Set up by freelance photo agency United National Photographers (UNP), the CRB Checked Photographers website will explore the regulatory role of the CRB and "the usefulness of its services" for working photographers.
CRB checks allow recruiters and employers to identify candidates who may be unsuitable for work with children or vulnerable adults by accessing criminal record information held by the Home Office. While the checks are free to volunteers, companies must pay a fee for checks on paid employees.
UNP decided to launch the site after seeing an increase in work involving vulnerable or young people from clients, who request a CRB-checked photographer, Hamlet Mejloumian, founder of the agency, told Journalism.co.uk.
The agency now has 13 CRB-checked freelancers on its books spread across the UK so that it can take on this work when requested, he explained. The whole process took four months and the checks are costly, so it was not practical for the agency to have all its staff CRB-checked, said Hamlet.
"It is one of those things that is necessary to get through the door and get the work," he said.
But no photographer from the agency would be left unsupervised with vulnerable or young subjects, raising questions about the validity of putting photographers through the CRB-checking process, says the site.
To encourage discussion of the issue, CRB Checked Photographers is running a series of Q&As with freelance photographers about the CRB process and any effects on their work.
"I'm sure they are useful in many circumstances, but they don't serve any real purpose for professional photographers (…) I wouldn't use having the CRB check as a reason to be left alone with children or vulnerable adults while on a shoot. There is always somebody else available who can supervise and be responsible for them," says freelance photographer Simon Ridgway, who freelances for the agency, on the site.
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
