Borders don’t have to be shut to be safe

Last week, the UK voted to leave the EU. Shock took over the nation on Friday morning, with the remain camp in as much disbelief as the victorious leave advocates. Political views were shared online and debates were sparked across social media as reality started to set in. For those who voted to leave, it appeared that one of the key reasons for wanting out of the EU was immigration and the security concerns that comes with the borders and Brexit vote. A recent report for Met police indicated that a convicted murderer from Latvia was allowed into the UK without a background check due to there being no official system in place to do so. Arnis Zalkains was allowed to live in the UK without being monitored despite his previous criminal history. He was then linked to the murder of a 14 year-old UK schoolgirl, Alice Gross, and would have been convicted for this crime had he not committed suicide just four days before her body was discovered. Despite being held for suspicion of sexual assault in 2009, no further action was taken to get a background check performed so he was not recognised as a criminal in the UK.

Last year, we saw thousands of refugees travel to Europe seeking aid and relief from war zones. However, one of the main concerns people had with the influx of ‘foreign bodies’ was that we didn’t know their backgrounds and whether or not they had a criminal record. Safety and potential threats of terrorism was proving to be a major worry, particularly with the recent attacks in Paris. Despite a large number of concerns being unwarranted, there are cases where issues have arisen from the lack of efficient screening of foreign nationals crossing borders. This recent example from the Met police is a prime example of what can go wrong if screening measures aren’t put in place.

When someone commits a crime in the UK, it is almost certain that this will be picked up from a DBS check. However, for foreign nationals coming into the country, this isn’t always the case and for some members of the public, this is a very scary prospect. In 2014, 2,000 foreign nationals were screened every month for criminal checks. However, this certainly doesn’t mean that every person who migrated to the UK was screened. Also, even if a person had been convicted of a crime in their home country, if the conviction is regarded as spent, then it would not show up on a background check. In 2016, there were 8,228 asylum seekers in quarter one in the UK alone and with this figure set to rise it is crucial that there is a robust process in place to screen people properly and safeguard the lives of many. Although it’s obvious that not everyone coming into the country will have a criminal record and this is clearly a rare incident, we believe that safety should be a priority for both people coming to the UK to seek asylum and also for the current residents of the UK. We need to ensure that we have the right systems in place and the correct resources to be able to screen everyone who comes into our country.

If you would like more advice about background checks or if you have any queries, you can contact a member of our team by calling: 01443 799 900 or email us: info@cbscreening.co.uk