Teaching and Police Cautions
If you have received a police caution and you are teacher or you hope to be a teacher, you may be realising the significant impact the police caution can have on your future.
Whilst at the police station the police may have told you that the police caution was a simple “slap on the wrists” and that it wouldn’t affect your future. They may have told you the caution will come off your record straight away, or perhaps after 2 or 3 years.
The reality is that most police cautions will stay on your record for at least 6 years, and for some cases, will always be disclosed on a DBS certficate.
Teachers working with a Police Caution
As you may know, there are complex and extensive regulatory requirements that apply to the teaching profession, the The Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 will apply if your case is referred to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). The NCTL take any criminal allegation against a teacher as being very serious and the priority will always be the safeguard of young and vulnerable people. A caution, depending on the type and nature, may be considered as a failure to adhere to the personal and professional conduct standards set out in the “Teachers’ Standards” published by the Secretary of State.
Police Caution Removal Solicitor
The police are obliged to follow a clearly defined and specific procedure when offering and administering a police caution. Failure to adhere to this proceed may mean that a police caution can be removed.
Minor breaches of the police guidelines will not make caution removable but major and serious deviances from the correct procedure will likely result in the caution being removed.
Typical examples are where the caution has been issued where the suspect has been unfairly pressed into accepting a caution, where the suspect has not made an admision to the allegation, where the public interest test for prosecution has not been met or even where the alleged conduct was not illegal.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication in removing the caution. I am overjoyed and relieved that this incident has been rectified and am grateful for your professionalism and expertise in dealing with my case – Teacher’s comments after successful removal of police caution
Experienced Police Caution Removal
I have had extensive experience of applying for police cautions to removed. I will be able to give you accurate advice at an early stage of your case as to whether there has been a fundamental flaw in the manner in which the police have issued you with a police caution.
If there is a fundamental flaw I offer reasonable fixed fee rates to apply to have your police caution removed.
Contrary to what you may read elsewhere on the internet, you definitely can have a police caution removed – I have personal experience of removing police cautions for a wide variety of client from many different backgrounds and professions.
Solicitor for Police Caution removal
It is possible for you to apply to the police yourself to have your caution removed. If you want to act for yourself, I can offer you guidance on how to proceed. I do generally recommend however that I draft your application to have your police caution removed as, aside from anything, having a lawyer act on your behalf tells the police that you are determined to have the caution removed and the possibility of judicial review (and extensive costs being awarded against the police) is very real.
Police Caution Removal Solicitor
Along with police caution removal, I am also able to assist in applying for information to be removed from DBS certificates (formerly CRB). If you feel information has been unfairly disclosed by the police you have the right to dispute its disclosure.
I recently co-authored a journal paper on the reform of the police cautioning procedure in the Criminal Law Review (the leading criminal law journal – see here for the abstract of the paper: “Suggestions for Reform to the Simple Cautioning procedure”). I also recently wrote the UK Westlaw Insight on Police Cautions – Westlaw Insights are written “by experts in the field including leading solicitors, barristers and academics – all overseen by Parliamentary Counsel.“
I offer a reasonable fixed fee for caution removal and DBS certificate disclosure disputes.