The killer worked in schools after being prohibited

A convicted killer spent almost two years after working with children, as they were stopped from doing so, the BBC has learned.

Rashid Zaman, a 44 -year -old of Bradford of West Yorkshire, served a 15 -year prison in 2001 to kill a person who steals a car in Halifax and try to stop two others.

After his release, he began working voluntarily with the National Charity, St. Gils Trust in 2021, and later became a paid employee, who visited schools and youth homes.

Charity said Zaman, who did not respond to the BBC’s efforts to contact them, did not tell them that they were stopped from working with the children and as soon as the senior management came to know, they were rejected.

The BBC has seen both the disclosure and Barring service (DBS) certificates that St. Gils asked to provide Zaman. First, since 2021, it did not say that he was stopped from working with children. But the most recent released in March 2023, stated that he was stopped.

St. Gils said that its senior management did not know about the result of the most recent DBS check until December 2024, which meant that Zaman continued in his role – and 28 children were contacted – after being forbidden.

Charity said that it is “deeply regrets).

Zaman and two other people of Bradford were convicted of stabbing father-two Kevin Jackson in the head with a screwdriverAnd after trying to stop the group from stealing your father -in -law’s car, beating him with a piece of wood near his house.

At that time, the judge called the murder a “cowardly and frightening act”.

Zaman was sentenced to life imprisonment and was released from jail in 2017.

Four years later, he began work in St. Gills, which is one of the about 1,500 registered charity in England and Wales, working with former criminals across the country to help them rebuild their lives.

A increased DBS check will show any previous defects and someone has been stopped from working with children.

It is seen as an important part of security for organizations, and it is necessary when any person applies for a job with access to weak people such as teaching, social work and health services.

A former staff member, who wants to be anonymous, told the BBC that St. Giles’ security in this case was “frightening”, saying: “Something is clearly going wrong.”

He said that Zaman moved to schools as part of the charity’s SOS project in Yorkshire, sometimes alone, about three “schools.

The initial intervention program prevents the youth from falling into criminal activity, and is distributed by pre-pronounced as part of their re-renovation in the society.

The source said that Zaman was “Outreach working, supporting young people in school and would contact families and visit home”.

The source called the charity to take strict measures.

The former employee said, “I really feel upset and angry because they are not just putting young people at risk, they are also risking employees.”

DBS did not tell the BBC why they were allowed to work with children in 2021 and then stopped in 2023, as it does not comment on personal matters.

It said that the serious crimes committed after 2006 can be stopped automatically from working with children, but the crimes committed before that time will cause barring investigation.

All killers are necessarily prevented from working with children – some will be able to appeal and persuade DBS that they should not be in the forbidden list.

But it is a crime for someone in a taboo list to “regulated activity” with a group in which they are forbidden. He may face a fine of up to five years or jail sentence.

People on forbidden lists can still do three days of teaching or training with children over a few 30-days period, under some circumstances. It is not clear whether Zaman is more than these limits.

West Yorkshire police said it had started a criminal investigation. The BBC understands that Zaman was recently arrested.

DBS checks are issued directly to individuals, not the organization requesting them, but a DBS spokesperson said it was the responsibility of the employers to review the certificate of the employees.

St. Giles refused to reply when the BBC asked which schools Zaman had visited, how many times, and what parents were informed.

A spokesman said that Zaman did not tell the charity about being forbidden, which meant that he continues to work with the children.

“It should never have happened,” he said.

“As soon as we became aware, we started an internal investigation and re -examined all Yorkshire employees working with children, in which no more concern was received.

The spokesperson said that the charity had “unwavering commitment to security” and he had both informed both the local authority nominated officer and the Charity Commission.

He said that after the incident, it reviewed the DBS check of all its employees working with children in Yorkshire and identified “no other issues”.

He said: “Every person we undergo deep risk assessment and criminal background check, and each one is committed deeply to use his own experiences to help others.

“Evidence suggests that living-experience programs like us are reduced by 21%, while also providing meaningful employment that allows people to give back their communities.”

National charity income increased from £ 18.4m to £ 21m in 2022-23-with government grants and millions of pound funding coming from contracts.

It has received around £ 400,000 from West Yorkshire Joint Authority since 2020 for local projects.

For policing and crime, the area deputy mayor Alison Lov said that she would not especially comment on St. Giles. But he said that the suspension of funding was a step that could be investigated against an alleged DBS violation against the council.

He said that security was “number one most important issue” for any public authority.

Asked whether it was the responsibility of a person whether to inform an employer whether his DBS said he had been forbidden, he said: “I think it is absolutely important that the employer gets a copy of that document so that they can take the right decisions and keep our communities safe, and especially to protect our children and youth.”

The Charity Commission said that it was investigating after St. Giles reported a serious incident.

A spokesman said that he had opened a regulator compliance case and “was” assessing the information to determine our next stages “.

Listen to highlights West Yorkshire on BBC SoundsHold with the latest Look North Episode Or tell us a story you think We should cover here,