Our client had been issued with a police caution over 10 years ago and had himself unsuccessfully applied on two occasions to have his police caution deleted.
The police force concerned had rejected his applications for deletion, stating to him that they believed they had issued the caution in a lawful manner and that they intended on retaining his caution for 100 years, in accordance with current NPCC policy.
On review of the police’s evidence we were able to determine that the caution had in fact been issued unlawfully, and promptly set out our application to the police for deletion of the caution.
The client had been the victim of incessant and prolonged antisocial behaviour outside his home, and had taken reasonable actions to defend himself. The police however were very quick to point the finger of blame at the client despite him suffering many years of abuse from local youths in the area, his neighbour having been violently assaulted on a previous occasion.
Within a relatively short period of time the police responded agreeing to a complete expungement of the client’s PNC record – namely he was entirely removed from the Police National Computer. This means that if a background check were ever to be undertaken on him, the system would return a “no trace” record.
After many years of suffering with the injustice of the caution the client was finally able to move on from the incident.
Deletion of Police Cautions
If you have been unfairly issued a police caution then please get in touch. It is not uncommon for the police to issue cautions unfairly, and sometimes the alleged victim in the case is in fact the real perpetrator.
If you were told when you accepted a caution that it was just a slap on the wrists, or that it would have no long-term impact on your future, then there may be an argument to say that the caution was issued unfairly.
You may feel that the police have rushed your case so that you could not properly reflect upon the implications of the caution, and you accepted the caution just to escape the confines of the police station.
If you have never been arrested before, being detained in a police cell will be a frightening and unpleasant experience; and this often contributes to people making a rushed decision to accept a police caution, particularly as the police will often threaten a detainee with going to court if a caution is not accepted.
It is not the case that all police cautions can be expunged, and very often they will have been administered correctly, however if you feel that you are innocent of the allegation against you and the caution was pressed onto you in unfair circumstances, then please get in touch.
We have successfully applied for the removal of many police cautions with respect to police forces across England and Wales.
Often our clients are successful professionals who are frequently located abroad, in such circumstances we are easily able to manage a client’s case remotely without the need for the client to return to the UK.
Police Cautions and Foreign Travel
If you have received a police caution you may now be aware that it may limit your ability to travel abroad.
If you plan to settle abroad you will most often require a “police certificate” which is issued by ACRO.
If you have received a police caution then it will be disclosed on a police certificate for between 5 and 10 years, depending on the offence. After this period of time a police certificate will state “no live trace”.
A no live trace indication on a police certificate will tell any foreign nation that you have previously been cautioned or convicted for a criminal offence.
The Disclosure and Barring Service
Along with applying for the deletion of police records we also have extensive experience of challenging unfairly disclosed information on DBS certificates, challenging applications to bar, and also appealing existing barring decisions.
If you have any issues with the DBS please get in touch to arrange an initial consultation. We charge a fixed fee for an initial consultation, during the consultation we will be able to advise you on your prospects of success. If you believe your case is weak, we will tell you frankly to avoid you incurring any further costs.
If we believe you have a case to argue, we are usually able to charge fixed fees.
We always aim to settle police caution cases and DBS appeals without the need for court, however if court proceedings are required we will be able to offer you reasonable hourly rates, which are often recoverable in the case of success.
