The subject of Security Checks, Prepchecking and the running of overts has a long history in the tech, dating back to the 1950s. There have been many changes to the technology used in relieving the preclear from overts and withholds he has collected on his case. This Qual Board Recommendation Bulletin is intended to give a guideline to the technology as it can be taught on Level 2 of the Academy, based on the working and proven technology of the 1960s, combined with later stable technical data.
The Qual Board recommends to use this method as the BTB 31 Aug 72RB “Confessional Procedure”, BTB 5 Dec 72RA "Procedure" and HCOB 30 Nov 78 "Confessional Procedure" introduced the datum that the auditor first had to get a read on a Confessional Question before the preclear was allowed to look at it and anything could be done about. No LRH reference can be found that a Confessional question has to read in the first place, rather the opposite.
The procedure recommended here is also less rote and will enable the preclear to really confront his overts and withholds in a given area and develop his confront on each one by entering into it on a gradient. On the other hand it is simple enough to teach it on Level 2 and does not demand the technical skill and experience necessary to the original handling of Prepchecking given in the HCOBs and lectures of spring 1962 (which was later given up by LRH because it was too difficult to teach but still can be learned and applied by SHSBC students).
The most important reference materials that were used to write this bulletin are:
Today we are giving Confessionals not Sec Checks. Sec Checks were developed to protect orgs from criminals. L Ron Hubbard writes in the HCO PL 26 Aug 68 Security Checks Abolished:
"The practice of security checking from security check lists like the "Joburg" has been abolished.
There are several reasons for this:
1. We have no interest in the secrets and crimes of people and no use for them.
2. Security checking is often done without regard to the point where the person feels better and so became overrun.
3. Security checking is often done in disregard of the state of a person's case.
4. Low level cases do not react on actual crimes and so the "security" furnished is often a false security.
5. There is public criticism of security checking as a practice.
6. The existence of lists of crimes in folders often makes it necessary to destroy the folders which may contain other technical data which is constructive and valuable.
7. If a person is a criminal or has overt acts which affect his case, and speaks of them to an auditor of his own volition, the auditor is bound by the Auditor's Code not to publish, use or reveal them.
Nothing in this policy letter alters standard grade processing or rudiments. "
In many HCOBs and BTBs it is clearly written that you do not check a Confessional question at first:
"If the pc owns up to a question, don’t refer to the meter. Don’t even look at the meter when asking a Sec question the first time. If the pc then says he hasn’t done it, look at the needle and without looking at the pc ask again. "
"So in confessionals the auditor on any particular question never looks at the E-Meter on that particular question, until the preclear has reached an impasse on that question, and says that he really and truly can think of no further answers. This creates confidence that the Auditor and the preclear are really working together to overwhelm the reactive mind. "
"Without now looking at the Meter, the auditor asks the Form question repetitively until the preclear says that’s all, there are no more answers. "
"When this has been done, using very good TR 1, you give him the question – off the meter. "
Later, for unknown reasons, it was demanded that a Sec Check question must read. Starting with BTB 31 Aug 72(RB) Confessional Procedure, BTB 5 Dec 72(RA) Procedure and HCOB 30 Nov 78(R) Confessional Procedure:
"With good TR 1 give the person the first question, keeping an eye on the meter and noting any instant read. "
Hence the following BTBs and HCOBs, which are not written by L. Ron Hubbard, as far as we know, are not recommended to be used in the Ron’s Orgs:
Thus, the stable datum remains that a Confessional question is not supposed to read in the first place. Before using the meter at all you first get off all answers to it.
This bulletin is teaching Confessional Procedure as it finds its roots in the HCOB 3 July 1962 Repetitive Prepchcking.
Prepchecking by the Withhold System is another method for Sec Checking and is taught on a higher level.
0. Take any appropriate Confessional List, avoid any Sec Check lists which were developed for security reasons specifically. A good general confessional list is HCO Info Ltr of 11 April 1962, “Dynamic Processing Checks” which covers the eight dynamics and can be added to by the C/S.
1. Give the pc the R-factor that you are going to do a Confessional with him. Clear with him the procedure including the necessary words which are used in the end ruds and the LCRD.
2. Fly the rudiments.
3. Take the first question from your confessional list. Clear it.
4. If needed groove in the question. There are a variety of ways to do this, e.g. , ask what the question means. What period or time the question covers. What activities would be included. Where the pc has been that might be something to do with the question. If any other people are likely to be involved. In other words you are steering the pc’s attention to various parts of his bank and getting him to have a preliminary look.
5. With very good TR 1, you give him the question – off the meter. You can forget your anti Q and A drill. You take your pc’s answer and bird dog him about it. If he gives you a general answer you ask him for a specific time (or a specific example). Don’t accept motivators.
To any overt get the What, When, Where, All and Who. (Who question: Who failed to find out about it? Who nearly found out about it? Who still doesn’t know about it?)
6. Go E/S with the overt found, getting the What, When, Where, All and Who on each overt you get, until you get an F/N or the pc can find no earlier one.
7. Handle all overts the pc gives in the way given in no. 5 and 6.
8. Only when your pc is thoroughly and healthily exhausted do you check the question on the meter. If you have done an excellent job the question will be clean. When there still is an instant read clean it. Help the pc with the meter as needed. If the question neither F/Ns on checking nor shows any instant read, use the buttons suppressed, invalidated and not-ised to get a read which you then can proceed to handle. If you now take up an overt, you must get it to F/N, if necessary by going Earlier Similar, as you now have a reading question.
9. Re-check the question. If it still reads, continue as given above.
10. A question the pc had no answers to from the beginning and neither any instant read needs only to be clean. Otherwise you continue to run the question as given above, re-checking it each time you have finished one chain to F/N, until on re-checking the question itself F/Ns.
11. Continue with the next question of the Confessional list, do steps 3-10 with it.
12. When you encounter any troubles, check (in this order) for Missed Withhold, false read and ARC-break. If you cannot handle it with those, use an LCRD.
13. Before ending the session, fly the end ruds.
Get each question answered without checking it on the meter and handle all you get, then check the question on the meter and clean it to F/N, if it reads.
The auditor has to be familiar with the references quoted at the beginning of this bulletin and should drill the procedure until he has it down pat.