Criminal Background Checks
Safe and effective hiring decisions undoubtedly create a more secure workplace. The risk of poor employee vetting creates significant exposure to risk, whether that be harm to colleagues and customers, litigation, financial penalty or loss of reputation.
Security Watchdog’s Criminal Background Checks help you reduce your company’s exposure to risk. We give you the assurance that you have made the right hiring decision, first time. We offer UK background checks as well as international criminality checks.
Our Criminal Background Checks offer a number of benefits:
- The ability to check criminal records in real time, using the most innovative of software
- Easy-to-use software which works on any device and is so easy to use, it requires no training
- Ready access to a team of experts with 25 years+ experience with all the knowledge that comes with making safer hiring decisions
- Assurance that you are using a platform trusted by 500,000 (and counting) companies across Europe
- Time-saving approach through our eBulkPlus system, which, unlike our competitors, incurs no set-up fee
- Use of Digital Identity - Ability to process digital verification of identity documents.
We offer criminal record checks through the DBS in England and Wales, Disclosure Scotland and Access NI, as well as International checks.
Find out more about our Background Checks for employees by selecting the approximate number of checks required:
These checks for criminal records include:
- Basic, standard and enhanced DBS screening
- The Controlled Drug Licence DBS check – which is a Government requirement for any individual in a role which supplies Controlled Drugs (CDs)
FAQs on secure screening services
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eBulkPlus
30,000 clients can't be wrong.
Each year, we perform over 1 million checks for 30,000 clients through our eBulkPlus platform.
Investing in the platform offers you the following benefits:
- It saves time by conducting only those checks necessary for the role in question.
- It reduces your workload in checking a candidate's criminal records.
- It speeds up your recruitment process helping your business retain its competitive edge.
- It optimises budget and efficiency through one single solution.
DBS Checks - England and Wales
Criminal records disclosure services for employers recruiting in England and Wales are provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
The DBS is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office. Its role is to assist employers in making safer recruitment decisions. It is also responsible for maintaining the Adults’ and Children’s Barred Lists, deciding whether an individual should be included on one or both of these lists and barred from engaging in regulated activity.
The four types of DBS screening are as follows:
Basic DBS
the Basic Disclosure certificate provides a copy of an individual’s criminal record. The certificate will provide details of unspent convictions and conditional cautions as specified by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Anyone can request a Basic DBS check, including where an individual wishes to apply for their own criminal record check.
Standard DBS
a Standard DBS check is only available to individuals in certain roles, particularly those which relate to security. It must be requested by the employer. The Standard DBS certificate contains details of both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that are held on the Police National Computer (PNC). The PNC is the computer system for England and Wales governed by section 27(4) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and includes those offences punishable by imprisonment as well as any other offence specified within the regulations.
Enhanced DBS
an enhanced DBS check is suitable for those instances where an individual is working with the most vulnerable members of our society, including children as well as adults in receipt of healthcare or personal care. The check can also be used for other roles such as where an individual seeks to apply for a taxi licence. An enhanced DBS check must be requested by the employer. Like the Standard DBS, the Enhanced DBS certificate contains details of both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that are held on the Police National Computer (PNC).
Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS
an Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS check includes all the same information as an Enhanced DBS certificate, with an addition of a check of one or both the Adults’ and Children’s Barred Lists.
DS - Criminal record checks in Scotland
Criminal records disclosure services for employers recruiting in Scotland are provided by Disclosure Scotland, an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Disclosure Scotland (DS) offers two types of criminal background check:
Basic DS
a basic disclosure providing a copy of an individual’s criminal record, including information on any unspent convictions. Applications for basic disclosure are processed according to the Scottish rules under the Rehabilitation periods for particular sentences section of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme
the PVG scheme is available for individuals who are undertaking regulated work with children and protected adults (Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007). A PVG certificate contains all unspent and certain spent conviction information, as well as any other non-conviction information that the police or other government bodies consider relevant. A PVG check must be requested by the employer.
Access NI - Criminal Background Checks in Northern Ireland
Criminal records disclosure services for employers recruiting in Northern Ireland are provided by AccessNI.
There are three types of Access NI check:
Basic Access NI
A basic AccessNI check provides a copy of an individual’s criminal record, including information on any unspent convictions. A request for a Basic DBS check can be submitted by anyone, including where an individual wishes to apply for their own criminal record check.
Standard Access NI
A standard Access NI check will disclose any spent and unspent convictions, as well as informed warning and other non-court disposals registered on the Police National Computer. A standard Access NI check must be requested by an employer, and are only available where the position or role in question is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978. Any application for a standard check must be counter-signed by an AccessNI-registered organisation such as Security Watchdog.
Enhanced Access NI
An Enhanced Access NI check will disclose any spent and unspent convictions, cautions, informed warnings and other non-court disposals. This includes information registered on the Police National Computer, held by the Disclosure and Barring Service (for positions in regulated activity), or held by the police of relevance to the role. An Enhanced Access NI check must be requested by an employer, and is usually required where an employee or volunteer will be providing services to, or having close and regular supervision of, children or vulnerable adults.
Find out more about DBS check costs
Security Watchdog also offers the following criminal record checking:
DLCU
The Drug Licensing and Compliance Unit (DLCU) has contracted Security Watchdog to assist individuals to obtain a DBS check in support of their application for any of the following:
- A Controlled Drug domestic licence
- Precursor Chemical Category 1 licence
- Category 2 and 3 registrations
International criminality checks
Security Watchdog’s Criminality Department has a dedicated team of specialists conducting criminal records checks overseas, in 185 countries.
The cost of these checks is dependent on the country in question, as is the timescale required to receive the result.
Hosted DBS
Security Watchdog has been an Umbrella Body since 2002, and is highly experienced in supplying hosted DBS solutions to clients seeking to manage their own candidate applications. We simply supply the software, and you do the rest.
Contact Us
Contact our team to find out more.