Offenders in church life
1. The term offender is properly used only of those who have pleaded guilty to a criminal offence or who have been convicted of one. People may cause concern by their behaviour, and if responsible citizens consider that an offence may have been caused, they may report this to the police for investigation. If the apparent or alleged offence concerns a child then the church’s view is that it must be reported. However, it is not the role of people in their church life, whatever their other roles and duties may be in the secular world, to take on the investigative duties of statutory authorities but rather to cooperate with them as may be needed.
2. A considerable proportion of the population, particularly of men, may have committed offences. Offending is particularly common during adolescence, but it does not only occur then, and some offences, such as traffic offences, may occur at any age. Offences also cover a huge range of behaviour, from the relatively trivial to serious crimes. There is also a continuing debate as whether certain kinds of behaviour should properly count as offences or not. For example, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has de-criminalized certain kinds of sexual behaviour between adults that were previously offences, and has created new categories of offences, for example relating to the grooming of children with a view to committing sexual offences.
3. It follows that many people who get involved in the life of the church will have committed offences. Normally this is not a matter of any concern, and many would contend that it is the business of the church to accept people with their imperfections. However, there are some offences which require specific responses. We have in mind here those convicted of offences against children, particularly sexual offences.
4. Some sexual offenders, after serving a term of imprisonment, wish to lead a law-abiding life and may also turn to the Christian faith to support them. The church is willing to do so, but also needs to bear in mind the possible risk to others, and to manage that risk in the most appropriate way. There is an approach known as Circles of Support, which was pioneered by the Quakers in Canada, and which is currently being used in the Thames Valley area, with the sponsorship of Thames Valley Police and Probation Service and also of the diocese. This involves, in brief, the offender agreeing for a small group of trusted discreet people to provide emotional support, together with a written agreement about practical matters of conduct . This agreement has to be reviewed regularly, and any breaches addressed promptly. This approach is similar to that commended by the House of Bishops in their child protection policy , and the diocese is currently working on extending this scheme beyond the small group of offenders who currently qualify for this help under arrangements made by the statutory authorities.
5. However, not all sex offenders get involved in church life with such a constructive attitude. Moreover, there is a significant number of people who are interested in using churches to identify and target suitable victims but who have never been convicted. When their interest is exclusively in children, such people are usually termed paedophiles, but there are also people who seek inappropriate sexual contact with both adults and children. For convenience I shall use the term offender even though the offences may not have resulted in convictions. The characteristic way by which sex offenders find suitable victims is through a process known as ‘grooming’, which refers to the befriending of a suitable child, often one who is for some reason already vulnerable, winning the child’s trust and then seeking opportunities for sexual abuse. If the offender has established himself in a position of trust in the church community it is quite probable that the victim will be too cowed to come forward or may not be believed if they do. The majority of such offenders are male, but there is a small proportion, estimated at about ten percent, who are female. Grooming is now a criminal offence.
6. The church is encouraged by the House of Bishops in the same document to develop a ‘culture of constant vigilance’. Developing this culture is an aim, which various practical steps can support, but the practical steps will not help unless we understand why they are necessary and are being taken. We need, for example, to apply proper procedures when people come forward to help with children’s work or to take part in mixed-aged activities such as choirs and bell ringing.
7. The diocese of Oxford has for some years encouraged parishes to adopt the same recruitment and selection procedures to volunteers as are normal practice in the secular world for the recruitment of paid staff. This follows guidance from the Home Office to all voluntary organizations. The church in its parochial structure counts as a voluntary organization. (Church schools, however, count as part of the statutory sector.) This involves drawing up a job description, carrying out an interview, asking for a confidential declaration on criminal and relevant civil matters, seeking references and taking them up, providing training, supervision and support and reviewing these arrangements in the context of a child protection policy. Procedures embodying these principles, as well as notes on good practice, are now embodied in the diocesan child protection handbook Protecting Children in the Diocese of Oxford, issued in 2005 and replacing the earlier guidance document Better Safe than Sorry.
8. In 2004 the diocese commissioned an independent research study into a sample of benefices to check the extent to which recommended good practice was followed . Although some of the respondents reported problems and some had reservations, a substantial majority (75%) were following most of the recommendations or were in the process of introducing them.
Criminal Records Bureau checks
9. One part of the process is to ask applicants to complete a confidential declaration, which covers both criminal and relevant civil matters , and to apply for a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure. The Criminal Records bureau was created in 2002 to take over in one process the function of police checks, together with checks of the lists of unsuitable people maintained by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills. Checks of this kind have been operated for many years in the statutory sector of services to children, for example in schools including church schools, and became available to the voluntary sector, including the church in its diocesan and parochial structure, in 2002. These checks are of course also requested of clergy and relevant paid staff, but the overwhelming number is of volunteers from the parishes. In carrying out these checks the diocese is in line with the policy of the House of Bishops and also with the statutory sector.
10. Initially checks were only available for new applicants, but in summer 2003 the CRB service was broadened to include retrospective checks for those already in post. The diocese offered a programme to parishes to work through them deanery by deanery, so that the flow of applications requiring clearing through the diocese was manageable.
11. At the time of writing around 4,000 CRB checks have been completed. Of these, around forty have been ‘positive’, meaning that offences were disclosed. The diocese operates a confidential risk assessment process when these arise. Information is sought about the position applied for, the circumstances of the offence, the applicant’s attitude to the offence and other relevant factors, and a recommendation is made to the parish. This takes the form of recommending that the appointment may proceed unconditionally, or with conditions, or should not proceed.
12. Of the positive disclosures handled through this process, some have resulted in an unconditional recommendation to proceed, a few to proceed with a condition of supervision, two with a recommendation not to proceed and others are still in the process. This may seem a meagre harvest, but the process has a value beyond the small number of positive disclosures received, in that:
a. It is known that the church applies this process and this has a deterrent value for offenders wishing to infiltrate children’s work.
b. It provides reassurance to parents that the church takes proper safeguards.
c. It provides reassurance to children’s workers that they have all been through a proper recruitment process.
d. It sends out a message that the church is not dilatory in following recognized good practice which is normal in the secular world.
e. It provides protection for parishes and the diocese, as Ecclesiastical Insurance expect insured parties to take all reasonable steps to prevent injury, loss or damage occurring, and to follow good practice.
13. The CRB disclosure is only as good as the information which the police and government departments hold, and is only up to date on the day it is issued. The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham brought to prominence the issue of the adequacy with which the police record information on allegations which did not come to proof, and the efficiency with which different police forces exchange such information. Such information, termed ‘soft’ information, is supposed to be supplied along with the CRB disclosure to the prospective employer.
14. As a result of the Soham case, the Bichard enquiry was set up. This has recently reported and made a number of recommendations relevant to this field. Some of these relate specifically to the functioning of the police, but some are of wider application, such as on reporting of sexual offences against children, the setting up a register of children’s workers, and the duties of registered bodies, such as the diocese, in checking identities of applicants. There are additional recommendations affecting schools and governors. The status of the report is that the recommendations are to government, and not, at present, from government. Nevertheless, diocesan staff will be exploring the implications. The government has recently (March 2006) announced that it will legislate to implement a version of the recommendations.
15. Since the CRB disclosure is only up to date on the day it is issued, too much reliance should not be placed on it. Specifically, it does not provide a confirmation that a person is suitable to work with children. All it provides is information that, as far as is recorded, there is nothing to prevent such an appointment on criminal grounds. This reinforces the point that it should serve as an adjunct to an adequate recruitment process and not as a substitute for it.
16. The CRB recommend that disclosures should be repeated every three years. As the CRB was set up in 2002, this can only arise for the first time in 2005. The current recommendation (September 2005) from the House of Bishops is that Criminal Records Bureau disclosures need not be repeated for those still in the same posts, pending the implementation of the government’s revised system.
Reporting offences
17. The church, as noted earlier, does not itself investigate offences but refers them to the statutory authorities and cooperates with them as necessary. Allegations and apparent instances of child abuse may be evidence of criminal offences, and church members are acting as good citizens in reporting them for investigation. Concerns about children would normally be reported to the relevant Social Services Department, and those about the behaviour of adults to the Police. All statutory bodies work cooperatively to protect children, and share information as necessary.
18. The propriety of reporting personal details, and of discussing them with a view to reporting them, raises concerns about confidentiality, both in general ethical terms, and also specifically because of the Data Protection Act 1998. This is a large topic, but for this purpose it is sufficient to say that it will normally be appropriate to pass on personal information if it is believed that this may help protect a child or prevent or help detect a crime. Advice from the diocese is available where there is a dilemma. A government advice document has a section on this in the context of child protection ; this document is issued by the diocese to participants in training sessions on child protection and is available free from the Department of Health.
The Management of Risk
19. It has already been mentioned that positive disclosures obtained from the CRB lead to a risk assessment. This is not intended to remove risk from church life – an unachievable and possibly undesirable aim – but to manage it in a reasonable and also defensible way. There is also a small but steady trickle of other situations that come to notice where some kind of risk assessment may be called for. These range from considering who needs or does not need to go through a CRB check to situations requiring a great deal of thought and detailed work involving a number of people.
20. While the risks that offenders may pose in church life should not be minimized, they should also not be exaggerated. Many offenders will pose no risk whatever. It would be wrong for the church to feel forced into a defensive posture because of the risks posed by those who do present a danger. The House of Bishops recommendation to develop a ‘culture of constant vigilance’, already referred to, is the best way forward.
Stephen Barber
Child Protection Adviser
6 March 2006
