Due to the recent offline entrance of the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM), no current data from the OM were available in the Judicial Documentation System (JDS). This also affects the continuous screening in child care. A temporary emergency procedure has been put in place so that safety in the childcare facilities is maintained.
Because of the emergency procedure, Justis - which conducts the continuous screening of employees and those structurally present within child care facilities - still receives timely signals about serious acts of violence and sex offenses.
To reduce risks, permission has been granted to the police to provide police data on serious crimes of violence and sex offenses directly to the Judicial Information Service (Justid). Justis uses this information for continuous screening so that signals about the most serious offenses are not missed. This emergency process applies only to the most serious categories of offenses. For other offenses, there may be temporary delays in receiving and processing new data.
Because no new data were entered into the JDS, Justis no longer received any signals. The other links in the chain, the Education Executive Agency (DUO), Municipal Health Services (GGDs) and childcare organizations, also temporarily did not receive any signals due to the disruption. With the current temporary solution, the continuous screening of employees and structural attendees continues, but less serious cases can be flagged later. Serious acts of violence and sex offenses will indeed be processed in a timely manner through the emergency procedure. Once the JDS is fully updated again, the missing data for the intervening period will also be processed.
Certificates of Good Conduct (VOGs) issued from July 18 to the present are based on information prior to July 18. These VOGs are therefore not complete. The temporary solution for serious crimes of violence and sex offenses does look back at the period from July 18.
The OM has now begun a phased going live of the systems. This will restore the information supply step by step, but the impact is expected to remain for some time. Once the OM's systems are back online, all data will be updated immediately. Any signals about other possible offenses such as weapons and drug offenses will still be forwarded after this. Persons working or structurally present in the childcare sector, who have received a VOG as of July 18, will therefore not have to apply for a new VOG.
Continuous screening is important, but not the only means of ensuring safe child care. In addition, the holder of the child care organization has an important role in ensuring safety. The four-eye principle in childcare centers helps with this: the holder organizes childcare in such a way that a second person can always watch or listen in. This reduces the risk of unsafe situations. Also, suspicions of sexual abuse or mistreatment at the day care must be reported immediately. Childcare professionals and parents can seek advice on this from the confidential inspectors of the Inspectorate of Education.
