What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of DBS and PVG systems in identifying registered sex offenders who have changed their name; and what plans she has to introduce further measures to prevent offenders from obtaining a clean record under a new identity.
The system for managing sex offenders and those that pose a risk of sexual harm is a crucial part of preventing sexual violence and delivering the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.Registered sex offenders (RSOs) are required to notify the police of any change of name. Failure to comply with this is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. Through the Crime and Policing Act we are strengthening the approach by introducing measures which will enable the police to serve a notice on offenders who pose a risk in relation to name change, which requires them to seek authorisation before applying to change their name on identity documents. The measures will also require all RSOs to notify the police of an intended change of name in advance of using it.These measures will be reinforced by operational safeguards to detect unauthorised name changes and operate alongside existing safeguards within the criminal record disclosure regime.Where somebody applies for a criminal record certificate issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), they are required to state any names they have previously been known by on the application form and to sign a legal declaration that they have not knowingly provided false information. Failure to disclose previous names, and deliberately avoid detection of previous convictions, would lead an individual to be liable for prosecution.The DBS mitigates the risks posed by offenders not accurately declaring a complete name history on DBS applications through a combination of algorithms and manual checking of data within DBS, local police forces and other government agencies.Arrangements for disclosure and barring in Scotland are devolved, with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme falling under the responsibility of the Scottish Government.