Shooting Views: The Age of Accusations
Uploaded on Sep 09, 2010 / 262 views / 2750 impressions / 4 comments
Description
A mother tells her daughter off on a bus, a father chastises his son for naughty behaviour and a parent leaves her toddler with a teenager while she picks up some milk. What do these parents have in common as a result of their actions? A criminal...
A mother tells her daughter off on a bus, a father chastises his son for naughty behaviour and a parent leaves her toddler with a teenager while she picks up some milk. What do these parents have in common as a result of their actions? A criminal record and an end to their career plans. In this edition of Shooting Views we meet Mervyn Barrett from NACRO, a charity working with offenders. Mervyn recounts these shocking stories and explains that changes in the law mean accusations are treated as reality and people's lives are being destroyed.
4 comments
adj3
I had no idea that cases that these existed. Quite ridiculous really, especially the one that happened on the bus. It's shocking enough that the guy called the Police and that they evacuated the bus but to put that on her record and for FIVE YEARS? Ridiculous...
FXtina
I remember my mum had smacked me for being naughty at school once. It wasn’t brutal, just a slap to the wrist. But a teacher saw it happen and threatened to report her to social services and the police! My mums a care worker for the elderly so if any actions were taken further it could have seriously affected her career.
I think these vetting laws are kind of pointless. An accusation and a piece of paper has the power to ruin your life. Very interesting report
Vivien
The whole film crew listened to Mervyn stories with our mouths dropping to the floor as he told more and more stories of parents lives being ruined over such silly incidents. The distrust whipped up by the scheme and destruction of people’s lives based on allegations and suspicion is far more dangerous than the miniscule risk of someone dodgy getting employed or volunteering. In any case, the best way to reduce risks posed to children by those who work or volunteer with them is to rely on the vigilance of other adults, not a piece of paper. Not only does the Vetting and Barring scheme undermine this need for our own circumspection, but it also has huge implications for civil liberties and privacy rights. A review of the system is no solution at all. The scheme should be scrapped in favour of human judgement – period.What do others think?
LaurenBoyle
One word, ABSURD! The Age of Accusations gets straight to the point highlighting everything that is wrong with CRB checking and vetting. These aren't just individual stories on a one off basis, Nacro are receiving thousands of calls a week from genuinely concerned people with criminal records (including minor offences that even myself was unaware were considered criminal) as they are afraid of the repercussion's they may face if they apply for a prospective job or voluntary work. I was absolutely flabbergasted listening to how law abiding individuals have had their lives devastated by one incident of misjudgement and now afflicted with the consequences of having a criminal record. CRB checking and vetting are extreme and excessive measures that sadly alienate ordinary people from fulfilling their potential through fear of being deemed an "offender." I say there is only one solution here and it is not revising the policies of the CRB, but abolishing it altogether!