Every year UK police forces issue thousands of so-called “simple cautions”: a formal process in which a person admits their guilt to a minor offence, whereupon the police take no further action.
By accepting a caution, an individual is – in theory – able to put an incidence of low-level criminality behind them and move on with their life. But police cautions are not consequence free. They can have a significant impact on the cautioned individual: both immediately, and sometimes in years to come.
One common area of concern relates to the negative impact of a caution on an individual’s ability to obtain DBS clearance to do certain types of work.
Hickman & Rose’s criminal defence department offer specialist legal advice to individuals on whether it may be appropriate to accept an offer of a caution by the police. The firm’s civil law team provide advice to people who, having accepted a caution, are considering the merit of a legal challenge.
The below FAQ-style blog sets out the answers to some of the questions put to the firm’s expert lawyers by those who seek to challenge a police caution.
What are the consequences of accepting a police caution?
Although a police caution will be immediately ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, a record of it is maintained on the Police National Computer (PNC).
Subject to certain limited safeguards, this caution – and the offence to which it relates – will be disclosed on certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service, the body that conducts criminal record checks.
This can mean that otherwise well-qualified people are unable to do certain types of work: usually in the care / health / education sectors.
Accepting a caution can also have negative consequences for regulated professionals such as doctors, lawyers, financial practitioners and armed forces personnel who may face separate investigations and ensuing disciplinary proceedings.
I have accepted a caution….can I change my mind?
Police cautions are governed by MoJ guidelines which set out the conditions which must be met for the police to issue a caution. These make it clear that it is not possible to get a police caution removed on the sole basis that the cautioned individual has changed their mind.
Primary amongst the conditions governing cautions is the requirement for a clear and reliable admission to all of the elements of the offence under investigation. There must also be sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction if the case were to go to court.
Successfully challenging a caution generally involves identifying one or more ways in which these essential conditions for a caution may not have been properly fulfilled.
Can I appeal my police caution?
There is no formal right of appeal against a police caution that has already been accepted. However this does not mean that a police caution cannot be challenged.
One way in which an individual can challenge a caution is by making a complaint against the police force which administered it. This can take a long time however and may not result in a positive outcome.
Another option is to make an application for deletion to ACRO. Where certain criteria can be demonstrated, it may be possible to for a caution to be deleted from the PNC under this process.
If neither of these options succeed, it may be possible to challenge a caution by bringing a judicial review.
What if the police made a mistake with my caution?
The police can sometimes rush to issue cautions without all the required conditions being properly met. One way in which this might occur is where the police issue a caution to a suspect who has raised a defence to the allegation.
It does not matter how implausible the police may consider a defence to be: if a suspect puts forward a defence prior to the caution being issued, then the matter is unlikely to be suitable for a caution and may be challengeable.
Will my removed caution be disclosable under a DBS check?
In some cases, even when a caution has been removed from the PNC, the underlying allegation which resulted in the caution may be retained on a local police force’s database.
If so, the circumstances which led to the caution being administered may be disclosed on an enhanced DBS certificate if the force considers the information to be relevant and that it ought to be disclosed.
Anyone who has been affected in this way is advised to seek legal advice as soon as possible.
How can I get help challenging a police caution / DBS disclosure decision?
Hickman & Rose specialises in advising on police cautions. The firm’s lawyers offer expert advice to individuals on challenging cautions, enhanced DBS disclosures and DBS barring decisions.
Our lawyers can usually give an indication from the outset as to whether the facts in question may be suitable for a challenge.
