Soham inquiry urges new ID scheme

Huntley killed Holly and Jessica while working as a school caretaker

An identity card for people working with children could be introduced as a result of an inquiry into the Soham murders.

The possibility of such a move came out of the Bichard Inquiry which has been looking at how Ian Huntley got a job as a school caretaker.

Inquiry counsel James Eadie said it could be part of a "positive vetting" procedure.

This could lead to "a portable card carrying scheme or a passport scheme."

Soham child murderer Ian Huntley slipped through police vetting checks to become a school caretaker despite a string of previous sex allegations against him.

Having received the all-clear from police and other vetting checks a person could be registered or ticked off as appropriate, Mr Eadie suggested.

Passport

They could then be issued with a card or passport which proves their suitability, he told Shami Chakrabati, director of the human rights group Liberty.

One would want there to be a system where people are ticked as being fit and proper Shami Chakrabati

Ms Chakrabati said she would have no objection to such a scheme.

But she said: "We would be very interested to look at the detail of the scheme before we sign up to it, such as how broad are the sectors before you can be declared a fit and proper person.

"One would want there to be a system where people are ticked as being fit and proper.

"No doubt it would have significant costs and other resource implications."

Huntley was appointed as Soham Village College caretaker after police vetting checks showed no trace of previous allegations against him, which included four suspected rapes.

There Huntley murdered 10-year-old Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002, but his past only emerged following his conviction in December last year.

Consistency

Earlier Vince Gaskell, head of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), said greater consistency was needed in the way vetting decisions were made.

He told the inquiry: "I would like to see a greater degree of consistency in the decision-making process.

"In the way it is selected and presented for decision-making, which does vary from one (police) force to another."

The CRB reviews employers' applications for police intelligence information when people are being vetted for a job.

The checks on Huntley, 29, were made in December 2001, before the CRB was introduced.

In the main, people would be acting with precaution Vince Gaskell CRB head

Anyone who wants a job where there will be substantial, unsupervised, regular and sustained contact with children must face a police check.

But a decision also has to be made as to how detailed the disclosure vetting check should be.

In some CRB guidelines caretakers fall under the standard vetting category which raises details of any conviction, cautions, reprimands and warnings recorded on the Police National Computer.

But Mr Gaskell said when confusion or concern arises about which check should be carried out, most organisations will err on the side of caution and apply for an enhanced check.

Enhanced checks include local police intelligence information from the areas lived in by the applicant over the previous five years.

It is hoped a new local police system to flag up intelligence nation-wide will be working by the spring.