4C.1: Deciding whether the person is a risk

Guidance

Within a Church community, there will be individuals about whom nothing is known, but who may pose a safeguarding risk. It is for this reason that the most effective risk management tool is to have a strong safeguarding culture. This means that everyone is alert to the possibility and signs that someone may have been abused or may be an abuser and is confident in what to do about it.

For the purposes of this section, a “person who may present a safeguarding risk to children, young people or vulnerable adults” refers to any individual who has been charged with, cautioned or convicted of an offence which:

• has harmed a child or a vulnerable adult;
• has caused a child or a vulnerable adult to be harmed;
• has put a child or a vulnerable adult at risk of harm;
• has attempted to harm a child or a vulnerable adult; and / or
• has incited another person to harm a child or a vulnerable adult.

For the avoidance of doubt, it also includes persons who are under or subject to a civil order, such as a Sexual Harm Prevention Order or similar, or who have engaged in conduct that has harmed or might have harmed a child, young person or vulnerable adult, where this conduct has not resulted in a charge, caution or conviction – for instance, they might have received a warning, a penalty notice or a fine but a level of risk to others has still been identified. This is particularly important given that statutory services must respond to (and meet) legislative requirements that the Church is not bound by.

The decision whether someone is a “person who may present a safeguarding risk to children, young people or vulnerable adults” ultimately sits with the Safeguarding Officer. In making this decision, the Safeguarding Officer needs to take into account the nature of the offence or alleged offence or behaviour and consider whether applying this guidance is proportionate in a worshipping context. This includes situations where statutory investigations or processes have determined no further action, or where there has been no finding of guilt, because there may remain safeguarding concerns that meet the above criteria which require a plan to be in place for the safety of everyone. The important factor here is that the actions to mitigate the identified risk are proportionate.

Sources of information

Information about a person who poses safeguarding risks might come to the attention of a DSO / CSO in various ways – either through the person sharing that information themselves, though statutory agencies (e.g. police, probation) or through other members of the Church community.

For some violent and sexual offenders, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are in place to ensure the appropriate management of risk. These arrangements generally bring together the police, probation and prison services, as well as other relevant parties. A Safeguarding Officer will generally not be part of these arrangements, but:

• should ensure that they are aware of any arrangements relevant to their local area;
• should ensure that information relevant for the management of risk is shared with those agencies; and
• may seek and receive information from those agencies (e.g. they may receive information that an offender is on the Violent and Sex Offender Register – ViSOR).