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Sorry i'll try again i can never get this to work.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2211738.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2211738.stm
Fortis said:Perhaps the women were actually men in drag.
They seem to be a ring of women, often seen being driven around by a man in the ubiquitous white van, who universally never get caught by police.
Jenny Randles and Peter Hough equate BSW's with MIB's [1995, Encyclopaedia of the Unexplained, Brockhampton Press, London, pp175-179]. In fact one account tells of a BSW trying to take a child claiming they had to be taken into care for eating a jam sandwich at the wrong time of day. Surreal, almost Lynchian, details like this are very reminiscent of MIB cases.
So who knows? The rack of police files about this suggests its true, but the uncatchable nature of the BSW's suggests an UL. If they are real, why such an organised gang, and why can they never be caught when acting so brazenly?
Mr. Hutton: That argument is interesting. I wonder what the justification for it might be. We must be clear about the exercise of reserving job titles. We are associating a criminal sanction with the use of the term "social worker" for people not properly registered with the General Social Care Council. The step is an important one for Parliament to take. We are invoking the full weight of the criminal law on those who want to misrepresent themselves as professionally qualified social workers. We must do that carefully, having studied the arguments and the way in which the profession has developed around a recognisable core of professional qualifications. We can then take the step that we recommend to the Committee and to the House to preserve properly that job title.
Mr. Shaw: Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important to preserve the title, not least because of the bogus social workers who knock at people's doors? I have had experience of that. For parents, having someone knock at the door, ask the child to remove their clothes and check for bruising when that person has no grounds for being there causes considerable distress, especially when the family is involved with social services. The full weight of the law should bear on people who take part in such activities. We should do all that we can to send a clear message that the offence is extremely serious.
Mr. Hutton: My hon. Friend makes an important point; I am glad that he has reminded the Committee of that practice. We know about that--all hon. Members will know of such cases. Sometimes, those cases have resulted in terrible consequences. Obviously, an exercise in preserving a job title will not stop the activity--we cannot do that. However, it can attract a penalty for those who choose to abuse the job title.
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Mr. Hutton: It may act as deterrent, but not for that particular practice. People who say that they are social care workers when they are not would attract a penalty. However, if we take the step of protecting job title and make it a criminal offence to abuse a job title, we must have a specifically identifiable group of workers who have developed a core professional range of qualifications and experience that the public identify as important and for which it is worth preserving the title.
3.45 pm
Mr. Hammond: My hon. Friend the Member for Meriden is envisaging social care workers as an identifiable and registered group under the Bill. However, I have a practical issue to raise. The hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Mr. Shaw) described the dangers of impersonating social workers. We are dealing with vulnerable people. Does the Minister agree that there is a lot of scope for confusion in their minds about whether someone is a social worker or social care worker? A person who knocks on the door and says, "I'm the social care worker and I've come to look at you" when he is not a social care worker, will not be guilty of a criminal offence, but a bogus social worker who knocks on the door and says, "I'm the social worker and I've come to look at you". will be guilty of a criminal offence. That distinction might not be easily understood by the ordinary person.
Bogus health visitor 'checks' baby
Police are warning mothers to check the identify of professional visitors after a woman posing as a health worker examined a baby.
The woman tricked her way into the south Wales home of a mother and her 11-week-old boy and carried out a 15-minute "check-up".
She pretended to study the infant's eyes, ears and legs and even had a discussion with his mother about her childcare arrangements for going back to work.
The mother only realised the woman was a fake when she mentioned the episode, which happened on Monday, to her genuine health visitor.
Detectives said people in the Caldicot area should be on their guard in case the women decides to approach another family.
Be vigilant as to who you let in the house
Detective Inspector Mike Jones
The bogus health worker is described as white, about 30 years old with long, brown hair and was wearing navy trousers, a navy top and a jacket, which had an identity badge on it.
Gwent Police Detective Inspector Mike Jones said: "She picked the child up, looked into his eyes and ears and felt his legs before she said something like, 'it's dozing off'."
Mr Jones said the area's local health board had no-one on its team who matched the description of the woman.
He added that health visitors would normally be known to a family and would not turn up unannounced.
He said: "Be vigilant as to who you let in the house.
"If you are in any way suspicious of who is calling at the door, ring 999."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3487685.stm
Published: 2004/02/14 12:24:55 GMT
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