We are expert police caution removal solicitors, we have years of experience in applying for the deletion of police cautions.

Our director, Matthew Elkins, is a highly experience police caution removal solicitor, and expert Disclosure and Barring Service lawyer.

If you have received a police caution, and you are only now realising  its impact, you can apply to have your police caution removed.

You can apply to have your caution removed yourself, if you feel confident in handling the police and you fully understand the law in this area. Alternatively you can instruct an expert solicitor.

We have extensive experience and success in applying for the removal of police cautions, and we have had hundreds of successful cases.

We are dedicated police record removal solicitors and DBS appeal lawyers. We do not focus on anything else, and  we have many years of experience to draw upon.

During an initial consultation with our expert police caution removal solicitor, we will be able to give you an honest and clear assessment of your prospects of success.

We know the types of cases that are likely to succeed, depending on the facts of the case, and the police force concerned.

Although the law applies equally to everyone, we have found over the years that each police force does have their own particular approach. Knowing which approach is likely to work with a certain police force, and what won’t, will save you money with other police caution removal solicitors, who do not have the same depth of experience as us.

Along with being expert police caution removal solicitors, we also have extensive experience in applying for the deletion of a wide range of other police records, including community resolutions, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND), arrest records, and also local police records.

All information recorded by the police regarding an allegation has the potential to form part of a disclosure on an enhanced DBS certificate. Therefore even if you have only been accused of an allegation, this can have an impact on your employment.

If you are unsure if you have a police caution, you can check to see if you do in fact have a police caution. For more information about this, please see our article here: How do you know if you have a police caution?

You can also visit our police caution calculator, to see the impact a police caution will have on background checks.

If you would like to arrange an appointment to speak with an expert police caution removal solicitor, then please get in touch. All enquiries are treated in confidence, and all case work is undertaken on a reasonable fixed rate fee.

Cases are handled remotely, and in most cases we can avoid the need for court.

If you have received a police caution, you may be wondering if it can be overturned.

The simple answer to this question is that a police caution can be overturned, but it will depend on the circumstances.

If your caution has been unfairly issued, for example the police have unfairly pressured you into accepting a caution, or where you did not admit to the allegation, then you may have a good case to have your caution overturned.

In the first instance you will need to apply to the police to have your caution overturned. You will need to set out your case in detail, explaining why it is, according to the law, that you think your caution is unlawful.

The police will consider your case, and provide you their decision. The person deciding your case will usually be officers/lawyers who were entirely separate from your original case.

If the police refuse to delete your caution, you can then appeal. If this appeal is refused, then you can consider appealing your case to the Administrative Court (the Administrative Court is a specialist Court within the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court).

How long it takes to decide a case does depend largely on the police force concerned. Some police forces take much longer than others to come to a decision. Also the more complex your case, then generally this will have a knock on effect on how long it takes the police to decide.

Sometimes the police might feel they need independent legal advice, and will seek advice from specialist solicitors or barristers, which will make your case take longer.

Whether a caution shows on a DBS certificate will depend on the type of caution you have, when you received it, and the level of DBS check you need.

Please use our Police Caution Calculator to see whether your caution will show up on a DBS certificate.

If you have a police caution this can also cause issues with respect to UK citizenship applications, as well as overseas immigration.

If you have a police caution recorded on the PNC it will show up on an ACRO Police Certificate for either 5 or 10 years, depending on the offence, and then will become “stepped down”. Once a caution is stepped down, a police certificate will state “no live trace” – if you have no record at all, your record will state “no trace”.

A “no live trace” record can cause issues with immigration, as once an embassy sees a no live trace record, they will often enquire into the full circumstances of your record held on the PNC.

What it actually means to have a caution overturned, is that your caution will be deleted from the Police National Computer (PNC).

The police may completely remove your record from the PNC, or they may change your record to state No further Action (NFA), the outcome will depend on the facts and circumstances of your case.

When you are investigated by the police, along with potentially creating records on the PNC, the police will also create locally held police records. Even if you did not receive a police caution, these local records can still be disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate as “relevant information”, depending on the circumstances. For more details about local police records, then please see here: Local Police Records and the Police National Database (PND).

We have extensive experience in applying for the deletion of police cautions in relation to many different police forces.

Please see here some of successful cases: Police Caution Removal Example Cases.

Also see here the reviews from our satisfied customers: Police Caution Removal Reviews.

In most cases we offer fixed fees, unfortunately we do not offer legal aid.

Please get in touch to arrange an initial consultation

It has been a while since we have updated the recent news section of our site. Since our last update we have had over 50 police cautions and arrest records deleted.

Each case has turned on its own particular facts, and deletion decisions, have been taken across the length and breadth of England and Wales.

Along with these Police National Computer (PNC) deletion decisions we have also also successfully applied for the remove of local police records, challenged disclosures on enhanced DBS certificates, and successfully challenged DBS barring decisions.

Today however was our most successful day yet as we received notice from the police that police cautions had been deleted from the PNC with respect to 5 separate cases.

Each case related to 5 different police forces, and 5 separate sets of facts.

1. Domestic Assault Police Caution Deleted

This caution was deleted with respect to a domestic dispute allegation. There were a number of defects in the police’s case, and the client’s husband (who was the purported victim) supported the deletion.

2. Fraud Police Caution Deleted

This police caution had been issued a number of years ago. Despite the time that had elapsed we were able to piece together the case, and show the police that the police caution was being unfairly retained.

3. Drugs Police Caution Removed

This case related to the possession of class A drugs. The caution had a devastating emotional impact on the client, and despite it being issued several years ago, the client relived their arrest on a daily basis. It was no exaggeration to say the arrest had turned the client’s life upside down. We were able to persuade the police that the caution was unfair and ought to be deleted.

4. Robbery Police Caution Deleted from the PNC

This police caution had been issued a number of years ago, but as it was for robbery, it was permanently disclosable on both a standard and enhanced DBS check. We were able to present evidence that showed the caution ought to be deleted by the police.

5. Sexual Police Offence Caution Expunged

This police caution had been issued recently and related to a relatively serous sexual allegation. The client had been offered the caution on the basis that he was fortunate to avoid prosecution, and thereby a humiliating court case. Despite accepting the caution, his details were nevertheless plastered over the internet, and his employer found out – resulting in the loss of his employment. We reviewed the evidence and concluded there had been some serious errors in the police’s conduct of the case. We prepared extensive and detailed representations. Within a matter of weeks the police had communicated to us that they had deleted the police caution. Now the record is removed from the PNC the client is able to resume work and get back on with his life.

Along with successfully appealing 5 police cautions, we also received notice today that two separate enhanced DBS certificate appeals were successful.

1. Chief Constable Representations for Medical Professional

One case related to the disclosure of a domestic incident that had resulted in no further action being taken. The client was a medical professional and so if the incident was disclosed on the client’s certificate, it would have had a devastating impact.

We made careful and prompt representations to the police, pointing out the factual inconsistencies in the evidence, set against the law related to the disclosure of non-conviction records. The police promptly concluded the incident ought not to be disclosed, and issued a clean DBS check.

2. Enhanced DBS Certificate Appeal for Medical Student

The other matter related to a sibling incident where the client had received a community resolution. The incident was low level, but the police felt the allegation had raised some safeguarding issues. We pulled together detailed representations, setting out why it would be unfair to disclose the community resolution, and the purported facts behind it. After several months of waiting and chasing the police, they finally agreed to remove the information from the certificate.

The client now has a clean enhanced DBS certificate and is  making plans to enroll in medical school.

We have extensive experience in applying for the deletion of police cautions in relation to many different police forces.

Along with applying for the deletion of police cautions, we are also able to assist with the deletion of PNC arrest records, community resolutions, harassment PINs, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), biometric data (including custody images) and local police records held on the Police National Database (PND).

We can also assist with challenging DBS disclosures on both standard and enhanced DBS certificates. Our lawyers also have extensive experience in challenging DBS barring decisions; both appealing existing barrings, or resisting a new barring application.

We are also able to help if you are being investigated by a regulator including the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC), the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the General Optical Council (GOC), the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the General Dental Council (GDC), the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

In most cases we offer fixed fees, unfortunately we do not offer legal aid.

Please get in touch to arrange an initial consultation

We have had another client’s police caution deleted. The client had been issued a police caution for theft.

The client had been issued an a caution for shoplifting a number of years ago.

The client had forgotten to pay for a small item from a well known shop, being distracted by her young child. On her way out of the shop the client was detained by the security staff. The security staff did not listen to her explanations and the police were summoned.

She was taken to the police station, misled about the impact of the caution, and decided to admit the allegation, and accept the caution in order to escape from police custody.

The client had tormented herself for many years about the caution, regretting her decision to accept it, and felt the caution was an unfair black mark against her name.

On reviewing the police’s evidence, we concluded that there were some material errors in her case, and so we drafted a deletion application to the police.

Within several months the police acknowledged the caution had been unfairly issued, and agreed to the expungement of the client’s record.

The caution was completely deleted, as was the client’s PNC record, fingerprints and DNA records.

The client now has a completely clear record on the PNC and is “no trace” on an ACRO Police Certificate.