Legal issues
The national Record Deletion Process provides a route for eligible records on the Police National Computer, fingerprints and DNA to be considered for deletion. Adult simple cautions and conditional cautions can fall within the process. Court convictions are different: the national guidance states that court convictions are not eligible for deletion from the PNC through this process.
The Chief Officer considers whether deletion is justified on the facts. The published guidance gives indicative grounds including unlawfully taken records, mistaken identity or unlawful arrest, no crime, malicious or false allegation, proven alibi, incorrect disposal, unclear suspect status, judicial recommendation, another person being convicted and public-interest grounds.
A caution presents a particular issue because accepting it ordinarily involved admitting the offence. An application therefore needs to engage with the circumstances of the caution and a properly evidenced deletion basis rather than merely asserting that the applicant is no longer a suspect.
Evidence that matters
Useful material can include the caution notice, custody record or police paperwork, contemporaneous legal advice, interview material, correspondence with the police, witness evidence, documents showing mistaken identity or alibi, material showing that the disposal was incorrect, and records relevant to the circumstances in which the caution was administered or accepted.
For professional applicants, DBS certificates, regulator correspondence, employment documentation and evidence of the practical consequence may also be relevant context, particularly where timing or disclosure obligations are important. They should not be treated as substitutes for evidence supporting the deletion ground itself.
Reasonable lines of enquiry
Before an application is made, the record should be identified accurately: the police force, offence, date, disposal, available PNC information and any associated fingerprints or DNA. Where the deletion basis depends on facts not apparent from the caution record, relevant underlying material should be obtained or identified where possible.
It may also be necessary to distinguish what is recorded centrally on the PNC from local police information and from what is disclosed on a Standard or Enhanced DBS certificate. Those are different systems and a successful argument in one context does not automatically determine the others.
What happens next
Applications under the Record Deletion Process are submitted through ACRO, which acts as the administrative gateway. The substantive decision is made by the police force that owns the record, through the relevant Chief Officer decision-making process.
The application should identify the record, the deletion ground relied on and the supporting material. The force can request further information before deciding whether deletion is justified.
Separately, the effect of a caution on DBS disclosure depends on the statutory filtering rules. Current DBS guidance distinguishes specified and non-specified offences, and Enhanced DBS certificates may also contain relevant local police information in appropriate cases. Professional regulators can have their own disclosure rules. Those questions should therefore be analysed separately from the PNC deletion application.
Immediate steps
Locate the caution notice and any police or solicitor correspondence from the original matter. Identify the exact offence, police force, date and circumstances in which the caution was accepted. Obtain a current DBS certificate or other record evidence if the issue has arisen through employment or regulation.
Do not frame the application only around career damage. Identify the factual and legal basis on which deletion is sought, the evidence supporting it and any deadline imposed by an employer, regulator or forthcoming DBS process.
What should you send us?
Send the caution notice or any police paperwork; offence; date; police force; interview or custody documents if available; the circumstances in which the caution was accepted; previous solicitor correspondence; any current DBS certificate; regulator or employer correspondence; the professional deadline; and the documents that support the deletion ground relied on.