WRITTEN ON September 18th, 2009 BY David Moss AND STORED IN Uncategorized

The Independent Safeguarding Authority are meant to help to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse.

How?

According to a document leaked to Josie Appleton, reported in The Register, as follows:

… the ISA has decided to put in place a scoring system to be filled in by its army of trained bureaucrats. Items will be assessed on the basis of “whether relevant conduct or a risk of harm “on the face of it” seems to have occurred”.

… “the case worker will examine… ‘predisposing factors’, such as ‘those factors relating to an individual’s interests or drives’; ‘cognitive factors’, such as ‘strong anti-social beliefs’; and ‘behavioural factors’, including ‘using substances or sex to cope with stress or impulsive, chaotic or unstable lifestyle. Drug use, sex life, favourite films.'”

…

Then there are “hazards”: for instance “inappropriate physical contact with a 12- to 16-year-old pupil during a lesson”. Each hazard is scored for the impact it would have on a child, as well as the likelihood that it would happen. The end result will be a score determining whether an individual is “regulated” – or “barred” for life – from about a quarter of the UK’s jobs.

We have a word for that. Psychometrics.

First a bunch of civil servants and politicians falls for the claims of the reliability of biometrics, and we get the Identity & Passport Service.

Then another bunch of vulnerable adults falls for the sales talk, this time for psychometrics, and we get the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

WIBBI these poor people were protected from abuse by metrics salesmen?