Loophole lets trans criminals hide past

TRANSGENDER criminals could abuse a loophole to hide previous convictions when applying to work with children, it has emerged.

People who change gender can withhold their birth name and biological sex when applying for jobs in settings such as schools, nurseries and hospitals.

Criminal record checks are carried out on past identities only if the individual notifies officials that they have changed their name, a report by campaign group Keep Prisons Single Sex (KPSS) has found.

Although trans people are legally required to inform the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) of past identities, special privacy restrictions mean they can ask for these to be concealed from employers.

It has raised fears that the system could be abused by ‘ nefarious criminals’ wanting to gain access to vulnerable people. Tory MP Miriam Cates told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘ If predators can evade scrutiny by changing their name or claiming to be the opposite sex, we can be sure that this DBS loophole will be abused and children will be harmed.’

Ministers are currently reviewing an existing loophole which relies on sex offenders notifying officials when they change their names by deed poll – meaning previous convictions could be hidden from checks.

The DBS, which is part of the Home Office, has set up a ‘sensitive applications route’ for trans people to protect their previous gender identity. This means they must phone and tell officials if they have a past identity they do not wish to disclose so it can be hidden from employers.

But the report warns: ‘The current DBS system relies on the assumption that these disclosures will be made accurately and fully when there are reasons why they might not be. Omission could be deliberate, including for nefarious reasons.’

It called for checks to be carried out using national insurance numbers, which never change.

Dr Kate Coleman, director of KPSS, said that the ‘ enhanced privacy rights’ mean there is ‘ no guarantee’ that the information on a criminal record check is correct. She added that the loopholes pose ‘serious risks to safeguarding that compromise the validity and reliability’ of the system.

A DBS spokesman said the process ‘introduces no additional risk to DBS checks’ but ‘merely affords transgender applicants with the legal protections that they are entitled to.’

‘Predators can evade scrutiny’