http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ar.html#at
Criminal record checks gone too far
By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor
Published: 7:00AM GMT 30 Oct 2009
The system of investigating people’s backgrounds for employment vetting much be overhauled because it is wrongly "tilted" in favour of protecting the public, the Supreme Court concluded.
It said this meant that individual rights could be damaged by "unreliable" or "out of date" details, especially with the use of so-called soft intelligence held by police, such as allegations or suspicions, in enhanced Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks.
In a victory against the growing Big Brother state, the justices, in their first judgment since the Supreme Court opened in Britain earlier this month, said there should no longer be a “presumption for disclosure” of such information, which could be "even mere suspicion or hints of matters which are disputed by the applicant".
The ruling goes to the very heart of the Government's controversial new barring and vetting scheme, under which at least 11 million people will have to undergo enhanced checks if they want to work with children or vulnerable adults.
There are already concerns that the disclosure of unproven allegations could end the careers of effectively innocent people.
...
