William contacted our helpline after he’d received a copy of his Subject Access Request (SAR) from the police and discovered that a conviction for possession of Class C drugs had been recorded twice on the Police National Computer (by the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police). He immediately contacted ACRO Criminal Records Office who confirmed that although they could see two convictions, they were unable to offer any information or advice as to how he could get his record amended to reflect the correct information.
William was desperate to have the duplicate police record removed. He knew that if his record showed just one conviction then it would be eligible for filtering after 11 years. However, having two convictions (albeit duplicate records) meant that they would probably be treated as two separate convictions and would never be filtered from standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. William felt that this could potentially stop him from getting any job which would require a standard or enhanced DBS check and, having to disclose both convictions would cause confusion and embarrassment.
We explained to William that he would need to apply to the Chief Police Officer of his local police force and make a request for the duplicate record to be deleted. We provided him with advice on what to include in his application and supported him throughout the process.
We contacted William a couple of months later and he told us that the duplicate conviction had been removed from the PNC.
William said:
“Without Unlock being available to give support and advice I might have been tempted to give up. However, once I had found the correct department at the police force, I waited about a month for the duplicate record to be deleted. “
Lessons
We’d always recommend that you get a copy of your Subject Access Request (SAR) so that you’re clear about the information that is recorded on the PNC about you. If the information recorded has any discrepancies then you will need to contact the police force which holds the information and make a request to have it amended.
Links
Notes about this case study
This case study relates to Unlock’s helpline.
Names and details have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.
