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If you’ve been looking at making a move into working with the Police, you’ve probably seen the term NPPV. NPPV stands for Non-Police Personnel Vetting and applies to people who are working with the Police but who aren’t police officers. This could cover roles such as CCTV operators, administration staff, people working for the Immigration Service and police management personnel. The type of vetting which people have to go through to become a police officer is much more in-depth than even an enhanced DBS check.

Would it surprise you to learn that an estimated 25% of the UK population have some sort of criminal record? Around 10 million of us have had some sort of brush with the law in the past, so the chances are that if you’re employing people to work in your business, you’re going to have some applicants who have a criminal record. But is this necessarily an issue?

We all make mistakes at work. Nine times out of ten these mistakes are fairly minor, don’t impact on our lives to any extent and are easily remedied. But what happens if the Police have made a mistake on your records and a DBS check which you expected to show no crimes and convictions comes back showing offences which you know you couldn’t possibly have committed?

Seems like a very straightforward question, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, there’s not a straight or simple answer to this one, and it will depend on the circumstances, the type of employer and the type of role being undertaken.

The first part of any DBS check id to prove you are who you say you are. This is the case whether you’re applying to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in England and Wales, Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) in Scotland or AccessNI in Northern Ireland. The process might vary slightly, but usually involves going along in person to an approved person in the organisation where you’ll be working with your documents, so that they can verify that your documents are authentic and that the person in the photographs is indeed you. In most cases this is easy, and just means a short journey into town to your new employer. If, however you’re applying for a job many miles away, or can’t get time off to travel for an appointment, it can be tricky. One option is to send originals in the post, but what happens if your passport, marriage certificate and driving licence get lost in the post or misplaced by your employer? One way round this is by using the Post Office’s verification service, which solves a lot of these issues.

On all job applications we are required to provide the same general information, i.e. Name, address etc. On most applications you will be asked if you have a criminal record and dependent on the post, a DBS check may be carried out to verify this.

As we know, any individual working with children or vulnerable adults is required to provide an enhanced DBS, checking for any current or previous convictions, formal warnings and cautions etc. However, an even more comprehensive check is an Enhanced and Barred list DBS, it is more detailed than a standard or enhanced DBS, and includes a check of people listed as being barred from working with children and vulnerable adults. This check shows any criminal convictions including spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and formal warnings together with any information held on the police computer.

The huge range of different options which employers in the UK have for screening staff can be confusing, especially as so many abbreviations and acronyms are used. Here are some of the most common types of screening, along with a brief explanation of where they are used to help you interpret the jargon.

We’ve all been there – applying for your perfect job, absolutely desperate to impress, secure that interview and start work. It wouldn’t hurt to tweak the truth a little, would it? Maybe inflate your A-level grades a bit, make up something interesting to do as a hobby and talk up previous experience? And what about that criminal record section, surely there’s no harm in forgetting to declare that minor scuffle outside a pub or a theft charge?

Around one in four of the UK adult population will suffer from a mental health problem every year. Talking about mental health has been taboo, but we’re finally starting to opening up as a nation and talk about mental health issues. Mental health covers a wide spectrum from people who might feel down at times to people who are ill enough to need care in hospital. Once recovered, experts agree that getting a job is a good step to recovery and mental health management for many people, but people who have had some sort of health crisis in the past which required police involvement are often very concerned about what will be shown on a DBS check into their criminal records.