We have successfully applied for the deletion of our client’s Police National Computer (PNC) arrest record.

The client had been wrongfully accused of a criminal allegation, and had been arrested, detained, fingerprinted, DNA swabbed and held overnight.

We made representations to the police for the deletion of the client’s record. After initially resisting deletion, we placed further pressure on the police, which resulted in them backing down, and agreeing to the deletion of the client’s PNC records.

Had the allegation been retained on the PNC, it is possible that the incident would have been disclosed indefinitely on an enhanced DBS check. Due to the nature of the allegation, and the client’s profession (education), it was likely that the police would have chosen to disclose the allegation on an enhanced DBS certificate for years to come.

Now that the PNC record is deleted, the client now has a clear DBS certificate.

Along with applying for the deletion of arrest records, we also have significant success in applying for the deletion of police cautions, and have had many successful cases.

Also we are frequently instructed to challenge DBS barring decisions and information disclosed on enhanced DBS certificates, including challenging disclosures to the Independent Monitor, and to Court.

Please get in touch today to arrange a consultation to discuss any issues you may be having with a police record, or the DBS.

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 successfully applied for the deletion of a police caution issued in relation to an allegation of an abuse of a position of trust.

The caution, owing to its nature, meant that the client was prevented from working with children and vulnerable adults, and was placed on the Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) children’s barred list. 

On initial application to the police, they rejected our application without properly considering the facts and merits of the case. We nevertheless persisted and insisted that a senior officer within the force review the matter.

The case turned on detailed legal submissions on the law surrounding the abuse of a position of trust, which has changed and evolved over the years.

On the face of the evidence it appeared that the client had provided an admission to the evidence. We however unpicked the case to show that the evidence had been obtained unfairly and that key elements of the offence had not been proven by the police.

Thank you so much – you have genuinely been amazing – I was super impressed by your drafting & you’ve been a pleasure to work with.

The client’s caution was expunged and they are now able to apply for removal from the DBS barred list. Had the caution remained, the client would most likely have been prevented from working in education indefinitely.

If you have received a police caution, and it is preventing you from developing your career, or perhaps it is restricting you from working or living abroad, then please get in touch.

As you will see from our many case studies on our site, we have had many police cautions successfully deleted.

Many people (wrongly) assume that once they have been issued with a caution, there is nothing that can be done. The police in fact often make mistakes when issuing cautions, and these errors can be serious enough to mean a police caution is defective, making it unlawful.

We will always aim to set a case out in the strongest possible terms to the police, so that they agree to remove a caution without the need for costly court proceedings.

On some occasions we can’t make the police see reason, and if that is the case, we are more than prepared to fight your case at Court.

It is also the case that sometimes it will not be possible to have a caution deleted. We will always advise a client at the earliest possible stages on their prospects of success. If we believe your case is poor, and has a low probability of success, we will advise you of that fact.

Along with challenging unfairly issued police cautions and arrest records, we also are often instructed to challenge decisions made by the DBS.

We are able to challenge disclosure on enhanced DBS certificates, whether to rectify errors or to prevent disclosure of unfavourable information.

In addition, we are frequently instructed to challenge decisions to bar, either before a decision is made, or on appeal once the DBS have decided to bar someone.

If you have received a “minded to bar” letter, then please get in touch, we have extensive experience of the law and procedure related to barring decisions and we have a good success rate in preventing clients from being placed on the DBS barred lists.

Please get in touch today to arrange a consultation. We offer reasonable fixed fees for our services, we unfortunately are unable to offer 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.