Police Caution Removal Solicitor | Remove a Police Caution

Police Caution Removal Solicitor & DBS Appeals. We are the leading legal practice specialising in police caution and arrest record removal, local police records expungement, and also DBS certificate and barring appeals. 

If you have received a police caution then it may only be now, sometime after you have left the police station, that you are realising the impact a police caution may have on your future.

• The police may have told you the simple police caution was a “slap on the wrist”, and wouldn’t harm your future.
• Maybe you were afraid of being taken to Court?
• Perhaps you were afraid if you didn’t accept the police caution, things would get much worse?
• Even if you were innocent, you might have admitted the offence and accepted a police caution, just to escape the police station…

The following regulated professional roles will be seriously impacted by a police caution. A simple arrest record may also affect some of these roles, namely for those that require an enhanced DBS certificate:

• Doctor or other health care professional (nurse, dentist etc.)
• Solicitor
• Barrister or other officer of the Court (court clerk, security etc.)
• FCA regulated worker (Banking and Finance)
• Teacher
• Care worker
• Social worker
• Police officer
• Security Industry Association (SIA) security staff
• Government role (MI5, The Home Office, Ministry of Justice etc.)
• Other regulated roles where a standard or enhanced DBS check is required

If you work or wish to work in a regulated environment then you will usually have to undertake a Standard or an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) background certificate (formerly a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check).

Our practice is directed by arguably the leading and most experienced expert police caution removal solicitor. Given our extensive experience and knowledge, we will give you the best chance of having your police caution or arrest record removed.

On a standard or an enhanced DBS certificate, a police caution for less serious offences will be removed after 6 years – a police caution for a more serious offence will always be disclosed on a standard or enhanced DBS certificate (except for youth police cautions).

On an enhanced check even after 6 years has elapsed, the police retain a discretion to disclose the facts surrounding any police caution on a DBS certificate. For example, if you received a police caution for assault 7 years ago, and you now wish to enter a trusted profession such as teaching, then the police have the option to disclose the facts of your police caution on an enhanced DBS certificate, even though the 6 year period is expired.

Even if you did not receive a police caution, but were simply investigated for a criminal offence, this can still be disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate, which may of course have a serious impact on your career prospects.

A police caution can also cause significant problems when it comes to overseas travel, particularly when it comes to long term visas and citizenship applications. If you have a police caution it will be retained on the Police National Computer (PNC) until you reach 100 years of age, unless it is deleted.

If you have a police caution it will be revealed on an ACRO Police Certificate for either 5 or 10 years, depending on the type of offence; thereafter it will be indirectly revealed as “No Live Trace”. For people who do not have a record on the PNC, their Police Certificate will simply state “No Trace”. If you present a “No Live Trace” certificate when undertaking an immigration application, often you will be asked to provide a complete copy of your criminal record. Certain countries, such as the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore and China can be very strict when it comes to criminal records. Police cautions for certain offences can make you ineligible for a visa or citizenship.

It is possible to get a police caution removed from your record, depending on the circumstances. It may be the case that you were incorrectly advised to accept a police caution or you were unfit to accept the caution at the time.

The police are required to follow a defined procedure at the police station – if they have not properly followed this procedure, to the extent that it has made your caution unfair, it may be the case that your police caution can be removed. Our specialist police caution removal solicitor will be able to advise you whether it is possible to have your police caution expunged (deleted).

It is also possible to dispute the information that is disclosed on an Enhanced DBS Certificate. So, even if facts are mentioned on a DBS Certificate, you can appeal the police’s decision, and have this information removed.

I am a solicitor and I have extensive experience of applying for the removal of police cautions and arrest records from the police national computer (PNC).

I have had many successful police caution removal cases, and I offer reasonable fees for my services (see here for details on police caution removal costs). I specialise in all matters related to criminal records and I am arguably the leading police caution removal solicitor in the country, with experience of hundreds of deletion cases, including police caution removal, arrest record removals, community resolution retractions, harassment PIN deletions, and local police record expungements. I have also had success in having overseas convictions expunged from the PNC.

I can assist in applying for the removal of information disclosed on Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Certificates – if you feel information has been unfairly disclosed, you have the right to dispute its disclosure.

I am often instructed to appeal barring decisions made by the DBS. I have successfully applied for the removal of clients from both the child and adult barred lists. I have also succeeded in preventing clients from being added to the barred lists. I usually work with experienced clinical psychologists, who help to present my clients’ cases to the DBS in the best possible light, thereby maximising their chances of avoiding a negative barring decision.

I co-authored a paper on reform of the police cautioning procedure, which was published in the Criminal Law Review (the leading criminal law journal: “Suggestions for Reform to the Simple Cautioning procedure”). I also wrote the UK Westlaw Insight on Police Cautions and published an article in the Criminal Law and Justice Weekly on anonymity in criminal proceedings and its impact on the police caution: Adult Defendant Anonymity in Criminal Proceedings

I offer a fixed fee for police caution, arrest record, local police record, community resolution removals, DBS barring and also DBS certificate disclosure disputes.