Checks on Freelance Tutors or Instructors to Ascertain No Prior Conviction for Sexual Offences Against Minors

Debated in Parliament on 5 Apr 2021.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs what assistance can be provided to parents who wish to conduct background checks on freelance tutors to ensure they have no prior convictions for sexual offences against minors.
The Minister explained that current policy balances protecting children from offenders and supporting their rehabilitation, with the Police maintaining non-public criminal records used by agencies like MOE and MSF for screening employees in child-related roles.
The Minister noted that making these records publicly accessible to parents could resemble a public sex offender registry, which may lead to stigmatisation, harassment, and increased reoffending, as seen in the U.S.
The government is considering whether to mandate screening for all persons working with children, but practical difficulties exist, and further pathways for checking criminal antecedents are under review.
The request for parental access to tutor background checks is acknowledged as reasonable, but the potential consequences of public disclosure require careful evaluation.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Full Transcript

Murali Pillai

Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs what assistance can be provided to parents of minors who wish to make background checks of persons to ascertain that they have not been convicted of sexual offences against minors before engaging them as freelance tutors or instructors for their children.

K Shanmugam

The approach taken today is to try and balance between ensuring that persons who have committed serious sexual crimes are not employed in positions which may put children at risk; and at the same time, not to add to the stigmatisation of ex-offenders and hinder their rehabilitation and reintegration.

To strike this balance, the Registration of Criminals Act allows the Police to maintain a non-public record of persons convicted of serious offences, including sexual offences. Agencies such as MOE and MSF work closely with the Police to screen prospective employees who are applying for jobs working with children, such as those in licensed preschools and schools.

However, as these records are non-public, members of the public, including parents, do not have access to them.

We are considering whether more steps need to be taken, to make it mandatory that all persons employed in similar sectors working with children be screened. There are some practical difficulties in taking this approach, which we are thinking through.

It is a further step, from that, to allow parents to screen potential tutors for the tutors’ past offences. I can see the reasonableness in the MP’s request. However, it will be little short of having a public registry of a person’s criminal antecedents. The information could easily become public. And that has its own consequences.

As far as we know, only the U.S. has a public sex offender registry. One research study found that convicted offenders on the registry are more likely to reoffend, as the resultant exclusion from their neighbourhood, job loss, and anxiety problems are counterproductive. The registered sex offenders and their family members have also experienced stigmatisation, harassment, and abuse.

We will need to consider the consequences and see if we should provide for further pathways for checking a person’s criminal antecedents, beyond the current approach.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs what assistance can be provided to parents who wish to conduct background checks on freelance tutors to ensure they have no prior convictions for sexual offences against minors.
The Minister explained that current policy balances protecting children from offenders and supporting their rehabilitation, with the Police maintaining non-public criminal records used by agencies like MOE and MSF for screening employees in child-related roles.
The Minister noted that making these records publicly accessible to parents could resemble a public sex offender registry, which may lead to stigmatisation, harassment, and increased reoffending, as seen in the U.S.
The government is considering whether to mandate screening for all persons working with children, but practical difficulties exist, and further pathways for checking criminal antecedents are under review.
The request for parental access to tutor background checks is acknowledged as reasonable, but the potential consequences of public disclosure require careful evaluation.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Checks on Freelance Tutors or Instructors to Ascertain No Prior Conviction for Sexual Offences Against Minors | PAPERCUTS

Checks on Freelance Tutors or Instructors to Ascertain No Prior Conviction for Sexual Offences Against Minors

Debated in Parliament on 5 Apr 2021.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs what assistance can be provided to parents who wish to conduct background checks on freelance tutors to ensure they have no prior convictions for sexual offences against minors.
The Minister explained that current policy balances protecting children from offenders and supporting their rehabilitation, with the Police maintaining non-public criminal records used by agencies like MOE and MSF for screening employees in child-related roles.
The Minister noted that making these records publicly accessible to parents could resemble a public sex offender registry, which may lead to stigmatisation, harassment, and increased reoffending, as seen in the U.S.
The government is considering whether to mandate screening for all persons working with children, but practical difficulties exist, and further pathways for checking criminal antecedents are under review.
The request for parental access to tutor background checks is acknowledged as reasonable, but the potential consequences of public disclosure require careful evaluation.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Full Transcript

Murali Pillai

K Shanmugam

However, as these records are non-public, members of the public, including parents, do not have access to them.

We will need to consider the consequences and see if we should provide for further pathways for checking a person’s criminal antecedents, beyond the current approach.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs what assistance can be provided to parents who wish to conduct background checks on freelance tutors to ensure they have no prior convictions for sexual offences against minors.
The Minister explained that current policy balances protecting children from offenders and supporting their rehabilitation, with the Police maintaining non-public criminal records used by agencies like MOE and MSF for screening employees in child-related roles.
The Minister noted that making these records publicly accessible to parents could resemble a public sex offender registry, which may lead to stigmatisation, harassment, and increased reoffending, as seen in the U.S.
The government is considering whether to mandate screening for all persons working with children, but practical difficulties exist, and further pathways for checking criminal antecedents are under review.
The request for parental access to tutor background checks is acknowledged as reasonable, but the potential consequences of public disclosure require careful evaluation.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Checks on Freelance Tutors or Instructors to Ascertain No Prior Conviction for Sexual Offences Against Minors

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Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Murali Pillai

K Shanmugam

Summary

Questions Identified

Checks on Freelance Tutors or Instructors to Ascertain No Prior Conviction for Sexual Offences Against Minors

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Murali Pillai

K Shanmugam

Summary

Questions Identified