NO2ID

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... inals.html

15000 wrongly branded criminals

By TOM WELLS

Published: 13th April 2010

BUNGLING officials have labelled 15,000 innocent people as criminals in the past six years, The Sun can reveal.

The blunders by the Criminal Records Bureau, a Home Office agency, amount to around seven smears every day.

The victims discovered they had been branded sex offenders, violent thugs or fraudsters when they had a CRB check before a new job. Many went through lengthy appeals to clear their names.

Our Freedom Of Information probe found the CRB coughed up an incredible £290,000 last year alone in "apology payments" to the worst-affected victims.

Last night a spokesman for privacy campaigners NO2ID said: "You only need to look at the laid-back approach the Government has to its own data to realise it is hardly going to take more care in looking after other people's - even when an incorrect record can ruin someone's life."

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On the one hand it's good to see the problem being picked up, but on the other, an FOI request really wasn't needed - a sizeable chunk of what they asked for had already been provided in answers to parliamentary written questions a few months ago!

e.g.
HmOff, Vetting Compensation [24 February 2010] Column 562W
- how much paid by CRB in compensation for maladministration [317218], table given, significant increase in last two years

and

HmOff, Vetting [7 January 2010] Column 529W
- disputed CRB checks per year since 2002 with reasons [302193], table given, total raised 32,937 total upheld 16,268

[Also an interview with Guy on the Sun's "SunTalk" audio stream, but I haven't heard it yet. AJW]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/su ... nTalk.html

Today on SunTalk

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Bungling officials have branded 15,000 innocent people as criminals in the past six years, The Sun can reveal today. Martel talks to Guy Herbert, General Secretary of Privacy Campaign NO2ID about these astonishing cases of mistaken identity.

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