‘Good’ Rating for Disclosure and Barring Service

Cleveland Police Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has been graded ‘good’ for the second year in a row for enhanced disclosure applications.

The National Disclosure and Barring Service revealed the accolade to the team earlier this month.

The DBS team, which are part of the Directorate of Ethics and Standards, perform two main functions for the Force; providing enhanced disclosure applications when someone applies for a role such as teaching, providing relevant information to employers to enable an educated employment decision to be made and barring referrals, which means that when an individual poses a risk, the team collates the information required with a mind to bar them from participating in regulated activities.

 

In December 2019 the Force’s DBS team was also graded ‘good’ for barring referrals.  The National Disclosure and Barring Service stated that the team demonstrated a clear understanding of applying the Barring Quality Assessment Framework (BQAF) and the work that was dip-sampled for compliance met the required standard.

The BQAF was implemented nationally in July 2019, and sets compliance standards across policing. ‘Good’ is one of the highest indicators, demonstrating the quality of the team’s decision making and audit trail.

Superintendent Paul Waugh, from the Directorate of Ethics and Standards, said: “I am really pleased that the DBS team has been recognised for doing their work to the best of their ability. The ‘good’ gradings reflect the effort that the staff put into their work and their dedication and commitment to their roles.

“The role of DBS is crucial to the Force in keeping people safe and protecting the public. I would like to express my thanks to all the staff in the team and congratulate them on their ‘good’ gradings.”