Criminal Records Bureau

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), is an Executive Agency of the Home Office with its headquarters based in Liverpool. The agency provides wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service for England and Wales. The equivalent agency in Scotland is Disclosure Scotland and in Northern Ireland is Access Northern Ireland.

The CRB service enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make safer recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially that involve children or vulnerable adults. In 2007, the CRB processed 3.4 million checks.

The CRB had been due to partner with the Independent Safeguarding Authority in administering the newly created Vetting and Barring Scheme from 2009. This was suspended in 2010 pending a review following the 2010 General Election. This review was published in February 2011, making recommendations for the merger of the Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority into one new non-departmental public body, responsible for barring individuals and completing criminal record checks. Under the Protection of Freedoms Bill, the new scheme will not require registration, nor will any details be retained on a database. The scheme would have required all adults who teach, train, supervise or care for children or vulnerable adults on a frequent or intensive basis to register, with criminal offences for non-compliance. This was estimated to comprise approximately 11.3 million people (a quarter of the adult population).