Currently, England and Wales have no formal process for “sealing” a criminal record. There is no procedure to apply to a Court to have a criminal record formally sealed so it is not disclosed.

There is also no formal process for expunging a criminal record (other than police records), namely erasing someone’s criminal record. In the United States, there are laws on sealing records and expungement; the rules vary from state to state.

It has been recently suggested (September 2017) that the UK adopt a similar approach to the United States. A report commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron and headed by David Lammy MP (the Lammy review) recommended that former offenders should be able to apply for their criminal records to be sealed. The report recommends that ex-offenders should be able to apply to have their case heard by a judge or independent body, such as the Parole Board, where they could prove they have reformed.

The judge would then decide whether to “seal” the record, having considered factors such as time since the offence and evidence of rehabilitation. If the decision goes the applicant’s way and the criminal record is sealed, the record will still exist, but the individual would not need to disclose it, and employers would not be able to access it.

Whether the suggestions for reforming the disclosure system incorporating a sealing process will be implemented is yet to be seen.

However, there are already in place rules that protect former offenders from disclosing certain criminal records.

These rules are often reviewed, particularly after successful legal challenges before the High Court. Legal challenges have resulted in several improvements for former offenders.

The Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) disclosure rules, as currently in place, permit disclosure on a DBS certificate in the following circumstances:

• Caution for specified offence 18 or over
• Caution for non-specified offence 18 or over Less than 6 years
• Conviction for specified offence Any age Any time
• Conviction resulting in custodial sentence Any age Any time
• Conviction for non-specified offence 18 or over Less than 11 years
• Conviction for non-specified offence Under 18 Less than 5 and half years

The list of serious specified offences that permit permanent disclosure by the DBS includes a range of serious offences that are related to sexual or violent offences or are relevant in the context of safeguarding.

Suppose you have only a police record, namely a PND, a police caution (simple or conditional), a cannabis warning, or a police arrest record. In that case, you will be able to apply to the police directly to have these records “expunged” (deleted) from the PNC.

If you have been to court and have been convicted, you will not be able to “expunge” a record but will be able to appeal your conviction. If your appeal is successful and your conviction is quashed, then you could apply to have your PNC records expunged.

The police will only delete a police record if certain considerations apply, such as false or malicious allegation that an arrest was unlawful, the case was incorrectly disposed of, or in the wider public interest.

If the police agree to delete your PNC record, your biometric data (DNA and fingerprints) will also be expunged.

If the police refuse to delete your PNC record, it will be retained on the PNC for 100 years, effectively for life. Suppose you need to prepare to accept the retention of your record on the PNC. In that case, if certain considerations apply, you can apply to the High Court for Judicial Review of the decision to retain the record. Also, in certain circumstances, you may be able to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to decide whether your data ought to be retained by the police.

If you are required to undertake a DBS certificate, if your records are protected according to the rules detailed above, e.g. after 6 years with respect to a police caution, then nothing will show up on a DBS certificate unless the caution is for a proscribed list offence (such as ABH, child neglect/cruelty, sexual assault).

However, if you require an enhanced DBS certificate, even after 6 years of caution, and even for offences not on the specified offences list. In that case, it is still possible for information related to the caution to be disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate. If information is disclosed, you can appeal this disclosure directly to the DBS in the first instance and then, if that fails, to a body called the Independent Monitor. If the Independent Monitor rules against you, you can appeal to the Upper Tribunal.

Although England and Wales do not have a formal records sealing process, as detailed above, there are numerous ways that the law does help individuals with prior criminal records.

If you are someone with a PNC record, namely an arrest record, a non-conviction record, a police caution, a PND or a cannabis warning, and you feel the record is unfairly affecting your life and future, then please get in touch with us today. We have extensive experience of having police records expunged from the PNC.

Our lawyers also have extensive experience in challenging DBS certificates, challenging unfairly disclosed information on enhanced certificates or correcting disclosure mistakes.

We have had a police caution deleted for our client. The caution was issued in the context of an acrimonious separation.

The client was a health care professional, and so had the caution not been removed, it would have likely resulted in the client being struck off, and their losing their professional career.

The caution had stemmed from a false allegation, but due to poor legal advice at the police station, and pressure from the police, the client agreed to accept the caution.

After we reviewed the evidence, it was clear there had been a number of procedural errors, and the client had been wrongly issued with a police caution.

We gathered together supporting evidence, and presented the client’s case to the police, which resulted in the police agreeing to the removal of the caution from the Police National Computer (PNC).

Regulatory investigations have now been dropped against our client, who has now returned to work with a clean record. Had the caution not been removed, as it was Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), which is on a list of offences that will never become filtered by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), it would have been disclosed forever and would have been retained on the PNC for 100 years.

If you have received a police caution, then it will show up on a standard or enhanced DBS check for at least 6 years. After 6 years the caution may continue to be disclosed on an enhanced DBS check, and will definitely show up after 6 years (under current rules – which are subject to an ongoing appeal) if the offence for which you were cautioned appears of the DBS’s proscribed list of offences.

We have had many police cautions removed for our clients, many of which have been expunged without the need for costly court proceedings.

We will take the time to analyse your case in detail, with a view to identifying procedural defects or anomalies in the evidence, to give you the best chance of success.

We understand the very significant impact a caution can have, and which is often sold by the police as being a mere “slap on the wrists”. We know the caution can have a devastating impact on someone’s life and career, we understand this, and will deal with your case sympathetically and compassionately.

If you have a loved one who is suffering due to the impact of a caution, please get in touch.

We charge reasonable rates, and can usually provide a clear and concise advice on your prospects of success, after an initial consultation.

Along with challenging unfairly issued police cautions, we also have extensive experience in challenging unfairly issued DBS certificates, and also DBS barring decisions.

If information has been disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate, which you dispute, we have extensive experience in challenging disclosures, inducing appealing disclosures to the Independent Monitor.

If you have been barred, including historic barring decisions taken under the previous list 99 and ISA procedure, then please get in in touch.

If you have received a “minded to bar” letter, we have had significant experience in persuading the DBS that it would be inappropriate to bar our clients.

Please get in touch today to discuss any DBS case or any police records deletion application you would like to make, including deleting arrest records, cautions (conditional and simple) youth cautions (formerly warnings and reprimands), PNDs and cannabis warnings.

We have again had a police caution removed for a client. The caution was issued decades ago and, due to it being of a sexual nature, continued to be disclosed on a standard and enhanced DBS certificate.

The client had previously applied to the police to have the caution expunged, without success.

After we reviewed the file, despite the significant amount of time that had elapsed, we were able to identify a major flaw in the police’s conduct of the case.

The police agreed with our assessment of the evidence, and reviewed the file again, resulting in the deletion of the client’s police caution, PNC record, fingerprints and biometric data.

Now that the record is removed, the client will have a clear DBS certificate and will be able to apply for roles without the fear of having damaging information disclosed.

We have had many police cautions removed for our clients’ in the past, including where they have tried unsuccessfully themselves to have their records expunged or where they have employed the services of a lawyer.

We are usually able to provide clients with a clear idea about their prospects of success after an initial consultation. Unfortunately, not all cautions can be removed, and if we think your case is weak, we will tell you clearly, so that you do not waste your money and time.

Along with having extensive experience in applying for the expungement of police cautions and arrest records, we also have extensive experience of challenging decision by the DBS, including decisions to bar and challenging information disclosed on enhanced DBS certificates.

For clients that have already been barred, with have excellent results in applying for a review. Also for clients who have received a “minded to bar” letter from the DBS, we are often able to prevent barring decisions from being made.

If you have any police caution, arrest record, biometric data (DNA and fingerprints), and DBS problems, then pleased get in touch.

We understand the significant impact police records and DBS disclosures can have; please call today to arrange an appointment with an expert solicitor.

Unfortunately we are unable to provide our services under legal aid.

The police have agreed to delete (expunge) our client’s caution from the Police National Computer (PNC).

The client, a successful professional, had received a police caution in relation to a theft allegation.

Had the police caution remained on the PNC, then it would have seriously affected the client’s ability to work, and to live and work abroad, notably the United States.

After making detailed representations, the police agreed to remove the police caution from the client’s PNC record.

The caution will no longer appear on a standard nor an enhanced DBS certificate, and so will not be disclosed to any future employer.

This is excellent news, a big thank you for all you support and effort – it is indeed a great result!

If you have received a police caution, or even simply been arrested, and you want your arrest record deleted, then please get in touch.

We have had many successful police caution expungements and also deletions of PNC arrest records, DNA and fingerprints.

If you have been convicted at Court of a criminal offence, then you will not be able to apply for record deletion. You will need to appeal your criminal conviction.

Police records can be deleted on agreement with the police, if the police do not agree to remove a police caution or an arrest record, you can issue judicial review proceedings. Our aim is to always persuade the police to delete PNC records, however if they refuse to, we have extensive experience of issuing judicial review proceedings.

Along with challenging police cautions and arrest records, we also have extensive experience of challenging DBS Barring decisions and decisions by the police and DBS to disclose information on enhanced DBS certificates.

If you have any issue related to the disclosure of police records then please get in touch.

Is a police caution a criminal record? The short answer to this question is yes – a caution is a criminal record. However what actually constitutes a “criminal record” is not a precisely defined concept, and the better question to ask is, in what circumstances will my caution be disclosed?

A caution will become an issue for someone depending on who is asking the question, and the powers they have to ask about previous criminal records.

A caution is “spent” immediately (or after three months, or when the conditions run out, in respect of a conditional caution). So for the purposes of a Basic DBS certificate a police caution (sometimes known as a simple caution), will not be disclosed.

For other people however, who need to undertake a trusted/regulated role, then the caution will have more significant implications. For more details please see our article here: How long does a police caution stay on your record?

How long does a police caution stay on your record with respect to a Standard DBS Certificate?

On a Standard DBS certificate a police caution will show up for at least 6 years.

NB, November 2020 edit: Youth cautions, warnings and reprimands are immediately  “protected” subsequent to changes implemented by the government. This means that even for offences that appear on the DBS list of unfilterable offences, they will not be automatically be disclosed on an enhanced and standard DBS check. It should be noted however despite the changes, it is still possible for facts related to youth cautions, warnings or reprimands to still be disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate if the police feel the information is “relevant”.

If  your adult caution was for a specified offence it will show up indefinitely on a standard (and enhanced) Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. Most offences that appear on the proscribed list you would be unlikely to receive a caution for, offences include murder, terrorism and rape. However there are a certain number of offences that are on the specified list that can easily apply to facts that are relatively minor, offences such as Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), child cruelty or burglary. Whilst these offences can at times relate to more serious factual incidents, sometimes cautions can be issues for these offences where the facts are relatively minor. Examples might be causing a minor cut or bruise to someone during a domestic fight, leaving your child unattended for a short period of time or a burglary allegation when a youth and of a low value and type, for example entering an abandoned home and taking something of low value.

How long does a police caution stay on your record with respect to an Enhanced DBS Certificate?

On an enhanced DBS certificate, a police caution will definitely show up for 6 years, after which it will be protected and will most likely be filtered off of a DBS certificate. If however your caution is for an offence on the proscribed list of offences that never become filtered, then your caution will never become protected and it will always appear on your DBS certificate.

NB, November 2020 edit: Youth cautions, warnings and reprimands are immediately  “protected” subsequent to changes implemented by the government. This means that even for offences that appear on the DBS list of unfilterable offences, they will not be automatically be disclosed on an enhanced and standard DBS check. It should be noted however despite the changes, it is still possible for facts related to youth cautions, warnings or reprimands to still be disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate if the police feel the information is “relevant”. 

Even if your caution is not for a proscribed list offence and so will be eligible for filtering, the police retain a broad discretion in terms of the information they can disclose on an enhanced DBS certificate. So even of your caution was for a minor common assault, or a minor theft, the police, if they feel the caution reveals facts that are relevant to your job application, then they may disclose relevant facts on your certificate. If information related to your caution is disclosed after the 6 year period, as long as it is not for a proscribed list caution, you may appeal the disclosure of this information.

How long does a police caution stay on your record with respect to an ACRO Police certificate?

Along with showing up on DBS checks, a police caution will also show up on police certificate issued by ACRO Criminal Records Office.

The Criminal Records Office issues certificates that are used by UK citizens looking to emigrate to foreign nations.

The Criminal Records Office adopt the “step down” model, as opposed to the filtering process used by the Disclosure and Barring Service. The step down process removes cautions from a certificate after certain periods of time. A serious caution will be removed after 10 years, a caution for a more minor offence will be removed after 5 years.

Even if a caution is stepped down, your certificate will still give an indication to a foreign nation that you have at least been arrested. For someone who has never been arrested, their police certificate will say “no trace”, however if you have been cautioned or convicted, your certificate will most likely say “no live trace”. This will then, at the very least, give the country you wish to immigrate to, an indication that you have had an issue with the law in the past.

We are specialist police caution removal solicitors and have extensive experience of challenging unlawfully issued police cautions.

We are often also instructed to challenge arrest records and have had numerous PNC records deleted for our clients.

In addition, if you feel information has been unfairly disclosed on your DBS certificate, then we will be able to help.

We also defend against DBS barring decisions (formerly list 99) and appeal DBS barring decisions that have already been made.