How prepared is your organisation to navigate the complexities of hiring in a workforce where nearly one in four individuals has a criminal record? That’s just over 12 million people. And this number is increasing every year, with over 200,000 people added annually to the Police National Computer (PNC), reflecting the constant evolution of the workforce and the need for proactive, ongoing screening to safeguard organisations and their stakeholders.
As part of our continued effort to raise industry standards, we’re rethinking criminal record checks by combining innovative technology, robust compliance solutions, and a candidate-first approach to empower organisations to hire with confidence and ease.
As a Responsible Organisation (RO), Giant Screening works directly with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to provide Basic, Standard, and Enhanced criminal record checks for employers in the UK. We also work with the Disclosure Scotland, Access Northern Ireland, and a network of trusted authorities worldwide to deliver tailored criminal record checks for global hiring needs.
In this blog, instead of simply highlighting everything you may already know, we quickly cover the essentials of criminal record checks within England and Wales before exploring how these checks can be streamlined and modernised to better serve your workforce and screening experience.
In 2024 alone, almost 7.4 million DBS checks were processed, representing about 11% of the UK’s working population. This highlights their critical role in building trust, maintaining safety, and adhering to regulatory standards. With this in mind, here are just some of the benefits of robust criminal record checks:
Safety and compliance: Protect employees, customers, and stakeholders by ensuring candidates meet legal and ethical standards.
Trust and reputation: Demonstrate a commitment to ethical hiring, strengthening your organisation’s market standing.
Efficiency: Digital criminal record checks streamline workflows, saving time and reducing redundancies.
Understanding the different types of DBS checks is key to ensuring the right level of screening for each role:
By choosing to partner with a trusted screening provider like Giant Screening who work hand in hand with the DBS, employers are able to access the DBS Update Service through one unified platform for all their screening needs. This is a powerful yet underutilised compliance tool for HR professionals.
What is the DBS Update Service?
The Update Service is an online subscription that allows candidates to keep their standard or enhanced certificates current and allows employers to quickly check the status of a certificate online. With candidate consent, this service allows organisations to:
With demand for Basic DBS Checks surging by over 500% in the past five years, these checks are now a cornerstone of modern compliance and safety standards. Here at Giant Screening, we combine advanced technology with human expertise to deliver fast, compliant results, often in as little as 24 hours for basic checks.
Features that power your screening process:
From UK-specific DBS checks to international criminal record checks across 220+ countries and territories, it’s important to choose a partner that can deliver customised solutions to meet the unique needs of your hiring strategy. With expertise in managing diverse compliance requirements, we make even the most complex hiring processes straightforward and efficient.
Giant Screening empowers HR professionals to elevate their hiring processes by:
Ready to safeguard your workplace and streamline your hiring process? Partner with Giant Screening and set a new standard for safe, compliant hiring.