Convicted Carers; The Criminals In Social Work.

MORE than 4,000 people with criminal records have applied to become social workers in the past two years.

CARING CRIMINALS: There is no legislation to prevent convicted jailbirds working in healthcare [GETTY]

Killers, prostitutes, drug dealers and even a paedophile were among those hoping to have responsibility for the most vulnerable members of society.

In 2012, 2,145 applications from would-be social workers revealed criminal histories amounting to a massive 6,170 offences which resulted in either court convictions or police warnings.

One applicant carried a conviction for wilfully mistreating a child, while another had been convicted of having sex with an underage girl.

Burglars and violent offenders had also applied to become the guardians of children and vulnerable pensioners.

Last year the records of prospective social workers included 213 offences of loitering for the purposes of prostitution as well as two convictions for causing death on the roads.

In 2011, official figures show there were 6,158 offences disclosed regarding 2,151 applicants, including one for being drunk on a plane and another for blackmail.

Details of an applicant's criminal history are passed on to the prospective employer - typically a local council - which then has to decide whether to invite them for interview.

According to the records held by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), one applicant had a record for sexual assault, while another had a conviction for flashing.

There were 30 offences of robbery, seven convictions for arson and one for making a hoax bomb warning.

There were also 337 drug offences relating to cocaine, cannabis, heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

RISK: Criminals are working in the UK care system [GETTY]

There were 41 convictions for being drunk and disorderly and seven for arson.

One applicant had a conviction for harbouring an escaped prisoner, another for kidnapping. And there were 85 offences of burglary and 27 cases of benefit fraud.

The most common offences recorded against prospective social workers were shoplifting (936), drink-driving (424) and assault (295).

The DBS - which took over its role from the Criminal Records Bureau - trawls the Police National Computer for offences committed by people who are applying for jobs where they have access to children or vulnerable people.

A spokesman for the DBS said: "We are unable to confirm if any of the individuals were employed as a result of the information being released as the DBS has no involvement in any recruitment decision made.

"The recruitment decision is made solely by the employer."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/346190/Caring-criminals-Convicted-offenders-working-in-the-UK-healthcare-industry

Also see: http://brynalynvictims.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/convicted-paedophile-caught-working-in.html