4 August to 11 August

To CRB or not to CRB?

Recently the media have been replete with stories about the requirement for adults working with children to have CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks. By 2009 about quarter of the population will have to undergo such checks, which the Home Office estimates have prevented more than 20,000 unsuitable people from accessing children in the past year. In spite of this CRB checking is not universally applauded. For example, Frank Furedi, co-author of Licensed to Hug, contends that CRB checks are 'poisoning the relationships between the generations.' Participants in my research into good practice in competitive youth swimming tend to agree, suggesting that CRB checks and other child protection regulations are preventing coaches from adopting the role of pastoral carer that they believe is essential for athletic success in young people.

CRB checking is not perfect, but it is only one element in a wider strategy to prevent individuals who are intent on abuse from gaining access to young people. Are the fears expressed by Furedi and others exaggerated? Should we follow his call to 'halt the juggernaut of regulation'? Or is ChildLine founder, Esther Rantzen, right in thinking that CRB checks are a necessary evil in the drive to safeguard children?

Melanie Lang, PhD student, Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education