What is a Police Caution?

Usually a caution will be given for lower-level allegations, such as low value criminal damage, theft or fraud, non-serious public order incidents, minor assaults, and the possession of drugs. Sometimes cautions can be issued for more serious offences including actual bodily harm (ABH), possession of a knife, sexual assault, the possession of indecent images, and child neglect. A senior officer, and depending on the offence, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), will need to authorise a caution for serious offences.

The are four types of police caution.

• An adult simple police caution: an adult simple caution can be issued to anyone aged 18 and over.
• An adult conditional caution: the police can attach conditions to this type of caution, such as paying a fine or writing a letter of apology. Failure to comply with the conditions can lead to the caution being revoked, and a prosecution may be commenced.
• A youth caution: Youth cautions are for offenders aged 10 to 17 years old inclusive. A youth caution is similar to an adult caution in some respects, but the impact of a youth caution is very different from an adult police caution. A youth caution will not be automatically disclosed on a standard or enhanced DBS certificate. A youth caution can still be disclosed on a discretionary basis on an enhanced DBS certificate.
• A youth conditional caution: A youth conditional caution will also not be disclosed automatically on a standard or enhanced DBS certificate. Failure to comply with the conditions of the caution, may result in prosecution.

• Avoids Prosecution: A caution aims to provide quick and cost-effective justice, outside of the formal court criminal justice system.
• Admission of Guilt: A suspect must admit to an allegation – any admission given by a suspect must be freely given. There must be no unfair pressure or coercion used by the police to induce a suspect to confess. It is a serious breach of the caution procedure for a caution to be issued without an admission being obtained, or where one has been obtained by unfair means.
• Proportionality: A caution is designed to be a proportionate response for lower-level cases, often for first time offenders. A caution will often be issued where the suspect has shown genuine remorse and regret for their actions, and where prosecution would be disproportionate, and not in the public interest.

• Criminal Record on PNC: A caution is recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC), which can then be disclosed on background checks. All police cautions are kept on the PNC until a person is 100 years old.
• Disclosure and Barring Service Checks: Simple adult cautions become immediately spent for a basic DBS check, conditional cautions become spent after 3 months. An adult caution for a less serious offence will show up on a standard or enhanced DBS check for 6 years, after which it will become “protected” and will not be automatically revealed. For an enhanced DBS certificate the police retain a discretionary power to disclose facts related to a caution, even after 6 years has elapsed. Adult cautions for specified offences, such as sexual assault, ABH or affray, will show forever on a standard and an enhanced DBS check. For youth cautions, the caution will not show on a standard or enhanced DBS check, but facts can still be disclosed on an enhanced check on a discretionary basis.
• Visas and Travel Limitations: A police caution may mean that certain countries will refuse to grant a visa, residency or citizenship.
• Evidence of Bad Character: A caution can be used as evidence of “bad character” if a person is ever prosecuted for something in the future.

• Appeal & Expungement: After a police caution has been issued, there is no formalised appeal mechanism. However, it is possible to apply for a caution to be expunged via ACRO’s Record Deletion Process (RDP). If the police refuse to remove the caution via the RDP, judicial review proceedings can be issued, or a complaint can be filed with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
• Legal Help with Cautions: We are specialist solicitors and we have had hundreds of police cautions removed from the PNC.

The police in England and Wales are responsible for issuing police cautions and for logging them onto the PNC. Other public bodies, such as county councils or the MHRA, issue their own form of caution or warnings. These cautions will be kept by the public body that issue it, but unlike a police caution, they are not recorded on the PNC as a formal criminal record.

Police Scotland do not issue police cautions, but issue Recorded Police Warnings (RPWs). RPWs are similar, but distinct, from the police caution that is issued in England and Wales. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) issues a police caution in a similar manner to police forces in England and Wales.

• Location: Typically a caution should be issued at a police station, however they can sometimes be issued at other locations, including a person’s home.
• MOJ Guidance: The government publishes guidelines to the police on how cautions should be administered. If the police fail to follow these guidelines it may mean that a caution is unlawful.
• Legal Advice: You have the right to receive free and independent legal advice from a solicitor before accepting a caution. If you were not offered free legal advice from a solicitor before signing, this may mean that your caution is unlawful.
• Consent to the Caution: The police must also fully inform you about the consequences of the caution, and they must obtain your freely given consent. The police should ask you to sign a consent form which explains all the consequences about the caution.
• Police must not mislead about the impact: Sometimes the police might say things that are inconsistent with what is written on the caution consent form, they may downplay the impact, or they will not give a suspect the time to properly read and understand the form. If the police failed to inform you or if they misled you about the consequences of the caution, or they did not obtain your clear and freely given consent to the caution, you may be able to challenge it.
• Mental Competence: The police must also make sure that a person is mentally competent to receive a caution. If the police issue a caution to someone who is mentally unwell, to the extent they cannot provide their consent, or provide a clear and reliable admission, then there will be good grounds to challenge the caution.

You have the right to refuse a police caution, the police cannot force you to sign for a caution.

If you have admitted to an allegation, and you refuse a police caution, unless you can show the admission was unfairly obtained or there is no public interest, it is likely that the police will charge you and prosecute you at court.

If you have not admitted to the allegation, the police will have to decide whether they will prosecute you, or drop the case, taking no further action (NFA). The police will be more likely to prosecute you, the more evidence they have that proves their case. If the police were hoping to prove their case by obtaining an admission from you, because they have no other evidence, then it is probable they will drop the case.

A person cannot be given another police caution if one for a similar offence has been issued in the previous two years, unless there are exceptional circumstances as determined by an officer of at least the rank of inspector.

Before a caution is issued the victim’s views should be ascertained by the police. However, the views of a victim are not conclusive as to whether a caution will be offered or not. For a domestic assault allegation, even where a complainant does not support a caution, and wants the case to be dropped, the police will often still issue a caution.

If you have any questions about the content of this article, then please get in touch – we have extensive experience in helping clients challenge cautions, and other out of court police disposals.