Criminal Record

[Kathyan]

Is it possible to find out if someone has or has had a police or criminal record?

[jimmyb01]

http://www.disclosure.gov.uk/    It looks like that unless you are an organisation or employing someone to work with children, it is unlikely.

[Chessman]

This would come under the confidentiality act, so generally speaking, the answer is no, but if its in relation to work,eg. child minding, caring for other people, then you can, and should, have them police checked.

[kosoro]

If you type ... criminal records...into Google you will find plenty of companies there that can help you

[Kathyan]

It's not for employment. My daughter has got involved with a lad that I'm unsure of and I just wondered if there was any way of finding out if he's been in trouble.

[Buenchico]

Now that you've told us that you're trying to check up on your daughter's boyfriend the answer has to be a very definite 'No'.

The Criminal Records Bureau is prohibited from revealing such information. The only other people who have access to criminal records are the police (plus some customs officers and government security services).

Before you start thinking about having a quiet word in the ear of your local community constable, I would tell you that there was a case in the papers, a year or two back, about a police inspector who checked up on whether his daughter's boyfriend had a criminal record. He was dismissed from the service and his claim for unfair dismissal was rejected. So, you're unlikely to get any help from a friendly copper. (Every search is automatically recorded and full audit procedures are carried out to check that only legitimate enquiries have been made on the computer system).

Of course, to those of us who have to type while wearing gloves and with stockings over our heads this is all very useful . . . :-)

Chris

[Kathyan]

I suppose I already knew the answer to this before I posted, but there's no harm in asking! I don't know any policemen so there's no danger of me getting any information, legally or otherwise! Thanks anyway.

[Grunty]

Incidentally, the policeman that Buenchico mentions could have got two years as well.

If you really want to do some donkey work, you could go through the local papers (assuming he is old enough for his name to be published).  Sometimes things come out in the course of conversation with him or his family and friends.

[jake-the-peg]

You might like to cast your mind back a few years to when you were younger. What would you have said if you'd found your mother had been checking out your boyfriends behind your back?

It's tough because we all want to protect our children but kids have stormed off never to see to their parents again over less