Caution and CRB check

[jane1972]

Hi

I was arrested for a petty theft (shoplifting) about 5 years ago. I was about 19 y.o.then. Police took me to the police station, took my fingerprints, pictures, DNA, etc. Sat in the cell for couple of hours and then was interviewed which was recorded on the tape. I cannot remember sighing anything or accepting a guilt. I was trying to explain the situation since it was a very complicated one. Anyway, I was studying law at uni at that point and asked if I could persue a career in law after this arrest. Police officers who arrested me said that I can continue and it will not affect my career. Anyway, I need to know if it will come up on the CRB check (standart/enhanced) even though it was 5 years ago and not sure if it was a caution or just a way to make me scared so I don't do anything like this again.

P.S. I was fined by the shop though and I have paid that in full. Since then I was travelling all over and applyed to Home Office on several occasions and it never ever came up.

Do you think it was a caution? How long does it stay on the police record? Will it show on CRB check?
Can police arrest you without giving you a formal caution or warning, or does it have to be official. If they took my photographs, fingerprints etc that means that I do have a record??

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Questions about cautions come up almost daily on AB. It can be difficult to provide a definitive answer because there is no single definition of what a 'criminal record' is.

Historically (i.e. before cautions were introduced) someone was only considered to have a criminal record if they'd been convicted of an offence before a court. When cautions were first introduced, it was made clear that a caution is not a conviction and, therefore, does not create (or add to) a criminal record.

However, the CRB's records do show cautions which (since they show up on CRB checks) effectively makes them part of a (stricter) criminal record even if they don't 'officially' count.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that (since they're not convictions) there is no provision, under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, for cautions to become spent. Police forces may delete cautions from their records after a certain time, but there is no legal requirement for them to do so.

[Buenchico]

A standard CRB check only shows what is on the CRB's computer (including cautions). An enhanced check can show any additional information which is deemed relevant by senior police officers (or by other relevant agencies). This can include details of arrests or simple allegations against a person.

It's very much of a 'grey area' which requires either action by politicians or some test cases before the courts before everything becomes clearer. There are currently some test cases before the courts where people are trying to get minor convictions, from long ago, deleted from their records. At the same time, following the Soham murders, police forces are under pressure to never delete any information from their files and to pass on details of all allegations and arrests (even those which did not result in a caution or conviction) when an enhanced CRB check is carried out.

As stated, this is largely a grey area. However, one thing is 'black & white'. You have the right to receive a copy of your details from the Police National Computer. Simply write to the Chief Constable of your local force, enclosing a payment of �10 and you'll be able to find out whether a caution is recorded against your name.

Chris

[jane1972]

Thanks for your answer. Anybody else with any comments??

[Ethel]

Re the income tax - you must inform the relevant tax office within three months of the start of trading, even if you make no profit or make a loss.

This is the case if you are selling items with the intention of making a profit, and not simply selling your personal, no longer wanted items.

If you don't, you face a hefty fine.

[Ethel]

I do apologise - I have no idea how it happened, but I posted on the wrong thread.

Apologies.

[jno]

wrong thread, Ethel

[Shazza36]

My now 17 year old son received a reprimand last year for playing football in a public place which apparently annoyed the residents!! He was/is a junior football referee and I asked the police if this would appear on a CRB check (it was just before his 16th birthday so we knew he would need one when he turned 16), they told us that it wouldn't so he accepted the reprimand in order to get out of a busy police station on a Friday night. In hindsight we wouldn't have accepted it as he hadn't broken the law, anyway his CRB check came back showing a reprimand for a Public Order Offence -section 5 I think. The FA questioned this before re-newing his referee qualification but after we explained the situation they advised us that it would have no affect on his renewel.So it stays with him for 3 years, he wants to join the police after A levels so I don;t knw what affect this will have on his application?