CRB checks in Poland?

Is there such a thing as CRB checks in Poland for people like taxi,bus drivers teachers ETC?

Isn't a criminal record mandatory in order to get a job with certain taxi firms?

Yes, it's called the "Krajowy Rejestr Karny ".

Whether or not it's asked for depends on the employer. Anyway, it's 50zl, and you can get the document in many Polish cities and large towns.

In the uk its a BIG yes but not sure about Poland thats why im asking you lot out there as someone seem to know everything,More of the teachers side than taxi driving,(its ok guys and girls im not trying to be a teacher)

Depends on where. State teachers, yes (although bizzarely, this was only instituted recently). Private schools? Ask Harry.

No checks at all. Not even the schools which are inspected by the Ministry of Education. It is only a matter of time before some kids get seriously hurt by a teacher who should be allowed nowhere near children. One of the teachers at a school where I worked was an axe murderer who was dragged out of class one day by Polish police and Interpol to answer a few questions about the fate his wife and mother-in-law met.

Yes I am serious about that.

What sort of schools do you work at?! Also, a CRB check would have not helped things in this case, as the teacher very obviously either a) did his axe trick quite recently or b) was extra good at evading justice until that point.

Frighteningly, that was at the time one of the best schools in Warsaw! It's still one of the better ones.

The CRB check would most certainly have helped: it would have found that he was wanted by Interpol! It was a fair few years ago and I can't remember all the details (not even sure if the bloke was British or Irish), so I can't say how long he'd been on the run for or things like that (our paths very rarely crossed as we were working in different departments).

One problem is that the Polish one is just a register of people who've been found guilty of something in court. So somebody acquitted on a technicality of child abuse would have no problems working in a kindergarten, whereas a friend in Warsaw was recently denied a job working with the disabled due to being busted for less than a tenth of a gram of weed a few years ago. Hardly a menace to society.

No,but if I had to choose between the known Pot head and someone with a clean record to look after a member of my family the Pot head wouldnt get a look in,no matter how liberal my stance on weed may be.

I think I prefer the Polish idea to the British CRB,with the CRB you have unfounded allegations carrying the same weight as convictions....

The certain person im on about(not me)is a teacher and dose private leasons at home(normally when his wife is working as a nurse)But whenever he is around our village in the summer he is constantly looking at young 13/14 year old in there swim suits(in the summer)and school uniforms(in the winter) and its starting to get to me as iv young children myself,Thats why im asking to see if there is a chance he would have been checked,

Another? if they would have checked him how long would it last?

Thanks all

No. A Certifykat Niekaralnosci (the nearest thing to a CRB check) isn't necessary for private lessons.


It doesn't work that way in PL. It's just a certificate that the person has a clean record. Even then, some old offences wouldn't show up after a certain period has elapsed.


Well, obviously the person being looked atfer has the choice, rather than the family members, but in this case the guy wasn't a pothead - just unlucky.

You know what Jonnie,you may be right,slightly off topic,but Ive often thought for silly/minor drugs busts in someones youth(pot etc,maybe not heroin,but..) there should be some oppertunity for the reformed addict/rec'smoker as an adult to have that record wiped if say they did a 6 month series of blood/hair tests at the local police station.....

Andrew,sure,it sounds a bit iffy,but,do you know this man and his wife? I ask because when I moved in with a g/f and her nipper a few years ago there was a man in the neighbourhood who I thought was a bit dodgy for the same reason,he paid more than the casual amount of time watching kids playing.

Turned out he'd lost his 2 kids in a car crash about 5 years before.....

This is the worst thing about the CRB system - someone can be in all sorts of trouble through unfounded allegations. It's particularly serious where teachers are concerned - a male teacher can find himself subject to malicious allegations, which then get reported on the CRB - and bye bye career.

The rise of the CRB checking system is causing many, many problems that it shouldn't be. It gets even worse when you consider that no-one will risk hiring anyone with a "record" - because they don't want to be responsible if that person then does something else wrong - even if the "record" was for something minor such as possession of cannabis.

@andrewwright
Keep out of it is my advice. I can't imagine Polish villagers being too happy about a foreigner sticking his nose in. Never heard the old saying - "my people are my own people, even if I disagree with them"?

Yep,CRB checks,not worth the paper they're printed on. When I got mine it was spankingly clean....funny,I have clear memories of a "omg,Im getting my photo taken with numbers under me and ink on my fingers .." moment when I was 18. That same caution for pot possesion 2 months later would have scuppered my CRB,barmey.(Im only "coming clean" about my run in with the peelers because Ive since worked for the Civil Service,no chance of that if it had still stood on any record.)

Not to mention the fact that those vile women in the english nurserys all had clean CRBs...

It does not suprise me that CRB checks are done in Britain in order to eliminate "criminals". However, as far as I know and as it concerns me there is no obligatory CRB Checks in Warsaw in Poland. I have been teaching English in Wroclaw in Lower Silesia for about three years and found it very strange as at the start of my work my first employer did not ask me for CRB checks. He was very happy to offer me a job because of one reason: I am a Native Speaker.

What is idotic about a UK CRB is that it is not always valid across the board. My sister works in a sports centre, so has CRB. My nephew's school were going to the zoo and my sis was going along as a parent. I offered to go to.

"You can't, you're not CRB'd".
"I am, I'm working in a summer school and have a current CRB".
"It's probably not valid in this region or for this activity".

Seems for some work it has to be a local organisation which applies.

Then, to top it all, I was working in one summer school and one of the AL's had a conviction for violence (he'd been in a fight one night and was a karate guy...). Seems British Council don't demand 100% CRB.

The lad was a great guy and very good at his job, so I have no qualms about him personally.

It's not so complicated - the idiotic situation with CRB checks is that *every* organisation has to apply individually, as the CRB check is only valid at the moment of issue. It's utter nonsense in every sense of the word, yet that's the regulation.


I've heard the same thing - the British Council are basically taking the cash and not checking the schools at all. In theory, a conviction for violence shouldn't mean anything - but this is the problem with the CRB system, that people simply won't take a chance if there's *anything* on the record.

The whole system is just completely unfit for purpose.

Out of interest do cautions or spent convictions show up on a CRB check?

I think it's more about which kind of violence, as well. Obviously, violence against kids or 'at risk' would disqualify you from such work straight off.

Yes very well.


Wish i could,


Disagree,Iv'e been checked by at least 5 different councils in the uk for the work iv'e done and they all seem the same,100%

There is only one British Council - you're probably thinking of local authorities.


Yes, you can. Is his sexuality really your affair, unless you're sure he's abusing minors?

Indeed - I wouldn't want to be reporting anyone in a small Polish village for something like this. The trees have ears - and if they find out it was him, I doubt he'd last particularly long.

Let's be honest - is he really harming anyone by looking at 13/14 year old girls? When you see the way they dress in public swimming pools, it's not much of a surprise that they're attracting attention from some bloke.

I really can't figure out why anyone would want to get involved in this sort of thing as a foreigner. It's just asking for so much trouble.

I mean the British Council, the culture organization, not councils in Britain. They, I know ARE.

@Harry
Hi I want do CRB from Poland to use for work in uk bec I lived there in Poland 4 months idea how I can do it

Harry can't reply, sadly, however what you need is a Certifykat Niekaralnosci from the police station. Having said that, if you're a citizen of an EU/EEA country any offences for which you've been convicted in PL will show up on the records in the U.K.