Police Vetting for recruitment (as police officer)

[jimbo32]

Any help would be greatly appreciated as im currently in a bit of a dilema. Im currently in the final stages of the recruitment process to become a police officer in uk. the vetting stage is the final hurdle as such, one problem being i have a skeleton in my closet, be it a small one, that im not sure is relevant to my application. As a juvenile i was given a caution, not sure wether it was an official caution, for a tiny amount of cannibus that i was given by a friend. I was 15/16, im now nearly 33. Should i state this in the vetting form? i tried to phone the police station where i got the caution and they said they had no record of it, time is ticking and this form needs to be sent, any advice much appreciated.

[Law Man1856]

Jimbo,

You can apply for your own CRB check ( cost �10 ) which will show all your criminal history, contact the HQ of the police who you were cautioned by.

If you were "cautioned" this is not a conviction but if you aspire to be a police officer you must disclose all your past history ( open and honest ). The vetting process is extensive and any hint of deception or "skeletons" will count against you. However full disclosure will go in your favour as if you were successful you will find when you experiance the court process ( giving evidence ).

The induction process is very demanding and I hope you have the resolve to overcome the trials you will face.

BEST OF LUCK

[jimbo32]

Thank you very much for answering my question law man, it is much appreciated, and i will take on board everything you have said, as it makes sense, but before i stick the stamp on this envelope, can anyone give a second opinion!?

[muj200]

jimbo,

i totally agree with the lawman. if you were given a caution for possession of cannabis you would have to disclose this. dont forget that the strenght of evidence required before you can be cautioned has to be the same as if you were charged and sent to court.

your caution would have have been recorded as it is a crime. you said that you contacted the police station were you were cautioned and they said that they could not find a record of it. this does not mean that it does not exit on file.

when you were caution the custody suites used a paper custody system. now everything is on computer (well in theory anyway) so the may have checked the computer system and found nothing or they may have checked their local intelligence system and found no trace of you as some forces delete the local records which are old and where the person has not come to their attention again.

so why is it important to disclose it? because there will be a archived PNC record of it.

[muj200]

** continued **

if you dont disclose it and its discovered your into all kinds of issues, possibly criminal offences too (obtaining a pecuniary advantage - now replaced by fraud by false representation under the new fraud act 2006).

remember you aspire to be a police constable so HONESTY and INTEGRITY are essential traits. i'm suprised you even thought about failing to disclose this info.

ITS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ANYWAY. your juvenile caution would have dropped off after you turned 18. your criminal record would be dormant.

good luck.

[jimbo32]

well thank you both very much for your very helpful advice, i am going to state this information on the vetting form.
keep your fingers crossed for me, jimbo.

[themas]

Law Man:-

This is the second post I have seen today saying you can apply for your own CRB check. But the CRB website says:-

"The current legislation does not allow the self-employed or individuals to apply for a CRB check on themselves"

It appears from the site that it can only be done with the involvement of the organisation you may be going to work for, and they have to be registered with CRB.

So can you please explain how you go about doing it yourself.

[muj200]

themas,

i know your question is directed at law man but i cannot help myself.

i think we are all getting confused with the terminology.

you are right a crb check cannot be instigated by a private person. what many people refer to as a crb check is actually a 'data subject' check under the data protection act. s.7 i think.

this is a check which can be conducted by a private individual. everybody has a right under this act and section to have access to the information held on them. typically this is information relating to convictions, prosecutions etc.
this check is in place to ensure the bodies dont keep and gather info on the individual unnecessarily. all bodies holding information on the individual have to comply with the act and hold information whilst complying with its principals (fairness, not keeping it for longer than necessary etc.....i think there are 8 principles in total).

all you do is pop into a police station or get on their web site and apply for it. theres a �10.00 admin fee payable at the time of the request.

i hope ive got it right and ive answered your question.

thanks.

[Law Man1856]

The process for applying for your CRB is to request all data held under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Usually a section 40 disclosure request will be sent to you from Scotland yard and if you satisy the requirement to ID a fee of �10 is payable and you receive all convictions etc.

The process is very long and 2 - 4 months is not unusual.

In West Midlands police all detained persons are fingerprinted, DNA tested and photograhed as part of the documentation process.

This is completed before the investigation ( interview ) and is now rarely questioned.

If the person is found to be innocent then the normal disposal will be No Further Action ( NFA ) , however if they are bailed to return to the police station and then Insufficient Evidence is deemed to be available to charge the record will be closed as such.

The PNC record of that person will show the arrest, the bail, and the disposal or result if charged and sent to court.

When applying for your CRB check this will only show cautions and convictions, the above police process is only recorded on PNC and forms part of the individuals police record not criminal record.

The process means that more people have thier DNA on record which is used in speculative searches for both outstanding and further crimes.

We recently had someone wrongly accused of rape and he was subjected to the documentation process, although he was completely innocent he now has his DNA photograph and fingerprints on record and is also recorded on PNC as arrested and bailed for rape then insufficient evidence.

This caused great debate but senior management and the police authority refused to dispose of his details and details of his arrest were disclosed in a CRB check in error.

[Law Man1856]

He was applying for a teaching position which fortunately the employed accepted the detailed police response and gave him the job.
Cont'd

My concern is how many time other have been refused jobs due to this new procedure.

I undertand the good in that sex offenders and murderers can be recorded across force borders and trends noted earlier but this must be weighted against the negatives.

Sorry to bang on but sometimes the thin blue line can be a bit overpowering.

[themas]

Thank you both for detailed answers.

[ingad]

hi jimbo32, had a simalar thing happen to me but it was a disclosure form for uni i had to fill out, my circunstances were the same as yours doing something stupid when your young,but dont worry about stating it in the vetting form cause it will not show up even if it was a official warning,because it was so long it only stays on your record for 2 years. it sounds to me that the police were just trying to scare you. good luck in your new job!!