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 issued18/04/2013 - 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" and I am reading the guidance issued by the NPCC on
"Deletion of Records from National Police Systems", 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". 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.