Police Caution Deleted – for ABH on the wrong victim!

Our client was issued with a simple caution by Metropolitan Police Service in 2015 for the offence of Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) contrary to section 47 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 allows certain cautions to become protected after six years, which means that they will not be disclosed on a DBS check, however the caution will remain on the individual’s PNC record until the person reaches 100 years of age.

Unfortunately for our client, ABH is one of the offences which are non-filterable, which meant that the caution from 2015 would show on any DBS check for the rest of his life.

After eleven years our client instructed us to make an application for record deletion of the two cautions.  After reviewing all available documents and our client’s instructions, Saunders Law made an application for record deletion under the following grounds:

No Crime

Section 47 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 makes it a criminal offence for an individual to Assault another causing actual bodily harm. This offence is committed when a person intentionally or recklessly assaults another, thereby causing ABH. Harm need not be permanent but must be more than transient and trifling: R v Donovan [1934] 2 KB 498.

After reviewing the police documents, it became clear that the police had confused the victim with another female in the matter. Whilst our client admitted to a common assault on the victim, he did not admit to causing the injury incurred by a different woman and later observed by police. The police had incorrectly assumed that the female with the injury was the same female that our client had admitted he had slapped.

We therefore submitted representations that the crime of ABH was not committed and therefore our client should not have been issued with a caution for ABH.

Incorrect Disposal

The Ministry of Justice guidance sets several principles which need to be followed in order for a simple caution to be issued. One of them being “Ensure that the offender has made a clear and reliable admission of guilt in respect of the offence or offences for which the simple caution is being administered.”

For reasons set out above, the offence our client was being issued a caution for was ABH. However, during the interview his admission was to the offence of common assault. At no point did our client admit to causing any injury.

Public interest

We made several public interest arguments which included: The impact the caution was having on our client’s life. The fact that the alleged victim was his partner of eleven years and supported the caution being removed. The caution was restricting his ability to work and provide for his family. It had been eleven years since the caution was issued and our client was an honest family man.

Saunders Law made the application in May 2026. Within eight days, we received the successful outcome from ACRO. Our client is now free to move on with his life and support his family. The case was conducted by solicitor Amber Richardson, supervised by Ali Parker.

If you have an incident on your PNC record that you would like removed, get in touch with our Crime department who would be happy to discuss how we can assist. Whether it is a fresh application or an appeal, our team of lawyers are experienced and ready to assist.