Facilitated by the barring staff at DBS, the virtual tours focussed on the role of the police in helping provide the DBS with information, as part of the institution’s barring decision-making process.
Although even earlier, British police forces had been given a tour of all barring departments at the DBS office, ever since the recent Covid-19 pandemic threatened to unsettle the world, tours have become virtual.
Because DBS has no investigatory powers as an organisation, it usually liaises with police forces when the decision of barring a referral needs to be made.
The virtual tours gave the police a comprehensive insight into how the information that they provided DBS was used and also presented them with a clear idea about the decision-making process itself. This included the initial risk-assessment that was performed by DBS when it received a referral.
Both the counties’ police forces were extremely positive with their feedback and called attention to the importance of communication between British police forces and DBS, while emphasising the effectiveness of working alongside each other.
Further such tours are expected to be conducted in the future.
