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Original poster

DBS check - please can anyone advice? Conviction for affray

30 replies

justkeeponsmiling · 19/09/2017 21:13

So DH has just been offered a job. Because it is in a college they told him he needs a DBS check (even though he will not work directly with children - it's maintenance).
More than 20 years ago he was involved in a mass brawl and convicted of affray. He was 16 at the time. A quick search online shows that this is an offence which is not cleared from a DBS record even after many years. Is this right? We have no idea what we should do now. Should he tell the potential new employers? I guess this means he won't get the job now? I'm heartborken - he has been searching for a long time and we were over the moon when he was offered this job.

OP posts:
helpfulperson · 19/09/2017 22:02

Tell the employers ASAP. To be honest if he shows genuine remorse and insight into how it came about they are unlikely to care about something that happened 20 years ago.

AlexanderHamilton · 19/09/2017 22:06

It will be an enhanced check so everything shows up - nothing is spent.

Tell his employers. I once did a check on someone who was going to be working in an after school club. She was a TA at the time & went on to become a secondary school teacher.

Hers showed up ABH (assaulting police officer & resisting arrest) & drunk & disorderly. She was 17 at the time & it obviously didn't stop her.

Original poster
justkeeponsmiling · 19/09/2017 22:30

DH says now he isn't even sure if it was affray - it might just have been drunk and disorderly, or threatening behaviour. I'm absolutely gutted. I guess the best thing would be to contact them and let them know, if it shows up anything anyway he might as well come clean and hope for the best. It seems so unfair - he was only 16 and only a bystander, never been in trouble before or after.

OP posts:
Original poster
justkeeponsmiling · 19/09/2017 22:31

Goohle tells me that some convictions will not show up after a set number of years on the DBS, sadly affray is not one of them.

OP posts:
laundryelf · 19/09/2017 22:53

Honesty is the best policy here. A single incident in his teens would not affect his ability to get the job in my school. If he has good references and is up front about it, the chances are he will be offered the job on a trial basis. Good luck.

awishes · 19/09/2017 22:58

I deal with DBS clearances. Best thing to do is to write a letter to the employer, be completely honest, when the DBS goes through and if it is shown on the clearance the employer will need to risk assess. It's not all doom and gloom.
HTH

Temporaryanonymity · 19/09/2017 22:59

It will be fine - they should have a policy online regarding.the employment of people with criminal records. Length of time passed and age at time of offence is key. Always better to disclose prior to the check.

prh47bridge · 19/09/2017 23:38

You are correct that affray is never filtered. To echo others, the best approach is to tell the employer what they will find. It is up to the employer but I would be surprised if they withdrew the offer due to a conviction for affray.

If the offence was being drunk and disorderly or threatening behaviour it won't appear on his DBS check. However, as he is uncertain the safe thing is to tell the employer that there may be something there. From their point of view, if the DBS shows something that he hasn't told them it will make them wonder what else he is hiding.

It will be an enhanced check so everything shows up - nothing is spent.

That ceased to be true several years ago. Most convictions and cautions are now removed from DBS checks after a number of years.

Original poster
justkeeponsmiling · 19/09/2017 23:41

Thank you. I think I will ask DH to contact them tomorrow and have a chat about it, rather than hoping it was just a minor offence that won't show up. Thank you for the good wishes - he has been looking for a job for quite some time and has had a run of spectacularly bad luck. We were over the moon when they rang today to offer him the job. I guess what will be will be.

OP posts:
Brokenbiscuit · 19/09/2017 23:49

I have to dbs check some of my team, and wouldn't be particularly worried by the type off offence that you describe, especially given your dh's age at the time. People do make mistakes, but as long as they have proved themselves since, I wouldn't write them off. I'd be looking at whether his conviction presented a genuine risk to my organisation/clients.

Just one thing though - we ask people to declare any past convictions on our application form, and it would be viewed pretty dimly if the dbs threw up anything that hadn't been properly declared. Did your dh get asked about a criminal record on the application form? I'd be surprised in a way if a college didn't ask this at an earlier stage in the recruitment.

Original poster
justkeeponsmiling · 20/09/2017 00:16

Yes he was asked - not sure if on the application form but they asked in the interview today. He said no he had nothing to declare, because in his head it was a minor issue and he was sure it wouldn't even show up because of his age and because according to him he didn't enen get involved. It was only when we started googling it and he saw that it is actually classed as a serious offence and that unlike many other convictions it does not get wiped from your DBS record after a set number of years that he reslised this may actually be an issue.
I know it's stupid. I think he was so young and scared back then he pleaded guilty to the charge (as I said he's not even sure now if it was affray after all) and tried to forget all about it afterwards. He was absolutely convinced it was so minor it would all be forgotten about it by now. I mean common assault, drink driving, possession of drugs all gets wiped after a few years, whereas affray basically is on a par with sex offences and gbh in this respect. All he did was be in a group of lads that got into a fight, he didn't even throw a single punch.

OP posts:
Original poster
justkeeponsmiling · 20/09/2017 14:39

He is now saying he thinks it might have just been a conviction for threatening behaviour. I guess the best thing would be to apply for subject access request from our local police force? It's so difficult. On the one hand he doesn't want to jeopardize his chances by declaring something that might not even show up! But on the other hand, of it does show it will look really bad.

OP posts:
Desmondo2016 · 20/09/2017 15:04

You're over complicating it. Just get him to email/ring them and say he's just remembered a minor incident when he was 16 that involves the police and he just wanted to let them know. I'm pretty certain that'll be the end of it and you can celebrate his definite job offer soon xz

prh47bridge · 20/09/2017 16:01

Agree with Desmondo. Don't bother with the subject access request. Apart from anything else, the college may get the DBS result back before he gets the response to his subject access request. Just tell them about the incident. He really won't be jeopardising his chances. A minor conviction over 20 years ago does not make him a danger to students.

Trethew · 21/09/2017 19:54

I spent many years as a school governor interviewing prospective teaching and non-teaching staff. All were subject to enhanced DBS checks (CRB then). The application form asked for any convictions or cautions, and towards the end of the interview we always asked the applicant if there was anything they would like to tell us that they had not had a chance to say. If the DBS check showed something the applicant had not declared we took a dim view of it.

Having said that, we employed people with criminal records. The question we asked ourselves was whether the conviction rendered the applicant unsuitable to be working in this environment. A crime committed by a teenager, with no subsequent offending, will not be an automatic exclusion to employment

AJPTaylor · 21/09/2017 20:00

My friends db had a job offer revoked on dbs but only becausr he hadnt declared it.

OhTheRoses · 21/09/2017 20:01

Declare it. It was 20 years ago and no further offences. He just needs to be honest and stop worrying. What would be a problem is saying he has no convictions and a conviction turning up. I'd withdraw an offer for that I'm afraid because It's a breach of trust and confidence.

shushpenfold · 21/09/2017 20:06

I echo what everyone says above. I've had to risk assess in these circumstances and if it's an offence committed a long time ago (especially as a 'youf') the school may well be fine. Every person employed under these circumstances has worked out well.

SandSnakeOfDorne · 21/09/2017 20:08

If he only has one offence and didn't receive a custodial sentence then it won't show up on his DBD check because he was under 18 at the time of the offence. A single conviction under 18 only shows up for 6 years.

MyBrilliantDisguise · 21/09/2017 20:11

Pretty soon he'll be admitting to attempted murder!

Honestly, OP, he was 16. He's going to work in a college. He understands the students well and can remember the idiotic things he did when he was that age and is the PERFECT person to advise them.

prh47bridge · 21/09/2017 20:32

If he only has one offence and didn't receive a custodial sentence then it won't show up on his DBD check because he was under 18 at the time of the offence. A single conviction under 18 only shows up for 6 years.

Not true. Some offences, including affray, are never removed from DBS checks. If you have a caution or conviction for one of these offences it is on your DBS check for life regardless of your age at the time.

SandSnakeOfDorne · 21/09/2017 21:11

Oh, sorry for the bad info then! I thought under 18 made a difference.

peteneras · 21/09/2017 21:37

From the BBC News website:
"Two men arrested in connection with the explosion at Parsons Green Tube station have been released without charge, police say.
The men, aged 21 and 48, were arrested in Hounslow, west London on Saturday and Newport, south Wales, on Wednesday."

Will these guys show up in an enhanced DBS check if they applied for jobs in the future, I wonder?

hellybellyjellybean · 21/09/2017 21:44

They were released without charge......

Original poster
justkeeponsmiling · 21/09/2017 21:56

Thank you all for the advice. As a matter of fact DH managed to get hold of one of his friends who was convicted alongside him today and ask them what the conviction was for. His friend told him that their conviction was not for affray but something like threatening behaviour, and that his own DBS check he had to have done a couple of years ago for a job very similar to the one DH has applied for was completely clear. So fingers crossed he should be ok!

OP posts: