for an overhaul to ensure that we strike a balance between
protecting civil liberties and protecting the public.”
The criminal records regime review will be led by Sunita
Mason, the Government’s Independent Advisor for
Criminality Information Management who has already
arranged to meet interested parties, including F.A.C.T. in
the coming weeks. Ms Mason will consider whether the
disclosure of minor offences and police intelligence to
Have you thought about sponsoring an edition of FACTion?
Nov 2010
November 2010
AGM and Conference
Edition
prospective employers within the criminal records check
should still form part of this process.
The final recommendations for the scheme will be
announced early in the New Year.
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said: “We have to
strike the right balance in safeguarding vulnerable people.
The risk of abuse can come from people close to victims,
not just from paid staff and volunteers. No one can
subcontract responsibility for protecting at risk people, we
all have a part to play. This review will help strike that
balance and to consider afresh whether the scheme is the
best way of moving forward.”
Children and Families Minister Tim Loughton said: “Children
must be protected when vulnerable and this is everyone’s
responsibility. Any vetting system should not be a
substitute for proper vigilance by individuals and society. At
the moment the pendulum has swung too far and threatens
to drive a wedge between children and well-meaning
adults. Such individuals should be welcomed and
encouraged as much as possible, unless it can be shown
that children would not be safe in their care.”
The terms of reference will clearly set out how the review
will consider the fundamental principles and objectives
behind the vetting and barring regime, including:
Ÿ evaluating the scope of the scheme’s coverage
Ÿ the most appropriate function, role and structures of
any relevant safeguarding bodies and appropriate
governance arrangements
Ÿ recommending what, if any, scheme is needed now;
taking into account how to raise awareness and
understanding of risk and responsibility for
safeguarding in society more generally.
Page 1
 Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers Editorial

Committee and Editorial Team As Chairman it falls to me to write ‘the editorial’. Firstly I want
F.A.C.T. is managed by a national committee who can be to say thank you to those of you who voted me in, and
contacted as follows: secondly thank you to George for holding the fort last year.
Chairman Michael We have had some excellent Chairmen and women - I just
michael@factuk.org hope I can do as well as they have done.
02920 777499
I think it is fair to say that following recent changes of
Secretary Ian B
personnel F.A.C.T. is moving out of a transition stage to a
sec@factuk.org
more consolidating phase. A lot of good work has been done
O15 6474 2002
over the years and I am keen that we continue this progress.
Treasurer Ian A
treasurer@factuk.org My first challenge is to try and ease the burden of work on
01905 778170 established committee members by co-opting more people to
Membership Joy & Ian sit on the committee with a view to taking on some new but
membership@factuk.org
01594 529 237 specific roles.
Lobbying Jim I am very pleased to have Ian as our new secretary. This
01873 830493 should free up quite a bit of my time and enable me to
Media Vacant concentrate on some of those things which we need to do
Prison/Family Support Joy but haven’t yet been able to do.
joy-iangower@stroat.fsnet.co.uk
01594 529 237 Overall I think the support we provide to those in prison and
elsewhere is very good but we need to do more to influence
Contact Details public opinion and act as an agent of change. This means
building up even stronger relationships with the press,
General Correspondence and F.A.C.T. business politicians and Government and non Government bodies. I
The Sec
have always thought it is very important that we engage with
them in a positive way. If we can show some understanding
PO Box 15971
of where they are coming from we can justifiably expect
Solihull
them to show equal understanding of all that we are trying to
B93 3GG
do and what we stand for.
01594 529 237
I also want to see a significant increase in F.A.C.T.
Helpline, Advice, FACTion Newsletter and Website membership during the next three years. As I often said,
Michael although people are very appreciative of the work we do and
PO Box 3074 the support we give, too few of them become F.A.C.T.
Cardiff members and engage directly with us. This is a tremendous
Wales
CF3 3WZ burden on those who do become F.A.C.T. members and
02920 777 499 wholeheartedly commit themselves to what we do, and also
FACTion: support most generously. To each one of you I say a very big
FACTion is produced at approximately bi-monthly thank you.
intervals at the national committee’s discretion, and
Some of these changes will take a while to work through but
is provided free of charge to F.A.C.T. members.
with your help we can further strengthen F.A.C.T. and make
The editorial team welcome articles for publication, its voice heard.
of between 150 and 1,500 words, and letters of not
more than 200 words. These should be sent,
As many of you know my wife had a nasty fall recently and
preferably by email to: faction@factuk.org or by post crushed her upper arm. Many of you have sent cards and best
to FACTion, P.O. Box 3074, Cardiff, CF3 3WZ. wishes so on her behalf and my own can I say thank you to
you all. She is getting better slowly, in less pain although still
The editorial team reserve the right to edit any
unable to move her arm much.
article or letter sent for publication.
As a result of the above FACTion is a little late in coming out
All submissions must be accompanied by your name but I am sure you will all understand why.
and address which, on request, will be withheld from
publication. With my very best wishes to you all,
Michael
The views contained in FACTion do not necessarily
represent those of F.A.C.T., or its national
committee.

Page 2 Nov 2010

 Home Office Confirm the Government’s Intention AGM Business Report
to Reform the Notification Arrangements of those The F.A.C.T. AGM was again held in
Birmingham in Septembers when the
Placed on the Sex Offenders Register
Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer
Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that the notification requirements presented their reports to members,
of the sex offenders registers breach Article 8 (right to privacy and family life) (Copies of both the Chairman’s and
of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Through its legal the Secretary’s report appear on
advisor F.A.C.T. has since been pressing the Home Office for details of when pages 8-10. A copy of the Treasurers
the Government intends to introduce legislation in order to ensure report was circulated to members and
compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling. is available to members on request.)
In a recent letter from the Home Office it has been confirmed that the A number of resolutions were put
Government is obliged to provide a remedy within the next 12 to 18 months forward for consideration. These
and intends to do so. We do not know what form this remedy will take or to included resolutions to the effect that
what extent it will be conditional upon the index offence and/or sentence advance notice be given of any
handed out. This battle is by no means over, and no doubt there will be many resolutions received and any proposed
alterations to the Constitution, and
twists and turns before a solution is found.
that members should be allowed a
We therefore urge all those who are affected by this ruling, or who have an postal vote. A resolution that these
interest in justice issues, to lobby your own MPs and make sure that they matters be held in abeyance until the
have a full understanding of the need for reform. May conference was carried by
majority vote.
A little girl who had wandered off from a nursery, was spotted by a male car driver A resolution was also placed before
who did not stop to help her because he thought he could be accused of abuse or the members to the effect that the
abduction; the girl then fell into a garden pond and drowned. maximum number of co-opted
members on the national committee
be increased from three to six. This
Chris Saltrese Solicitors was passed by unanimous vote.
mail@chrissaltrese.co.uk www.chrissaltrese.co.uk/ Notice was also given at the AGM of a
meeting to be held on the 25th
Chris Saltrese Solicitors is a law firm providing a premium service in representing September with a number people who
clients accused of sexual offences and domestic violence, in criminal proceedings. had volunteered to help F.A.C.T. carry
We have unrivalled expertise in these areas, both regionally and nationally. out some of its key tasks.
Many of our clients face allegations as a result of: This meeting took place as arranged
and was attended by 6 volunteers, all
Ÿ domestic or relationship disputes,
of whom have agreed to help in
Ÿ contact disputes, particular ways. An offer was made by
Ÿ mental health problems, Garry to do some press work, by Geoff
Ÿ financial incentives to undertake some lobbying work
(letter writing), by Paul to assist in the
and have no prior experience of the criminal justice system. Often these
writing of submissions to Government
allegations involve uncorroborated, historic allegations.
departments and other bodies.
In this complex arena specialist legal advice and representation is vital especially as
recent changes in the law, designed to convict genuine offenders, also put the We also had an offer from Paula to
innocent at greater risk of injustice. help with strategic planning. John and
Rosie offered to help in the production
We particularly welcome carers, teachers, and health care professionals who have
of FACTion, and Claire to be our proof
been accused of abuse and are likely to be subject to a criminal investigation.
reader.
Where allegations have been made we would be happy to advise, whether or not
All of these offers will be taken up but
criminal investigations are underway.
we still need other people to help us
For further information please contact in other ways.
Chris Saltrese Solicitors If YOU have a few hours a week to
13 Scarisbrick New Road spare, or have a particular interest in a
Southport, PR8 6PU F.A.C.T issue, or have developed some
Phone: 01704 535 512 specialist knowledge,we would love to
hear from you.

Nov 2010 Page 3

 New Contact Details
Following the appointment of a
new secretary please note our new
contact details.
General Inquiries
and F.A.C.T. business
Email sec@factuk.org
PO Box 15971
Solihull
B93 3GG
Phone: O15 6474 2002
Helpline and Advice,
FACTion and Webmaster
Email michael@factuk.org
Address: PO Box 3074,
Cardiff CF3 3WZ
www.factuk.org
Phone: 02920 777 499
Contact arrangements for the
membership secretary and support
for prisoners remain unchanged.
Presumed Guilty
As many of you know George and Iris
Jensen have produced a document
called Presumed Guilty which will be
used for lobbying politicians and
informing the media and the general
public of the plight of carers and
teachers who have been falsely
accused of historic child abuse.
We expect the document to be
finalised and ready for distribution
before the end of the year. We also
plan to publish a smaller version
which can be used in every day
lobbying and for increasing public
awareness.
Forthcoming birthdays
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
AND BEST WISHES TO
Philip - 14th December
Jim - 23rd December
Christmas Reminder
Don’t forget
to get your
Christmas Card list from Joy
Page 4
It seems to me …
If we are to believe what we are currently being told, the country is in one dickens of
a financial mess. We are all likely now to feel the financial pinch, and the pundits are
divided whether it will be “us” or “them” who are pinched the most. The Director of
Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, is advocating that there should be a review of
sentencing so that those who plead guilty at an early stage of their trial will receive a
lesser sentence. Such a policy, in his view, will save the cost of expensive trials and
reduce pressure on prisons. Of course, it may be those wrongly accused of abuse
may decide that, as there is little chance of a fair trial under our present discredited
system, it may be advisable to opt for no trial, plead guilty, and go for the lesser
sentence. After all, it will mean there is no court-room stress and only a short
sentence. Why go for both a long trial and a long sentence when the verdict is,
regrettably, more or less certainly likely to be guilty anyway. Justice? Bah, humbug!
Of course, we all want the country to get out of the recession, however it was
caused, and whoever is to blame. The problem is, which solution do we believe? Let
me suggest one small possibility to help Mr Starmer. How about doing away with
trials that should not be taking place at all? How about the CPS actually advocating
that they are not happy with the current legislation which allows people to be
brought to trial on spurious charges of abuse with little or no evidence? How about
our politicians actually having the courage to admit that the law has currently got
the balance wrong and that the weight of evidence needs to be for the CPS to prove
guilt, not for the defence to prove innocence? (Oh come, come, there are no votes in
that and every political party will need every vote it can scrape at the next general
election; being fair to “paedophiles” is not a vote-winner.)
Yes, we must protect children – it is a sign of a civilised society, but justice must be
done, and be seen to be done. So what, Mr Starmer, is the present unjust system
costing the country?
Ÿ The cost of an unnecessary trial,
Ÿ The cost of an unnecessary prison sentence,
Ÿ The cost of extra work on the over-stretched Probation Service,
Ÿ The cost of wasted professional training of a wrongly convicted, but competent
professional who is no longer allowed to work,
Ÿ The cost of a family who needs financial support because their bread-winner is
in prison,
Ÿ The cost of job-seekers allowance when the accused is released and finds
him/herself unemployable,
Ÿ The cost of broken families, where the stress is too much for a marriage,
Ÿ The cost of the loss of those good professionals who resign from the profession
rather than run the risk of being falsely accused,
Ÿ The cost of a shortage of teachers and care workers,
Ÿ The cost of those young people who will never enter the caring professions
because they realise the risk they will run of being falsely accused.
And you can probably add more costs.
Now, I am not an economist, but I would guess that nationally we could be running
into several millions of pounds; whilst it may not bring our fine country out of the
recession, every little will help Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg, and once again we could
be seen to have eliminated a glaring cases of injustice. So come on Mr Starmer, see
what you can do – if you dare. If you dare!
S.E. Ems
October 2010
Nov 2010
 F.A.C.T. AGM 2010 Nominations for
Summary of Treasurer’s Report Human Rights
Financial Year Ending 31st July 2010 Lawyer of the Year
The Human Rights Awards are held
The accounts show a surplus of £2,582 for the year compared with a deficit of each December to commemorate
£2,766 last year. This turn-around is due to a number of factors, the main ones Human Rights Day. The awards aim
being: -
to recognise and encourage
individuals and organisations whose
1. Donations have increased from £1,194 to £2,485 due to two generous
work is dedicated to protecting and
donations of £500 and one of £400.
promoting the rights of others.
2. F.A.C.T. Northwest funds of £810 are now held in the national accounts at
Among the nominations this year is
their request, but in trust for use only by themselves.
Richard Osborne of S J Cornish for
3. A reduced number of FACTions has been produced which has reduced this their efforts to secure access to
expenditure from £3,377 to £1,801. justice for people falsely accused of
Otherwise, except for a reduction in office requirements by £549, income and child abuse.
expenditure have remained similar to last year. Other shortlisted candidates for the
With an effective bank balance of £5,483, allowing for the F.A.C.T. Northwest human rights lawyer of the year
funds, the financial position is healthy, and sufficient to fund activities for the were: Les Allamby, Law Centre
coming year. (Northern Ireland), for his work in
ensuring effective access to justice
Thank You for all sections of the community in
Iris and George Jensen wish to thank all members past and present, for their Northern Ireland; Stephen Grosz,
partner at London firm Bindman &
support and friendship over many years, in particular for the garden tokens
Partners, for his contribution to the
which were presented to them at the AGM.
protection of human rights; and
Iris said the present couldn’t have been more timely as they have recently had Adrienne Page QC, and Adam Speker
an extension built on to their house and as a result have inherited a very nice (both 5 Raymond Buildings)
bare patch which they now have been able to plant up ready for the Spring. Richard Osborne has been involved
in a number of high profile cases and
George and Iris both intend to remain members of F.A.C.T. and to do what
acted for the Newcastle nursery
they can to fight for the cause and remain in touch with members. We thank
nurses, Christopher Lillie and Dawn
them for all their hard work and wish them a long lasting second retirement. Reed in their successful libel case.

McSparran McCormick CHRISTMAS VIGIL

The F.A.C.T. Christmas meal and vigil
will take place on 11th December at
McSparran McCormick is a family firm of solicitors based in Glasgow
with a well deserved reputation for its advocacy and for its St Chad’s in Birmingham.
friendly, efficient and professional service. As always this promises to be a
colourful affair with plenty of
We firmly believe that everyone has a right to justice. seasonal treats, a little music perhaps,
We specialise in educational law, employment law, and very good company.
adult incapacity law, civil litigation and criminal law. The vigil is once again being organised
If you have been falsely or wrongly accused then contact: by Joy Gower and her team.

McSparran McCormick The highlight of the afternoon will be

a candle lit vigil when we remember
Waterloo Chambers, 19 Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 6AH
all those men and women we support
Tel: 0141 248 7962
who have been imprisoned for
Email: mail@mcsparranmccormick.co.uk
wrongful convictions.
Further details are available from Joy.
When choosing any Solicitor, always make that decision in the
Phone: 01594 529 237
light of the reputation of the Solicitor, his experience and qualifications Email: joy-iangower@stroat.fsnet.co.uk

Nov 2010 Page 5

 Not Guilty
A former approved school
housemaster has been cleared of
sexual abuse allegations, amid
stinging criticism of police
investigators in the North East.
Roderick Ryall, 68, had been subject
to a “witch hunt” by police and
alleged victims seeking to take
advantage of his past convictions for
child abuse, Teesside Crown Court
heard.
Walking free from court yesterday,
Mr Ryall condemned police handling
of the case.
He was alleged to have abused two
teenage pupils at Aycliffe Approved
School, in County Durham, in the mid-
to-late 1960s.
He was also accused of molesting a
nine-year-old cub scout in the mid-
1970s when he was director of social
services in Calderdale, West
Yorkshire.
But Mr Ryall’s barrister, Tania
Griffiths QC, said the complainants
had used knowledge of sex offence
convictions from 1988 to “jump on a
bandwagon” to win compensation.
She branded the latest investigation,
by Durham Police, as a farce from
start to finish – an accusation that
was denied.
Outside court, Mr Ryall’s solicitor
Chris Saltrese said investigators were
relying on the jury’s prejudice against
a convicted sex offender to win the
case.
Mr Ryall had described the charges
made against him as “complete and
utter rubbish”.
Directing the jury of eight women and
four men to return not-guilty verdicts
after they heard two weeks of
evidence, Judge George Moorhouse
said it had been impossible for Mr
Ryall to receive a fair trial.
Page 6
Hundreds or Thousands?
Just how many professionals are falsely accused annually?
F.A.C.T. responds to an article published on the 20th August in Community Care which
quoted F.A.C.T. as suggesting that thousands of professionals are falsely accused
each year. The article was published without F.A.C.T. being asked for any prior
comment or explanation.
Dear Editor,
My attention has been drawn to an article written by Camilla Pemberton which
appeared in Community Care on the 20th August under the title “Should
children’s social work be a touch free zone?”.
The article quotes F.A.C.T. as saying “there are no official figures [of false
allegations made] but the organisation F.A.C.T. (Falsely Accused Carers and
Teachers) estimates that thousands of professionals are falsely accused in the
UK every year.”
I don’t know how you have sourced this information but it is simply not true.
In February F.A.C.T. commented on figures published by the Department of
Schools and Families when Baroness Morgan, Under Secretary of State for the
DCSF reported to Parliament that 128 local authorities provided data on 3099
allegations where action was concluded in the period 1st April 2007 to 30th
September 2007. She stated that 2.8% of the allegations were judged to be
malicious and 13.4% were judged to be unfounded. (Source Hansard HL 5th
January 2010: Col WA85).
The definition of malicious and unfounded were not explained.
On the basis of these figures (which did not include figures for Private Schools)
we projected that 10,000 allegations are dealt with annually, of which 1300 will
be considered as unfounded and 280 being regarded as malicious.
F.A.C.T. is always careful not to overstate its position and could not support the
general view that thousands of professionals are falsely accused in the UK each
year – not least of which because of the problems of defining what is meant by
‘false’.
There can be no doubt that far too many professionals are wrongly or falsely
accused each year. One such accusation is one too many but it would be wrong
to say that thousands are falsely accused each year.
We would be grateful if you would make it clear to your readers that whilst
F.A.C.T. thinks far too many unfounded allegations concerning professionals are
made each year we do not support the view that thousands of false allegations
are made each year. We think the figures of truly false allegations each year are
likely to be in their hundreds rather than their thousands. Never the less we
think it is incumbent on the Government to commission independent research
into a number of allegations made against carers, teachers and health care
professionals with a view to establishing how many are unfounded, false or
malicious.
Yours sincerely,
MB. BA (Hons) CQSW DipMSHR
National Secretary
Note: We are pleased to say that Community Care later corrected the article on its web site.
Nov 2010
 It Could Be You? Vicar Acquitted of
A man at a holiday campsite in England was lying by the side of a pool reading Historical Offences
books. Three boys and a girl aged 7-10, approached him, asking about the books A vicar and former teacher accused
one of which was a first aid manual. The girl asked him to touch her to show of molesting pupils more than 30
where her bones were. He refused. years ago has been acquitted by a
Shortly afterwards, the three boys dived into the pool. The girl asked him to play jury on all counts.
with her in the pool. He suggested that her father should play with her instead, The Rev. James Wilson was found
assuming him to be one of those present by the pool. She replied that he never not guilty by a jury of 16 counts of
played with her. Out of compassion, the man pulled and pushed her along in the indecently assaulting children under
pool for 1-2 minutes, then asked her, “happy now?”. She smiled, replied “yes”,
the age of 13.
and went to another man in the pool who started playing with her.
Canon Wilson, the Rector and Rural
The pool attendant accused the man of abusing her, saying she was an ex-police
Dean of Calstock in South East
officer; obviously having been trained that a man who cares for other people's
Cornwall, left the dock without
children must be a child abuser. She said she was going to “check him out”.
saying a word after the verdicts were
The man was also a member of a church, and heard nothing of this until, about read out.
7-8 months later, he took some children, with their parent's permission, to visit
The jury had deliberated for seven
another church. Shortly afterwards, he was visited at home by two police
hours and six minutes following the
officers, stating extremely minor allegations against him from the camp, none of
eight-day trial at Plymouth Crown
which were true. This worried him him a great deal so he wrote to the police.
Court.
Later a police officer visited him personally and he truthfully explained in detail,
about his stay at the campsite. During the trial, Mr Wilson told the
court that he was responsible for the
As a result, the policeman telephoned him at home, stating conclusively that he
teaching of English, literacy and
did not believe the allegations. He said that he only came to advise him what
reading.
people were saying but that as he did not have a criminal record he should forget
about the incident, and that he did not need to advise anyone of it. An enhanced He told the court: “In the 70s, we
CRB disclosure made 8 months later did not disclose the allegations. were encouraged to create a family
atmosphere. Sometimes the children
However, church leaders who had been told of the incident began to talk about
would lean on my shoulder.
him behind his back, actually lying to him about the situation, so he followed the
procedure in the Data Protection Act, requesting records from police, churches “Sometimes they would sit on my
and social services. Police records showed that they had recorded that he was lap if they were concerned or
“suspected” of abuse but that no complaint had been made. The record had a worried about something.
‘weed date’ of about a further month. The date of inclusion of the record was “I never touched any of them in a
the day after he had simply asked his original church leader what was going on. way that was inappropriate.”
The church leader had told him he could work with children in other churches,
A former high-ranking police officer
“but not here”.
spoke in Mr Wilson’s defence during
Six months later, Social Services stated they would not disclose what they had on the trial.
file, despite the Data Protection Act requiring them to do so within 40 days. In a
Nicholas Crowhurst, a former chief
later letter a senior police officer stated “at no time did (the officer who came to
superintendent with Devon &
see you) state that he did not believe the allegations”. Clearly, one or more of
Cornwall Police, acted as a character
the police was lying. It was unfortunate that he had followed the prescribed
witness.
route of the Data Protection Act when he did, because the erroneous record
would have been ‘weeded out’, whereas they now keep it on permanent record, Mr Crowhurst, who has lived in
simply because he contested it. Calstock for about 23 years, said he
Eventually, the man falsely accused needed another Enhanced Disclosure for his had not heard “a whisper, not a
employment. On this, the false allegation was recorded, this time amended to suspicion — nothing” regarding Mr
indecent assault and “the victim did not wish to make a complaint”. Wilson over the past 17 years.

The man lost his job; his employers had no interest in listening to reason. He saw He said Mr Wilson had a “good
no success in complaining to the CRB, who would obviously say the police were reputation, particularly for his social
reporting truthfully and he cannot afford legal representation. work with the lower end of the
The name of the author of this fairly typical account has been withheld. If you privilege scale — the poor, the
have a similar story to tell please let us know. dispossessed, the sick”.

Nov 2010 Page 7

 F.A.C.T. Annual General Meeting
May I, on behalf of your national
committee welcome you all to today’s
A.G.M. and Conference.
As you will all be aware I shall be
relinquishing the chair today;
regretfully having achieved little of
what I had hoped to do during my
tenure in office. However I assure you
that it has not been for the want of
trying. One rather worrying and
grossly unfair proceeding, which has
been in the forefront of the news this
year especially, and has certainly taken
much of my time since I took the Chair
last year, is the C.R.B. checking and the
I.S.A. vetting and barring proceedings.
Members may have noted the small
concessions that have been made in
the I.S.A. and C.R.B. requirements
regarding the need for registration.
These minor compromises were made
directly in line with some of the points
which F.A.C.T. had presented to the
Children, Schools and Families inquiry
early last year, both verbally and in
writing. Regrettably the concessions
do not go far enough and F.A.C.T. will
continue to press for exemptions from
listing where the allegations against
any teacher are clearly and obviously
suspect.
Let me give you three examples of the
kind of claims which can ruin the
career prospects of a teacher.
I received a call from – let’s call him
Joe. Joe had been suspended from his
post as a teacher because he had been
accused of assault on a pupil. The
‘assault’ was in fact his trying to assist
a child with a plaster cast on his arm,
to put on his jacket and to do so had
to hold the boy’s shoulder and pull the
sleeve of the jacket over the plaster
cast.
The second was in many ways a similar
story, the teacher - we’ll call him
Harry, went to pass a girl pupil and
accidentally brushed against her arm
causing her to spoil her writing. He
Page 8
Chairman’s Address
apologized and as he said sorry rhetoric; information often erroneous,
touched her hair, you may think that is still being listed and added to the
that is a simple act of contrition on the ‘record’ held by these bodies.
part of the teacher. But it was At the Spring conference I said that
recorded as an assault and in both the wind of change was blowing, in
these instances the full might of the that F.A.C.T. is frequently approached
system came into force. by different elements of the national
In yet another instance a person had media for information and opinion, as
in writing, from his employer, that well as names. Earlier this year I
information given to the C.R.B. had recorded a programme for B.B.C.
been in error, and had received a Northwest Today on the subject of
letter from that organisation stating C.R.B checks. Regrettably the
that they had nothing on record. He programme was cut short and F.A.C.T.
has since found that the I.S.A. have got only a very brief mention.
chosen to record some information; The first week in August I received
where it was obtained from or what it telephone calls from several different
consists of, he has no idea at present! regions of the B.B.C requesting
What little I did achieve has helped at information and have also had several
least two people who telephoned the producers of current affairs
help line, whilst I was the person programmes requesting assistance. I
answering calls. To their delight they am sure that you will have seen
have managed to have their names articles in the printed media calling
removed from C.R.B. listing. into question different aspects of the
So as much as I regret having to say it; judicial system.
it would appear that the promises Unfortunately this progress is to some
which were given by Sir Roger considerable extent negated by the
Singleton at our conference in May introduction of the so called Sarah’s
2008 appear to have been empty law, which according to the
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government department responsible
has already saved sixty children from
abuse! How on earth they can make
such a ludicrous statement is utterly
beyond me. I readily acknowledge that
I am not in the same league as
Einstein, but perhaps some
government desk pilot can explain to
me, and to you, how it is that they can
prove a negative when nobody else
has ever been able to do so! I regret to
say that the ‘evidence’ that they used
to come to that conclusion is about as
reliable as that used to convict so
many men and women of alleged
abuse!
I remember, as I am sure many of you
can, the Dinas Powys conferences and
the introduction of H.A.A.P. the
historic abuse appeals panel - how
excited we all were, this was going to
make a difference, then the
Government withdrew the funding!
Then later at the same venue we were
told of the new Independent Police
Complaints Commission which would
be examining complaints of
irregularities or malpractice in police
investigations.
Neither of these has served to greatly
assist us in our quest for genuine
justice! F.A.C.T. has come a long way
since the days of several support
groups, it has evolved and changed
over the past ten years, which we
celebrated last year, and is now
recognised nationally, and is often
approached by Government
Departments for information.
I intend now to depart from the
traditional Chairman’s report, and turn
my attention to some rather
disturbing and to my mind sinister
background factors which I have
elicited during my research into a new
document which will be titled
‘Presumed Guilty’.
I had taken it upon myself to further
research these factors of which I had
no previous knowledge until they
came to my attention recently. The
first concerns The Criminal Justice and
Nov 2010
Public Order Act 1994; sections 32
and 33. These sections (32 & 33) of
the Act dispense with the necessity for
corroboration of prosecution
evidence! Section 33 is specific to
offences of a sexual nature.
Though originally the emphasis was
specifically intended to apply to rape
cases, where there is constant concern
regarding what is thought to be too
few cases brought to trial, its remit has
been extended to encompass a much
wider range of offending. This section
(33) is very clearly intended to
‘improve’ the conviction rate in cases
brought before the courts; and in
conjunction with the change from
‘strikingly similar’ to’ similar fact
‘makes it almond impossible for an
innocent person to challenge the
prosecution evidence; irrespective of
how obviously implausible it might be!
In practice the C.P.S. need only to
present claimants statements, without
any need for corroboration to obtain a
conviction. You are no longer innocent
until proven guilty; you are guilty
unless you can prove your innocence!
These changes in the application of
the law in respect of sexual offending
may have implications for other forms
of offending. There appears to be a
more sinister approach in cases of
historic abuse allegations which
appear to fall into the category of
noble cause corruption!
Reading the National Institute of
Justice journal published by the
American Justice Department I
encountered the term ‘Noble Cause
Corruption’ in an article by Sir John
Woodstock. I will continue with my
departure from tradition in order to
expound upon this concept of Noble
Cause Corruption which I believe that
we may find to be of some very
considerable interest.
The late Lord Chief Justice, Lord
Denning, stated “IT MAY BE BETTER
THAT INNOCENT PEOPLE SHOULD
SERVE LIFE SENTENCES THAN THAT
THE LAW SHOULD BE SEEN TO MAKE
GROSS ERRORS”.
This statement is the epitome of the
concept of noble cause corruption,
and as you will hear, it is applied even
when no crime has been committed! I
suspect that it was applied in the
Historic Abuse Allegations
prosecutions and trials.
This format for corruption is divisible
into two categories; Deontological and
Teleological; it is the latter which I
want to draw to your attention. The
teleological or – end orientated –
approach to what is thought to be an
ethical dilemma; says that law
enforcement professionals can, and
will, utilize unethical, and sometimes
illegal, means to obtain the desired
end. Put simply this means that police
might violate legal or ethical standards
in pursuit of what they think will
benefit society. What that really
means is obtaining convictions by any
possible means!
THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS
One common example of noble cause
corruption according to the journal of
the National Institute of Justice, is the
fabrication of evidence to ensure a
conviction, in a case where police
suspect guilt, or a crime, but have
insufficient evidence to support their
claim.
I readily acknowledge that this is an
American journal, and it is not
necessarily transferable to the U.K. But
let me remind you that Sarah’s law is
the anglicized version of an American
concept. The S.O.T.P. and such
behaviour modification courses were
brought in from America. You may
think of a number of other similar
transfers; like the compensation
culture which dominates society
today!
I simply ask that you draw your own
conclusions; consider the 1994 Act in
conjunction with the similar fact
evidence, as I have outlined them -
and the stated criteria for Noble Cause
Corruption; andcontinued
apply these factors
on page to1
12, col
Page 9
 F.A.C.T. Annual General Meeting
This has been a difficult year for me so
I want to begin first by thanking all
those of you who have helped me
throughout, and particularly during
the periods when I have not been
well. Your thoughts and good will
messages have been much
appreciated.
In particular I want to thank George
and Iris for their support. As you may
know they are both intending to take
a well deserved rest from front line
F.A.C.T. work. George has covered the
helpline when it was necessary to do
so, has supplied numerous articles for
FACTion, and also arranged this year’s
Spring Conference. Iris too has been a
tower of strength in arranging our
Committee meetings, answering
correspondence and in supporting
George, particularly in ‘project
innocents’. The project is now virtually
complete and I know George is keen
to have it published as soon as
possible under the title of Presumed
Guilty. I also want to congratulate
George for his work with the Press,
and in particular with Daniel Foggo of
the Times. George has also given
interviews on radio. Of one thing we
can all be sure – we shall miss George
and Iris’ input but I am sure they will
still continue to support the work we
do. On your behalf I wish them both
every good wish for the future and
thank them for all their work on our
behalf. (At this point a presentation
was made to George and Iris.)
I would also like to thank the rest of
the Committee for their support and
understanding especially during the
period when I was ill with pleurisy and
had to slow down. I would particularly
like to thank Ian (A) for keeping us on
track financially, and Joy and Ian for
all they have done on our behalf
during the past year.
Page 10
National Secretary’s Address
Our membership numbers have progress. We also need to re-examine
increased slightly this year and it is our approach to lobbying.
interesting that significantly more During recent months we have been
people are requesting membership very pleased to receive some offers of
forms via e-mail to the membership direct help. With this in mind a
secretary. number of people have been invited
The number of members in prison to attend the next committee meeting
continues to decrease and we have on the 25th September, here in St.
less than 20 still in prison which is Chad’s, to see if we can utilize their
good – this however means that the skills and make better progress. If you
number who are out and still trying to feel you have a particular interest or
clear their names continues to concern which does not feature
increase, being now in excess of 70. particularly on F.A.C.T’s. current
The National Committee held agenda please let me know and we
meetings in October 2009, and in will try and accommodate you.
January, March and June 2010 when a As you will be aware from today’s
full range of subjects were discussed. agenda I have decided not to stand as
Regretfully a number of issues on secretary this year. My decision not to
which I had personally hoped to make do so has been made much easier by
progress have slipped. These include the fact we have an excellent
applying to the Esme Fairburn candidate in Ian. If elected Ian will
Foundation for funding, the setting up need some time to settle and I am
of a CRB special interest group and sure you will all be patient and give
the development of the Trust Fund. him your total support. Ian’s wife
These remain priorities and I hope Margarethe has also agreed to fill the
next year we can report significant vacancy of minute secretary in place
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Nov 2010
of Iris who is retiring from this
position.
This pattern of spouse and partners
helping each other in F.A.C.T. is now a
well established feature. Without this
support I know things would be very
much harder for a number of us. So
on behalf of all those in this lucky
position can I say thank you to the
other half of the team.
I do however intend to remain an
active member of F.A.C.T. and hope to
continue having responsibility for
FACTion and the website – both of
which have also been neglected a bit
this year. As I have said in the past it is
important that whatever F.A.C.T. does
it does well, and that it does not fall in
to the trap of believing that doing
more is necessarily a good thing.
Some things will need to be done
more efficiently and maybe
differently.
One of the things that I hope to do
over the next 12 months is to make
the helpline internet based rather
than phone based, and provide quality
information exclusively for F.A.C.T.
members. This might also help us
increase membership.
Broadly speaking most people who
now make contact with us initially do
so through the internet so making
these changes, which will occur
gradually over the next 12 months,
ought not to disadvantage anyone.
You will also see from the agenda that
I have agreed to put my name forward
as Chairman. My aims, if elected, are:-
Firstly to ensure that there is a
sufficiently large body of people on
the Committee to take F.A.C.T.
forward and to share the workload.
Secondly to develop F.A.C.T. as an
‘issues led’ organisation. F.A.C.T. has
always been able to adjust to
changing circumstances. Initially it
was driven by individual’s campaigns;
later it became region led, and then
some years later it developed a
Nov 2010
national identity. Whilst all of these
elements continue to be important I
now think the time has come for it to
become ‘issues led’ rather than
‘region led’ so that, for example, we
can have individuals reporting on and,
where necessary, challenging specific
areas of concern to us. Some of these
areas have already been established
such as prisoner welfare, sex
offenders register, parole etc. but
others remain undeveloped. These
include, for example, CRB issues,
listing issues, investigative
conduct/misconduct, employment
issues, Government and local
government issues, Scotland/
Northern Irish, and Welsh issues, as
well as issues relating to specific fields
such as education, social services,
probation. What I would like to see is
everyone on the Committee taking
responsibility for monitoring and
engaging with a specific area of
interest. In the longer term this may
mean altering the shape and the size
of the committee so, in the mean
time, I am proposing that the number
of co-opted members is allowed to be
increased to six.
F.A.C.T. has been blessed with
excellent chairmen and women over
the years and it will be a hard act to
follow. I don’t have Rory’s diplomatic
skills, Gail’s tenacity or George’s
commanding presence. What I do
have is a clear vision as to what
F.A.C.T. should be and what needs to
be done to achieve this.
My style generally is one of
moderation, reasoned argument and
a dogged approach to problem
solving. Essentially I am a pragmatist
driven by two abiding truths.
Firstly, that children are sometimes
abused or mistreated by their
teachers and/or carers, but that on
occasions they (and their
parents/supporting professionals)
misconstrue events, exaggerate
circumstances and make false and
sometimes malicious allegations.
Secondly there is an overriding
presumption of the guilt of those
accused of abusing or mistreating
children (and vulnerable adults) which
has become institutionalised in
investigative bodies, public protection
agencies (including the police and
probation), the judiciary and large
sections of the general public.
In both of these areas progress is
being made but it is painfully slow and
a lot still needs to done before we can
say we have turned the corner.
For all of these reasons I again ask for
your support and an endorsement of
my approach.
Thank you for coming today and for
supporting the work we do.
Michael
National Secretary
Sept 2010
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Page 11
 continued from page 9
your own circumstances. My belief is
that they combine to make a prima
facie case; which accounts for what
was to my mind an apparently
manufactured hysteria connected to
the alleged paedophile rings in
children’s homes. Alternatively the
deliberate legal manipulation of the
historic abuse prosecutions and
trials!
Therefore as much as I regret having
to say it, I fear that the prospect of
any change with regard to the
historic abuse allegations is
extremely doubtful, because it does
not serve the requirements of
government. But does fit very nicely
into the concept of noble cause.
Despite this negative account of
what I believe is the cause of so
many innocent people being
convicted of crimes that had never
taken place Iris and I have prepared a
paper, which a sub-group drawn
from the national committee has
examined and discussed at some
considerable length. This paper will
be presented to a wide range of
influential bodies in support of
F.A.C.T. next month.
I will close by thanking those
members of the committee who
were responsible for today’s A.G.M.
and conference. May I wish you all
the very best of good fortune in the
future.
May God be with you,
George
FACTion
We welcome letters, articles or
information of between 20 and
2000 words for publication.
We do however reserve the right to
edit any article or letter.
Please send them, by email if
possible, to michael@factuk.org
All submissions must be
accompanied by your name and
Page 12
FACT Conference: Key Note Speech
This year the key note conference speech was given by Josie Appleton. Director of
the Manifesto Club. Her talk was appropriately titled Vetting Database and Child
Protection Issues: Paranoia in the Context of Growing State Regulation of Everyday
Relationships.
Josie began her speech by explaining that the Manifesto Club was set up when they
heard that 9 million adults were going to be entered on to a database and subject
to constant criminal record vetting. This is what she said..
We thought this was unbelievable, 9 million adults subject to State clearance. Never
before had the State intervened in everyday life spaces in this way. We were
shocked, especially so when no one else saw it as a problem. We contacted several
MPs Many agreed with us but said basically there is not much we can do - we’d just
be seen as friends of paedophiles. We were even more shocked. If the basis of
Parliamentary scrutiny breaks down out of fear of stating the obvious what chance
is there? [Applause]
The new vetting rules have been created in a climate of suspicion largely because of
Huntley and the terrible crimes he committed. Since then there has been a great
clamour in the name of child protection to impose ever more vetting. However this
has very little to do with child protection - it actually makes that job harder - what it
is about is State management and the regulation of people - it’s nothing to do with
identifying real cases of abuse. It’s about managing people - mostly decent adults
who have done nothing wrong.
It is also predicated on assumptions about ‘abuse’. These assumptions have led to a
dangerous shift in the cultural understanding of what abuse is. For example, as far
as the CRB and the State are concerned everyone is a potential abuser - you are a
paedophile until proven otherwise. In the past abusive behaviour was seen as a
deviation from the norm - now it is seen being the norm. Similarly the State view of
abuse is primarily about the nature of trusting relationships with children. Now if
you develop trusting relationships with children, say as a sports coach, you are
perceived to be a risk. What vetting databases and child protection systems indicate
is that when adults developing trusting relationships with children there must be a
risk. Trusting relationships are now viewed as a problem not as the norm. The more
you are trusted the greater the risk you pose. Caring behaviour which would have
been considered normal is now seen as latent abuse. You see this in child protection
procedures. You can’t photograph children in a school play or during medal
moments on school sports days. You can’t put a plaster on a child’s knee. What this
means is that normal behaviour is now being re-defined as abnormal behaviour and
has become a complete reversal of what the meaning of abuse should be.
Being CRB’d is now seen as a status symbol. It provides the holder with a ‘safe adult
card’ and sanctifies safe relationships. As a result people have an unbelievable
belief in being CRB’d and wear the status as though it were a badge of honour.
However if you examine the number of high profile child protection cases none
would have been prevented by CRB procedures. Not Huntley, Hamilton or Vanessa
George yet all are held up as demonstrating the need for robust child protection
and vetting procedures. You have to ask, if not one of these tragedies would have
have prevented by such a system, what logic is there in requiring 9 million people to
be CRB’d at substantial cost to the tax payer.
If you resist the need to be CRB’d you are seen as being an abuser. We know of one
person who objected to being CRBs on conscientious grounds who has been
referred to the ISA on the basis that he must pose a threat to children.
The position is getting absurd. I have seen 100 page child protection procedures
where 20 or so pages are dedicated to the safe photography of children. This
reminds me of medieval law. If you have a procedure you must be safe!
Nov 2010
Following a procedure does not by itself make you safe. It’s about State control and
Nettie Hewins
maintaining rules which become even more bizarre over time. For example rules
In a departure from its usual practice
relating to the transporting of children. Taking a group of children to a football
the F.A.C.T. conference put on
practice has become a veritable minefield. You need two adults ,one of each sex,
and have to take all sorts of additional safeguards. dualogue by Gail Saunders and
Margaret Gardener concerning Nettie
The travesty is that because positive relationships and trust are viewed as latent
Hewin’s wrongful conviction in a
abuse it becomes safer not to relate to children. Surveys have shown that men are
murder case of arson with intent.
very reluctant to intervene if a child is hurt or believed to be at risk. Not surprisingly
there have been a number of cases where children have not received help because The play was conceived by Dennis
male passers by have not intervened - in some cases leading to serious injury and Eady, campaign co-ordinator for
even the death of a child. What child protection does is make a virtue out of South Wales against Wrongful
distance rather than closeness. Convictions as part of his PhD.
People all over the country have changed the way they behave. Men don’t know Dennis, who is interested in
how to respond. They avoid parks, won’t talk to children on the bus or train. individual experiences of mis-
Foreigners can’t understand us and all too often get caught out by our cultural view carriages of justice, interviewed
of child protection. Annette Hewins, popularly known as
Nettie. He tells how at the time of
There has been another shift in the way professionals tackle child abuse and as a
the interview his carefully considered
result it becomes much harder to identify and tackle real abusers. You see this in the
ISA who make barring decisions without ever seeing the person considered to be a
list of questions became superfluous
risk. Often this is a result of information overload and over zealous professionals. as Nettie related her entire
Effectively the buck is passed on to them. Few of them are trained except in experience in one take.
structured assessment techniques. When you criticise them they say you don’t care Studying the transcript later, Dennis
about children but actually they don’t care about children. All they care about is felt that it made such powerful and
computers and systems. After 4 years of campaigning we now have a review. moving testimony that he decided to
Whether the review will be a tinkering at the edges or something more substantial make it more accessible by re-writing
remains to be seen. We would want to see both schemes scraped and replaced by it in the form of a simple play. The
something more sensible. words spoken by Nettie are taken
Note: This is a shortened version of Josie’s talk due to limitation on space. We are particularly directly from the original transcript.
grateful for her talk as she stepped in at very short notice.
Gail and Margaret first performed the
play as part of the tenth anniversary
Can Anybody Hear Me?
celebrations of South Wales Liberty.
In Great Britain, first they came for the Priests and members of the Clergy They have subsequently performed it
and nobody said anything, at Cardiff University Law School as
part of the inauguration of the
Then they came for the Nuns Innocence Project, and also to staff
and nobody said any thing, and students of the Social Sciences
Department. Most recently they
Then they came for the Carers
performed it at the National
and nobody said anything, Conference of The British Society of
Then they came for the Teachers Criminology.
and yet again nobody said anything, Regretfully we cannot do justice to
the play itself nor to Gail and
Then they came for the Sports Coaches Margaret’s presentation in this
and still, nobody said anything, column except to say it was real
theatre and one of the most powerful
Then they came for the Martial Arts teachers,
presentations ever made to a F.A.C.T.
and still nobody said a word,
conference.
How long will it be before they come for you? We are grateful to them both, to
Dennis for giving us permission to put
And will anyone be left to say anything? on the play and, of course to Nettie
for being willing to share her
Sent in by Roy. Thank You Roy. experience of a devastating wrongful
conviction.

Nov 2010 Page 13

 “No Touch” Rules
Scrapped
“No touch” rules discouraging teachers
from restraining and comforting
children are to be scrapped, Education
Secretary Michael Gove has said.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr
Gove said the move was part of a “new
deal” for teachers. Teachers would also
be given the right to anonymity when
faced by allegations from pupils.
Mr Gove also promised to change the
rules on school discipline, saying the
current system was too complicated.
He said: “At the moment if you want to
become au fait with what this
department thinks on how to keep
order in class you have to read the
equivalent of War and Peace.
“There is about 500 pages of guidance
on discipline and another 500 pages on
bullying. We will clarify and shrink
that.”
Mr Gove added: “Teachers worry that
if they assert a degree of discipline,
one determined maverick pupil will say
‘I know my rights’ and so teachers
become reticent about asserting
themselves.
“There are a number of schools that
have ‘no touch’ policies and we are
going to make clear this rule does not
apply.”
The Education Secretary said he did
not believe staff should be able to hit
children.
But he added: “I do believe that
teachers need to know they can
physically restrain children, they can
interpose themselves between two
children that may be causing trouble,
and they can remove them from the
classroom”.
Teachers should be able to console all
victims of bullying, he said.
They would also be given the right to
search pupils for “anything that is
banned by the school rules”.
Mr Gove vowed to reduce the
timescale in which allegations against
teachers have to be either investigated
or dropped.
Page 14
F.A.C.T. (Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers)
Submission to the
Independent Advisory Panel on
the Disclosure of Criminal Records (IAPDCR)
Context:
1) Following the General Election the Home Secretary, Theresa May,
indicated that the Government intended to carry out a thorough
review of the retention and usage of criminal records.
2) As a result Sunita Mason the Government’s Independent Advisor for
Criminality Information Management was requested to undertake a
review of criminal records procedures and report her findings to the
Government.
3) Before taking on this role Ms Mason undertook a prior review of
related issues which were published in a report, “A Balanced Approach
- Safeguarding the public through the fair and proportionate use of
accurate criminal record information”.
4) We are grateful to Ms Mason for inviting F.A.C.T. to submit its views, in
person and in writing, as part of this current review.
Introduction:
5) F.A.C.T. (Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers) is a UK wide,
membership based, voluntary organisation whose primary aim is to
support carers, teachers and other professionals who maintain they
have been falsely accused or wrongly convicted of abuse or
misconduct in an occupational context.
6) F.A.C.T. was formed in 2002 and operates a helpline and advice centre.
CRB issues form by far the greater number of its referrals.
7) F.A.C.T. recognises however that the Criminal Records Bureau has an
important role in protecting the public, in helping strengthen
safeguarding arrangements for children and vulnerable adults, and in
helping ensure safe recruitment decisions are taken.
8) Never the less it is our view that the present system of disclosure,
particularly in relation to enhanced certificates, is fundamentally
flawed in that it is often applied without regard for common sense and
fairness.
9) We agree that the scheme in its present form raises fundamental
issues of law (especially human rights), policy (Government guidance)
and Police practice (especially inconsistencies within and between
police force areas and the Criminal Records Bureau itself).
10) We also recognise that the Criminal Records Bureau has to some
extent been unfairly criticised in that it is required to work within the
existing legal framework, which in our view needs overhauling, and is
not responsible for the content of police intelligence.
11) The present disclosure system, in so far as it relates to the recruitment
of employees and volunteers in settings where there is a safeguarding
requirement, is in danger of falling into disrepute. In part this seems to
be due to a much wider cultural problem regarding the UK’s obsession
with the need to provide more and more protection for children and
vulnerable adults. Whilst organisational improvements are needed and
can be made, significant change will not occur until the Government
Nov 2010
 takes a lead in dealing with the underlying cultural causes. BBC Figures Reveal
12) We therefore welcome this review and very much hope that it will lead to a Extent of Accusations
system which is robust, just and fair, and one which hopefully will ensure
better informed recruitment and listing decisions whilst at the same time
in Schools
providing the subjects of disclosure with opportunities to make their own More than 1700 staff in UK schools
representations about adverse findings. were accused of misbehaviour by
parents or pupils last year, figures
13) We note that the time scales for this review are very short and that it is obtained by the BBC reveal. More than
essentially about process. Never the less we think it is important to state first half of these were allegations of
principles. physical assault or “inappropriate
First Principles restraint”, Freedom of Information
data reveals.
14) Society has a right to expect that the State will afford protection to all
citizens who are vulnerable to being harmed by people who are criminally More than 1,000 of the allegations
minded, have committed a crime, or are judged on the basis of reliable related to teachers, but the rest were
evidence likely to do so in the future. against a range of other staff working
in schools, including teaching
15) In assessing the risk involved the State should act only on the basis of known assistants, catering staff, lunchtime
facts and reliable intelligence. Those who hold relevant information should assistants, learning mentors, bus and
be accountable for their decisions, including, if necessary, to an independent taxi drivers.
appeal body.
143 of those accused were dismissed
16) Citizens have a right to expect that any actual or perceived risk will be or resigned. The dismissals included a
managed in accordance with objective criteria. Opinions should be evidence mini-bus driver who was accused of
based rather than belief based. Subjective opinion has no part to play in this “unprofessional conduct with pupils”.
process. School governors and a police officer
17) The present pre-occupation with ‘zero risk’ in policing and child/adult based in a school were also the subject
protection inevitably creates injustice and on occasion false allegations. of complaints. A school governor faced
There needs to be a more credible model of risk management which takes a criminal investigation after claims of
into account the nature of the concern (severity/degree), the likelihood of sexual misconduct.
any possible repeat (recidivism v rehabilitation), and whether or not the These figures, drawn from the
circumstances described are relevant to the person’s occupational responses of more than half the local
status/work setting (relevancy). authorities in the UK, also show that
one in five complaints against school
18) Citizens have a right to expect the State to understand that people will
staff – almost 500 – were allegations
sometimes commit offences (especially in their youth and in early
about inappropriate sexual behaviour.
adulthood) but that does not necessarily mean any such risk is ever present.
People can be (and are) rehabilitated either by a maturing process, the result In total 79 criminal investigations were
of personal or professional intervention in their lives, or as a consequence of commenced as a result of allegations
from parents and pupils.
Court sanction, or a combination of these.
Complaints also included claims of bad
19) Citizens have a right to expect that information disclosed by the police to
language, inadequate supervision of
third parties will only be shared if, when it was initially disclosed, it had been
children and the misuse of technology,
properly sourced. Shared police intelligence should be limited to information
such as inappropriate use of Facebook.
which is credible, verifiable and meets recognised standards of information
management. While only a small minority of
allegations resulted in legal or
20) Good policing is dependent upon mutual respect and a ‘contract’ between disciplinary action, the survey also
the police and the public that the action taken is lawful, necessary and suggested a low level of malicious
proportionate. A great deal of harm has been done to the reputation of the intent from complainants.
police by its handling of CRB issues.
Teachers’ unions have campaigned
Legal Framework and Barriers to Change against the career-wrecking danger of
21) Increasingly in recent months there has been widespread criticism of the malicious accusations against staff –
current CRB disclosure arrangements and related safeguarding systems. The but this survey only identified 50
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority complaints last year as “false or
malicious”. Many more complaints
(ISA) have come under fierce scrutiny by the broadsheets; policy think-tanks
were labelled as “unfounded” or
continued page 16, col 2 “unsubstantiated”.

Nov 2010 Page 15

 Common Sense,
Common Safety
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
have accepted all of the
recommendations of a report
“Common Sense, Common Safety” put
forward by Lord Young, the Prime
Minister’s adviser on health and
safety law and practice.
The report follows a Whitehall-wide
review of the operation of health and
safety laws and the growth of the
compensation culture.
Common Sense, Common Safety puts
forward a series of policies for
improving the perception of health
and safety, to ensure it is taken
seriously by employers and the
general public, while ensuring the
burden on small business is as
insignificant as possible.
The report also calls for restrictions
on advertising for “no win, no fee”
compensation claims and a revolution
in the way personal injury claims are
handled.
Welcoming the report, the Prime
Minister said:
“Good health and safety is vitally
important. But all too often good,
straightforward legislation designed
to protect people from major hazards
has been extended inappropriately to
cover every walk of life, no matter
how low risk.
“A damaging compensation culture
has arisen, as if people can absolve
themselves from any personal
responsibility for their own actions,
with the spectre of lawyers only too
willing to pounce with a claim for
damages on the slightest pretext”.
Lord Young also proposes a common
sense approach to educational trips,
which currently entail a plethora of
forms to fill in, deterring teachers and
others who work with children from
arranging any trips at all. He
recommends a single consent form
covering all activities a child might
undertake at school.
Page 16
such as the Manifesto Club, Spiked, The Register; campaign groups such as
Liberty, Unlock, NACRO, FASO; and by employer’s organisations and trades
unions. Julie Spence, the former Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Police,
has also recently written an article in the Daily Telegraph criticising existing
arrangements and stressing the need for a more common-sense approach to
criminal records checks.
22) The Police Act 1997 (Section 115)
In summary this places a duty on Chief Constables to provide potential
employers with any information which might be relevant AND ought to be
included. In our view this duty is too broad in scope in that it permits
disclosure of information, some of it often historic or stale in nature which
ranges from mere gossip obtained by the police for whatever reason and in
whatever circumstances, to verifiable facts properly obtained in a police
investigation. We believe this part of the Police Act needs to be revised so
that the police can only release information:-
a) Judged to be relevant (rather than might be relevant). There should
be a requirement for Chief Constables to meet a statutory test of
relevance in terms of the post applied for, the nature of police concern,
including when and how the information arose, and why it remains
relevant to the present day.
b) Obtained in relation to a police inquiry into the subject’s a) alleged
criminal behaviour and/or b) alleged misconduct which has safeguarding
implications.
23) Home Office Circular 5/2005
It is not clear whether this circular sets out statutory or non statutory
guidance. Although its purpose is to help the police decide what information
is relevant and ought to be included on a certificate of disclosure, it is too
broad in nature to have any impact.
24) The Circular places a test of reasonableness, relevance and proportionality
on the police in terms of any information they wish to disclose to a
prospective employer. In our view there is often a mismatch between what
the general public, and indeed some employers and the police might regard
as being relevant, as the following examples illustrate. A conviction for
poaching incurred some 30 years previously hardly seems relevant in the
case of a teacher applying for a Deputy Headteacher position. A police
investigation into an alleged sexual assault where the accused (an adult)
who had no previous convictions or police history was found not guilty and
told he left the Court without a stain on his character, hardly seems relevant
to a subsequent application many years later by the accused’s mother to
provide supportive lodgings, when the accused rarely visits his mother and
lives some 150 miles from her home.
25) Para 11(b) of the circular places a responsibility on Chief Constables to
indicate whether the subject poses a risk. In F.A.C.T.’s experience the police
very rarely meet this requirement, preferring instead to correctly point out
that it is entirely up to the employer whether or not they appoint him/her.
We take the view that if there was a risk the police would say so. In effect
what they do is turn the issue of risk on its head by implying that the
employer might be taking a risk should they decide to engage this person.
26) In our view the issue of risk of re-offending or repeat behaviour needs to be
re-evaluated. The issue is driven by far too many myths and assumptions,
particularly in respect of drug and alcohol misuse, and more particularly
Nov 2010
 sexual offending – alleged or otherwise. Little credence is given to the fact Met Police Want to
that offences of these types vary in degree from the less serious to the very
serious. This is particularly true of drug related offences and sex offences.
Make It Harder For
27) Furthermore it is often assumed that alcohol, drug, or sexual offenders are
People to Sue Them
addicted to their crimes and pose considerable risk. This may be true of According to reports in the media Sir
some but is not true of all, or indeed the majority. Indeed in the case of Paul Stephenson, the Commissioner of
the Metropolitan Police, wants to
sexual offenders the Government’s own research shows that of all the
make it harder for people to take legal
offending groups they are the least likely to re-offend.
action against his force, the Guardian
28) Paradoxically, consideration of offending behaviour is often lost in the has learned.
principle that the more serious the offence the greater the risk. This is not
Critics say the plans amount to an
only dangerous but also fails to recognise the valuable role that recovered
attempt by the police to put
alcoholics and drug abusers can make to therapeutic intervention. themselves beyond the rule of law and
29) Intellectual corruption of this sort not only serves to promote prejudice undermine constitutional safeguards
(including amongst professionals) but fuels a moral panic that children (and against abuses of power. The Met’s
others) are very likely to be abused by delinquent carers, teachers, health chief says money is being wasted on
care professionals and any other man who dedicates their life to helping speculative claims, with lawyers
children (and their families), whether as part of a paid job or as an unpaid gaining large fees that would be better
worker in the local community. spent fighting crime.

30) We believe that the question of perceived recidivism and rehabilitation The Commissioner wants to:
needs to be re-examined in light of powers given to the Criminal Records • Make it harder for people to sue the
Bureau (in so far as it relates to enhanced disclosures), the ISA and other police for damages in civil actions.
listing bodies, and changing recruitment practice. These usually involve allegations of
brutality or wrongful arrest.
31) We believe that where it can be shown that the offending behaviour (i.e.
conduct that has resulted in a conviction) has not been present for a • Load higher costs on to officers and
substantial period of time no reference should be made to it except in the other staff suing police forces at
gravest circumstances. We note that previously the police employed a step employment tribunals.
down model of disclosure based on the severity of the offence and the • Charge the public a fee for freedom
intervening timescale. Whilst we think the scheme had some merit in terms of information requests. The Freedom
of disclosure decisions relating to convictions it could be easily circumvented of Information Act is supposed to help
by employers. We are never the less disappointed that the scheme has been citizens hold public bodies to account.
abandoned and would urge that consideration be given to imposing a Last night, Stephenson’s proposals
statutory scheme with similar aims. were opposed by an alliance of human
rights lawyers and civil liberties
32) Of more concern to us, however, is the fact that there is no comparable
groups. The main body representing
scheme for dealing with police intelligence which describes conduct which
rank and file police officers attacked
falls short of criminal behaviour or describes alleged criminal activity when
the employment tribunal plans.
the subject has been found not guilty. It would of course be absurd if a step
Solicitor Louise Christian denounced
down model existed which prevented the disclosure of a criminal record
the suggestion: “It’s clearly an attempt
after a set period of time, when no such scheme existed in relation to ‘soft’ by the police to escape the rule of law.
information held on those who are legally innocent. When access to justice is denied, the
33) Should the practice of sharing ‘soft intelligence’ be considered a necessary principle of the rule of law is damaged.
requirement of public protection, we believe there should be a presumption The rich and powerful can always go
of innocence or minimal risk where it can be shown that the subject has not to court, it’s people without means
repeated the recorded behaviour AND has (or had) no further relevant who can’t.”
involvement with the police for a defined period. We suggest that this period James Welch, legal director of the civil
should be set at between 2 and 10 years depending on the nature of the rights group Liberty, said: “The ability
concern and assessment of risk. to challenge police misconduct in
court is a vital constitutional safeguard
34) We think it important that the Government recognises that the principle that
against abuse of power.
you are innocent until you are proven guilty appears not to hold true for the
Police and the Criminal Records Bureau. The Government needs to “A service bound to uphold the rule of
understand that it is deeply offensive to have information recorded about law should not attempt to carve out
an exception for itself.”
continued page 18, col 1

Nov 2010 Page 17

 yourself on a certificate of disclosure issued by Criminal
Records Bureau when you have no convictions, or indeed
may never have appeared before a Court. We think
immediate action should be taken to remedy this,
possibly by changing the name of the Criminal Records
Bureau to Police Information and Criminal Records
Bureau or Criminal Records and Police Intelligence
Bureau. This would not only be a more honest description
but also much less stigmatising, and one which employers
would more readily understand.
35) It should be noted that according to Paras 19 -21 of the
Circular, disclosed “information must be credible, clear
and capable of being substantiated”. Whilst this is a
necessary requirement it does put the cart before the
horse; what is important is that the act referred to is (or
was) capable of being substantiated. This would reduce
the potential to record mere gossip, or vengeful accounts
given by spouses/partners in domestic/marital
proceedings, or child care/access disputes.
36) The circular also makes it clear that the power to disclose
additional information to the employer and to include it
on the certificate itself should only be used in exceptional
circumstances. This information is not normally made
available to the subject. In our view all information
disclosed by the police should be made available to the
subject except where there is an ongoing police
investigation concerning the subject which, for
operational reasons, the police cannot disclose to
him/her.
37) Good Police Practice: Guidance on the Management of
Police Information and Statutory Code of Practice.
Following the passing of the Police Act 1997 several
measures have been taken to improve the management
of police information. By implication the necessity to do
so is an admission that recording practice was not as good
as it should have been and that the necessary safeguards
for the police and the subjects concerned were not in
place. This reality is not however reflected in current
police practice concerning the disclosure of historical
information to which, in our view, special rules need to be
applied.
In 2005, following the recommendation of the Bichard
Inquiry, ACPO and the National Centre for Policing
Excellence (NCPE) issued Guidance on the Management of
Police Information.
(http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/policies/Data/MoPI%20Guid
ance_INTER_03.03.06.pdf)
38) This came into effect on 14th November 2005. This
guidance provides a very useful background to many of
the issues the review will want to consider, including in
particular:
a) The Five Stages of Information Management:
Collection, Recording, Evaluation and Actioning,
Sharing, Review, Retention and Disposal.
Page 18
b) Important data ‘quality principles’:
Accuracy, Adequacy, Relevance and Timeliness.
c) A 5x5x5 Information/Intelligence Reporting
Model:
The 5x5x5 model is a very useful tool which allows
the police service to manage and evaluate
information which has risk attached to it, or is given
to the police in confidence by a member of the public
- whether or not in the course of their employment.
Information is graded according to whether the
source is always reliable (A), mostly reliable (B),
sometimes reliable (C), unreliable (D), and never
reliable (D). It is also subject to information
intelligence gathering based on whether the
information is: known to be true without reservation
(1), known personally to the source but not to the
person reporting (2), known personally to the source
but uncorroborated (3), cannot be judged (4), or
suspected to be false (5).
d) We believe that a model similar to this should be
applied in circumstances where ‘soft’ intelligence is
shared. Currently prospective employers are in an
invidious position in having to make their own
assessment of the events described.
39) CRB Code of Practice
The new CRB Code of Practice primarily sets out the
obligations and responsibilities for registered persons and
other recipients of information. We note that this code is
much reduced compared with the previous code. There
are two compliance issues which we wish to draw to your
attention.
a) Firstly the increasing numbers of employers who
seek enhanced disclosures even though the jobs they
wish to be covered do not fit in with the existing
criteria.
b) Secondly a failure to properly secure disclosures
issued by the CRB.
Both suggest there is a need for some form of inspection
to ensure compliance.
40) Case Law:
There have been several attempts to clarify the legal
position of those affected by adverse certificates of
disclosure. These include:- R (X) V Chief Constable of West
Midlands, the Five Chief Constables Case v the
Information Commissioner, and R (on the application of L)
(FC) (Appellant) v Commissioner of Police of the
Metropolis (Respondent). In addition there have been a
small number of judicial reviews of which the Pinnington
case attracted the most media attention.
41) It is not necessary for me to go into detail about the
findings in each of these cases except to say that whilst
individual aspects in each case have been criticised by
Judges the Courts have upheld the Police’s right to
Nov 2010
 disclose information to prospective employers, even
though it might be inaccurate. We believe this is
fundamentally wrong. In essence the Courts have said
that Parliament intended the law to be as it is and it is up
to Parliament to change it if it so wishes. Human rights
issues have been advanced with limited success; never
the less there are in our view significant issues regarding
the right to a fair hearing and the right to a private life.
Critical Issues (in brief)
42) The present disclosure system (in so far as it relates to
recruitment of paid and unpaid workers in settings where
there is a safeguarding requirement) is in danger of falling
into disrepute. Whilst organisational improvements are
needed and can be achieved, significant change will not
occur until the Government takes positive action to deal
with the underlying cultural issues in relation to public
attitudes towards the need for child protection.
43) It is generally accepted that the UK has one of the
toughest child protection regimes in the world. Whilst this
is not necessarily a bad thing it should not be at the
expense of essential freedoms and just solutions to
complex issues.
44) We agree that there should be a radical overhaul of the
role of the listing bodies, including the Independent
Safeguarding Authority, the General Social Care Council,
the General Teaching Council, and similar bodies. There
are now so many that their very existence is being called
into question. Whilst we believe there is a strong case for
rationalising safeguarding provision we do not wish to see
the CRB abolished – reformed yes, but not abolished.
Indeed we think there is a powerful argument for
increasing its role, if necessary, at the expense of the
other bodies, so that it can act independently of the police
and provide for a statutory appeal mechanism so that the
subject of a disclosure can appeal against any adverse
findings. We believe this appeal process should take the
form of a Police Information and Criminal Records Appeal
Tribunal with full statutory powers.
45) We endorse the need for a common sense approach to
safeguarding generally. Surely common sense tells us that
children and vulnerable adults are only at risk when the
opportunity to abuse exists. Thus, normal contact
with children and vulnerable adults (outside the one-to-
one situation) should not require automatic vetting unless
it involves personal or intimate care.
46) Risk assessments require a proportionate, common sense
approach. Whenever the level of risk is considered
unacceptably high the police should ensure a risk
assessment is carried out by a competent professional at
Police expense.
47) New rules need to be established in respect of those
who:-
a) Have been found not guilty of a relevant offence.
Nov 2010
b) Have been convicted but who win their
appeal and have their convictions quashed.
In both cases the individuals have been subjected to the full
process of the Law.
The effect of being not guilty or of overturning your conviction
should be to return the accused to the status they enjoyed
before the allegation was made. In the eyes of the law they
are innocent and there should be no question of the police
being able to make judgements which lead to the
legal proceedings being disclosed, or giving an adverse opinion
as to the person’s suitability. The police view is an opinion; the
conclusion of the Law is a fact.
An Agenda For Change : There is a need ….
1 for the CRB to be renamed and for its role to be
strengthened so that it can act independently of Chief
Constables.
2 to institute a statutory appeal mechanism against ad-
verse comments on [enhanced] CRBs.
3 to repeal/amend Section 115 (7) of the Police Act
1977.
4 to raise the information thresholds, particularly in re-
spect of ‘soft intelligence’.
5 to promote an evidence based approach to disclosure
rather than the ‘belief based approach’ favoured by child
protection/safeguarding bodies.
6 to ensure that comments made on enhanced CRBs
are confined to …
a. findings of guilt in criminal cases
b. findings made in civil cases e.g. compensation
c. findings made in employment and listing tribunals
(e.g. ISA, GSCC, etc)
7 to limit the use of soft intelligence to defined circum-
stances and for time limited periods.
8 to ensure that all information, other than factual in-
formation relating to convictions, which appears on a
certificate of disclosure, is fully in accord with the
principles contained in the police 5x5x5 information
management system.
9 to give greater cognisance to principles contained in
the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and the Data Pro-
tection legislation.
10 for stricter monitoring of employers’ compliance with
the regulations in order to prevent them asking for
enhanced CRBs when the post applied for does not
require it (e.g. school ancillary staff, neighbourhood
contact with children as a result of a) being a
parent/carer and b) casual volunteering for youth
and community work and sports activities.
M.B.
November 2010
Page 19
 FACT Website to
have a Makeover
The F.A.C.T. website is to have a
makeover. The Latest News section
has been retitled Media Trawl. The
content however will be broadly
similar.
This change has been made in
advance of plans to divide the site
into a public area and a private area.
The public area will be be available
for all to see worldwide. It will
consist mainly of media news and
some background detail about
F.A.C.T. and what it does.
The private area (which will contain
more resources) will be strictly for
F.A.C.T. members, the national
committee and trustees of the Trust
Fund, and will consist mainly of
F.A.C.T. news, F.A.C.T. business (e.g.
constitution, AGM/Conference
information), help-line and general
information/discussion pages.
Membership pages will be password
protected and have much tighter
security features.
Existing F.A.C.T. members will be
automatically migrated into the new
system. When this has been done
members will be sent an email with
log-on details.
The changes described above will
take place during the next few
weeks.
NEXT EDITION
The next edition of FACTion will be in
the New Year. We are hoping
however to produce a news sheet
with pictures of the Christmas Vigil
and to get this circulated before
Christmas.
In case this proves impossible we
wish you all, where ever you may be,
and what ever your circumstances, a
Happy Christmas and a Happy New
Year. For some, we know, it will be a
difficult time but please remember
you are always in our thoughts.
Page 20
STOP PRESS
As reported elsewhere F.A.C.T. was invited to give evidence to the Independent
Advisory Panel on the Disclosure of Criminal Records (IAPDCR). The meeting went
very well and Ms Mason, the Government’s appointed reviewer was most
interested in our submission and the work of F.A.C.T.
We talked at some length about:-
· recent case law (fortunately I had the judgements with me)
· the need for legislative change to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (so
that CRB and other listing bodies cannot hide behind its exemptions)
· the need to ensure that any new regs meet Data Protection and FoIA
requirements
· the need to ensure the CRB disclosure system is fully compliant with Human
Rights legislation i.e. the right to fair hearings and the right to a private life
· the need for statutory enforceable guidance
· police attitudes towards the need for reform (interestingly they are not
opposed to much of what the Review has in mind)
· the disclosure of information by the police and the CRB itself
· the need to build up specialist police force CRB teams on a regional basis so
that consistent standards are maintained. In our experience the shire/rural
police force areas are much more rigid than the big city police forces.
Generally speaking the latter are more likely to acknowledge that all crimes
including physical and sexual assaults and drug misuse range from the less
serious to the very serious and therefore need to be viewed on their merits
rather than because they happen to fall with a specified risk category.
Clearly Ms Mason thinks a lot needs to be done, however she was at pains to
point out that the terms of her review are more about process issues rather than
policy. I think it is also clear that she was looking at not only ensuring that the
system is scaled back to common sense levels but also at making the organisation
more efficient.
It is difficult to predict what the review will decide. At present the Criminal
Records Bureau issue standard and enhanced disclosures but we would not be
surprised to see a unified system in the future.
F.A.C.T. also raised the issue of the need to rename the CRB the Police
Information and Criminal Records Bureau to make it less stigmatising, and the
need to establish an Independent Tribunal of Appeal so that, if necessary, the
subject of any adverse comment on a CRB can appeal against their inclusion. Our
impression is that this suggestion is unlikely to be advanced on cost grounds. We
have since suggested a more cost effective alternative appeal system based on the
ombudsmen model.
The Review is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The Government
will however need time to consider it and to introduce any necessary legislation.
Other organisations are also being consulted and have contributed to the review
process.
UNLOCK has produced a particularly useful paper which is well worth reading. This
can be found on their website at http://www.forum.unlock.org.uk.
They, like us, wait anxiously for the final report and for the Government to take
positive action to ensure that justice will be restored to all aspects of CRB
disclosures, and that common sense will prevail
Nov 2010