Oh, Those CRB Checks Work So Well, Don't They..?

Congratulations to staff at Norwood Manor Day Nursery, who spotted a convicted paedophile who had applied to work there after seeing him on a TV programme and alerting police.

Sadly, their efforts were in vain, as he was then placed in front of one of Coppersblog's mad judges, one Judge Christopher Hardy, who promptly gave him a suspended sentence:

Sentencing him at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Christopher Hardy said while it was “a serious matter” Smith had breached a ban from working with children given to him when originally jailed, he believed he had “not actively sought" to work with children.

Say what..?

The court heard there was "no evidence" of any "direct harm" to any child there and he had "tried to avoid contact with children”.

Apart from that whole 'applying to work at a nursery' thing, yes...

And how did he get past the CRB check? Simple. He didn't mention it. And they didn't check:

He had lied to Reed about not having a criminal record when he went seeking work following his release from prison, and the agency did not check him out further because he had a clean CRB check from when he worked with the agency in 2004.

The nursery did not check his record because it trusted Reed’s recommendation, the court heard.

And there we see the futility of relying on regulation.

And also the futility of imposing work restrictions on these people when no-one seems to care when they break them.

And yet, the justice system gets into a paddy when a washed-up 80s pop star released under license wants to take part in a reality show:

Alison Macdonald, O'Dowd's barrister, was refused permission by the judge to appeal against the ruling.

She told the court yesterday the probation service's decision was based on fears that it "would get another kicking" in the media.

And they don't think they would get one for this case?