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#Post#: 4547--------------------------------------------------
Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: Rinser129083 Date: September 7, 2023, 5:28 am
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Hello to all. I am wondering if anyone here is able to provide
any advice on how I can word my application, the grounds I
should use, and the evidence I need to apply to ACRO to have my
caution deleted from the PNC police database.
Here is the context of the caution and why it was unlawfully
issued
18/04/2013 - I was visiting a friend in Northern Ireland (we are
both female for context). On a night out we were drunk, needed
the toilet and stupidly decided to sneak down an alley and have
a wee there. The police caught us, took our details, and told us
off. I flew home a few days later, and nothing else came of it
at the time. I admit to this and this is not at issue.
16/01/2014 - My friend in Northern Ireland called me to let me
know that the police had been round to see her, and issued her
with a caution which she had accepted guilt for and signed. She
told me that I should expect a visit from the police soon.
This visit never came. Years later and it was all but forgotten
about by me, until in a job interview, the interviewer brought
up my police caution from 18/04/2013 (I am a teacher and have to
submit to Enhanced DBS check). I was completely blindsided by
this as I have never signed anything or had any further
interaction with the police. It was embarrassing and shocking
because I did not know the caution was on my record and had
nothing prepared to say. I was unsure as to how the caution was
there since I had never been made aware of it, signed for it, or
received any advice regarding it.
This is where it gets weird.
I submitted a subject access request to find details of the
caution and have been send the certificate of caution. It is for
Indecent Behaviour under the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act (NI) 1968 S.9. However, the caution is all wrong
on the grounds that I was not at the specified address when it
issued (nor was I even in the country), and I did not sign
anything yet a "signature" which is supposed to be mine is on
there.
I have lived in England my entire adult life, and at the time of
the offence I was only on a short trip to visit my friend when
the offence took place. So naturally 9 months later when the
police visited naturally I was no longer in the country. Yet
somehow despite me not being there, a false signature appears on
the form under the section which states "I admit the offence and
understand the meaning of an Adult Caution. The consequences of
my accepting this form ... have been explained to me, including
the manner in which it will be recorded ... I consent to the
matter being dealt with in this manner."
The signature on there is not mine, it doesn't look like my
signature at all and I can prove that. I was not even in
Northern Ireland on that date any less the address written on
the caution. Nothing was ever explained to me as it says on the
form and I never signed to accept this caution. However, since
someone (presumably the police) just signed it "for me", I now
have this caution permanently on my PNC. It is a specified
offence which means it will never be filtered or disappear.
With my job being as a teacher this is having a continual impact
on my prospects every time I want to change job, role, or be
promoted.
I have looked into it as best as I can and I can see that I need
to apply to the ACRO Criminal Records office with a "Record
Deletion Application Form"
HTML https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1161908/Record_Deletion_Application_Form_v3.1.pdf<br
/>and I am reading the guidance issued by the NPCC on "Deletion
of
Records from National Police Systems"
HTML https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1161909/Deletion_of_Records_from_National_Police_Systems__Guidance__v2.1.pdf,<br
/>and from what I can gather the process is not independent, is
completely down to the judgment of the officer who receives it,
and there are limited grounds you can apply on. There is also no
right to appeal unless there is "new evidence" so I want to get
this right the first time.
My question is, I am planning to apply on 3 grounds:
1) Unlawfully taken (caution was issued unlawfully as my
signature was forged and I was not present when the document was
signed).
2) Incorrect Disposal (as above)
3) Public interest - as a teacher I am helping hundreds of
children every year and the minor nature of the offence several
years ago is preventing this continuing into the future.
I am unsure on which to use of grounds 1 or 2 (or both). I am
going off the latest guidance given to police by the Ministry of
Justice in Section 3 of the "Simple Cautions for Adult offenders
Guidance 2015"
HTML https://www.policecautions.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cautions-guidance-2015.pdf.<br
/>Here it is made abundantly clear that "accepting a simple
caution has potentially significant implications for an offender
all of which must be explained to the offender before he or she
is invited to accept it and the simple caution is administered."
This was not done!
I need help drafting the form and the wording I am going to use,
as well as what evidence I need to provide to prove I was not
there at the time. Since it was so long ago it's difficult to
prove my whereabouts at the time and I am currently working on
this. I wish I had dealt with this a long time ago but I didn't
know about it for a long time and then I assumed it would
disappear after 6 years.
If anyone is able to offer me any help at all I'd be very
grateful.
Thank you.
#Post#: 4641--------------------------------------------------
Re: Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: ivanleo Date: September 8, 2023, 11:36 am
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Start by collating all the evidence you have to show that you
were not in Northern Ireland at the time.
If you're the sort of person who like me keeps all emails
forever, you might still have plane or ferry tickets. Your
credit history (which you can get from the likes of experian,
HTML https://www.creditkarma.co.uk/
or similar) will also have your
address history.
How do you propose to prove that the signature isn't yours?
#Post#: 4685--------------------------------------------------
Re: Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: 666 Date: September 9, 2023, 9:20 am
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OP, the MoJ is not responsible for the criminal justice system
in Northern Ireland, so their guidance doesn't apply.
You need to track down and quote the equivalent guidance for NI
(which is probably identical).
#Post#: 4863--------------------------------------------------
Re: Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: Rinser129083 Date: September 11, 2023, 7:36 am
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[member=297]666[/member] that's interesting, I will try to find
their guidance. I believe they are still covered by the same
record deletion process under ARCO though are they not?
[member=1]cp8759[/member] my idea with the signature is to get
all official documents I can such as old passports, any
agreements I have signed over the years to show my signature has
always been consistently the same, and that this one on the
caution is completely different to my usual signature.
I am trying to gather as much evidence as I can that I was not
in the country but unfortunately I am coming up quite short. I
will try the credit check thing but unfortunately my old emails
are coming up dry apart from that I placed an online shopping
order on that day, which proves nothing!
#Post#: 4864--------------------------------------------------
Re: Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: ivanleo Date: September 11, 2023, 7:38 am
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Your credit history will show your address history since you
opened your first bank account, so it will show where your
residence was. It won't show you weren't in Northern Ireland on
a particular date, but it still helps.
#Post#: 6532--------------------------------------------------
Re: Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: Korting Date: October 2, 2023, 7:50 am
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As far as the signature is concerned, try contacting a
handwritighting specialist who can look at your signature and
that on the document that you 'allegedly' signed and write a
letter or report on their findings.
#Post#: 6534--------------------------------------------------
Re: Deletion of an unlawfully issued police caution from PNC
By: Korting Date: October 2, 2023, 8:04 am
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In fact something very similar happened to me.
I was lifeless in a leaflet which read 'and here in his own
handwriting the candidate explains......' only it wasn't my
handwriting. I took it to a handwriting expert and he wrote a
report for me which allowed me to take legal action.
I won of course, the other party buckled at the first hurdle.
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