How Do Lockdown Offences Affect DBS Checks?
COVID-19 was a time of upheaval for the whole world. The pandemic and lockdowns affected citizens in many ways, including social distancing, face masks, lockdown, and quarantine rules.
DBS checks are required to get specific jobs, especially for roles that involve coming into contact with children or vulnerable adults. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks an applicant’s criminal record to ensure that the applicant is qualified and is unlikely to put these vulnerable groups in danger.
But how do lockdown prosecutions affect DBS checks?
What Are Lockdown Offences?
Over 9000 fines were issued in April 2020 to people who broke the lockdown restrictions in the UK. The law restricted large gatherings and events involving multiple people in a closed area to prevent the outbreak spreading and overwhelming hospital facilities.
Now that the events have passed, people who got a fine back then are curious to know if that information will appear on their DBS certificate and whether it will limit their future employment chances.
Do Lockdown Offences Show Up On DBS Checks?
A lockdown breach is categorised as a minor offence, but people still want to know if this can affect their DBS check results.
Even though lockdown breaches did not lead to an arrest or a criminal case in court, the people who were caught were given fixed penalty notices.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Fixed Penalty notices are issued for minor offences. This includes on-the-spot fines given to lockdown breachers which meant that police did not need to book them or charge them with a crime, known as a fixed penalty system.
These types of offences do not usually show up on a DBS check.
However, if you are caught committing a minor offence, your details will still be recorded by the police. This is to make sure they have you on file just in case you become a repeat offender.
If you continuously beached lockdown rules, a steeper punishment may have been given and your name would then appear on the Police National Computer. In this case, the conviction may show up on a DBS check, especially an Enhanced DBS Check.
What Does An Enhanced DBS Check Reveal?
Enhanced DBS checks are more detailed than a Basic or Standard DBS Check. They show spent and unspent convictions, reprimands, warnings, cautions, and any other relevant information your local police can find.
During an Enhanced DBS check, your details will be sent to the local police to run your name through their files, looking for any match. As discussed earlier, if your multiple breaches were recorded, then that information may be revealed on the DBS certificate.
The more times that offences were repeated, either old convictions, fines, or offences that involved a fixed penalty, the more likely they will show up during an Enhanced DBS Check.
You can contact our trusted advisors today to learn more about DBS checks and how to get started on your application.
