How to Check Criminal Records (UK): Essential Information

March 11, 2024 - Reading time: 8 minutes

There are various circumstances under which you might need to check someone's criminal convictions within the UK. For employers, assessing criminal records is a pivotal step in confirming a candidate's suitability and safety for a position. Individuals may also be interested in their own criminal records, or in identifying someone else's potential history of violence or offences related to children.

This comprehensive guide covers all you need to understand about inspecting criminal records in the UK, including who has the authorisation to conduct such checks, the range of checks available, and the procedure involved. We will also examine the advantages of conducting thorough background investigations.

How to Check Whether Someone Has a Criminal Record in the UK

A criminal background check is a vital resource for assessing a person's past conduct and trustworthiness. In the UK, criminal records checks are mainly processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Commonly known as a DBS check, which has replaced the older CRB check, it reveals an individual's criminal record, particularly unspent convictions. Depending on the circumstances and the requester, you can perform a variety of detailed checks. Whether for personal knowledge, employment reasons, or for vetting a potential job applicant, a DBS check can be requested.

Generally, personal criminal background checks are not permitted unless you are an employer considering a candidate. Exceptions include:

• Checking if an individual poses a potential risk to child(ren)
• Investigating if your partner or someone close to you has a history of violence or abuse

In the scenarios mentioned above, you are advised to consult the police instead of the DBS.

How to Inspect Your Own Criminal Convictions

To find out if you have a criminal record, you can apply for a basic DBS check. This is a relatively straightforward check revealing any unspent convictions and conditional cautions, useful if you are applying for a job and want to understand what might appear on a background check performed by your employer.

This can be requested online for yourself using the GOV.UK website, where you will need to authenticate your identity and provide a history of your addresses.

Employers Checking Candidate's Criminal Records

Employers conduct criminal records checks for safeguarding, conformity with regulations, or as part of risk assessment processes.

Employers are entitled to mandate a basic DBS check for potential hires, which will show unspent convictions. Depending on the job's nature, standard or enhanced background checks might be necessary, providing a deeper examination into a candidate's background including spent convictions, cautions and warnings. Enhanced checks may reveal additional important information held by the police.

For certain roles involving children or vulnerable adults, you can inquire about an individual's status on the DBS barred lists, which indicates if the person is precluded from engaging with these groups.

Determine the appropriate DBS check for a prospective employee through the GOV.UK website, then:

• For a basic check, approach an authorised organisation affiliated with the DBS for a simple online request
• For more comprehensive checks, liaise with a DBS umbrella body for the necessary application

Organisations with a necessity for over 100 checks annually may register directly with the DBS.

Inquiry for Child Sex Offenders

Under the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS), known as Sarah’s Law, you can make formal inquiries to the police about an individual's:

• Child sex offence history
• Potential risk to a child or children for other reasons

Any concerned individual, regardless of relationship to a child, can initiate criminal checks through CSODS. Start the application by contacting your local police force online, calling 101, or visiting a police station.

Inquiry Into a History of Violence or Abuse

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, or Clare’s Law, grants the ability to inquire formally with the police if someone has a background of abusive or violent behaviour. This applies when you suspect someone poses a risk and can involve your current or former partner, or that of someone close to you.

The police's response will vary based on the relationship between the requester and the person at risk, potentially encompassing violent crimes, sexual offences, harassment, and other forms of abuse.

To engage Clare’s Law, reach out to your local police through calling 101, visiting a local police station, or online contact. In urgent situations, call 999 immediately.

Background Checks from Private Investigators

It's essential to recognise that criminal record checks like DBS will only disclose specific aspects of a person's criminal background. For a more complete profile of someone's character, which is crucial whether dealing with an employee, partner, business associate, or tenant, you might want to consider a comprehensive background check service.

As private investigators, we can utilise publicly available data in order to assess a person's character in more depth. We can utilise court records searches, for example, which in some cases can show previous court appearances whether or not they resulted in a conviction.

Amongst other forms of investigation, we can also utilise social media checks and facial recognition checks to scratch the surface and dig up information on a person's background... Facial recognition can be used to locate instances of the subject's face appearing in adult material or on dating sites, for example.

Accessing data which is available in the public domain does not typically fall under the same stringent regulation as accessing confidential data during a criminal records check. We can therefore perform background checks for our clients in certain cases where it would not be possible for them to access the subject's criminal record through the DBS. 

Private Investigators UK are leading UK based private detectives. Visit our homepage to learn more about us or to request a free quote.

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