GOC to be notified of registrants' offences

The General Optical Council has been added to the list of professional bodies which receive information from the police about criminal offences and cautions committed by registrants.

Optometrists and dispensing opticians have been added to the list of occupations that carry 'additional trust or responsibility' under the Notifiable Occupations Scheme.

The list, circulated by the Home Office to chief police officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, relates to professions where the public interest in the disclosure of conviction and other information by the police generally outweighs the normal duty of confidentiality owed to the individual.

Optical professionals fall into the second of two categories, meaning police must decide whether an offence is relevant before sharing the information. A statement from the GOC, which has been seeking inclusion on the list for some time, outlined that convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings in relation to all 'recordable offences'.