Successfully Removal of Several Incidents from a Client’s PNC Record

Saunders Law successfully removes several incidents from a client’s PNC record providing him and his family with a fresh start.

We were instructed to make several record deletion applications on behalf of our client to two separate police forces. Our client had the following incidents on his record;

1. Penalty notice issued in 2009 for destroy or damage property (value of damage £5,000 or less) contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971
2. Conditional Caution in 2010 for destroy or damage property (value of damage £5,000 or less) contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971
3. Penalty notice issue in 2011 for Theft contrary to section 1 of the Theft Act 1968
4. Caution from 2013 which was imposed for attempting to be in possession of a Class A drug contrary to section 5(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Saunders Law took our client’s full instructions and requested all relevant documents from two separate police forces. After considering our client’s circumstances and to achieve a successful outcome, we decided to make two applications for removal of the cautions first with two separate police forces. The first application was successful, and the second application was refused. However, Saunders Law successfully appealed that second decision within the three-month deadline.

After receiving confirmation that both of the cautions had been removed, Saunders Law made a third application to have both of the penalty notices removed.

For all four incidents, the following arguments were made:

• At the time of these incidents our client was young and naïve,
• Our client was drunk during each incident,
• The implications of accepting a police caution were never explained,
• The caution and penalty notices were having a huge impact on our client’s mental health,
• Our client lives in China and the caution and penalty notices were causing him uncertainty,
• His family’s future was being highly impacted by the retention of the cautions and penalty notices,
• Our client is extremely successful and the cautions and penalty notices were heavily impacting his career.

All of our applications were ultimately successful, and we have received confirmation that our client’s PNC record is now clear. He and his family are now free to move on with their lives. The case was conducted by solicitor Amber Richardson, supervised by Ali Parker.

Whilst the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 allows certain cautions to become spent and other incidents to not be disclosed on a DBS check after specified periods, the incidents do remain on an individual’s PNC record until the person reaches 100 years of age. This means that, for immigration purposes, whilst the caution, penalty notice and/or NFA may be filtered for job purposes, they are not protected for travel or moving abroad.

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.