Your criminal record mainly consists of cautions or convictions for offences that are categorised as ‘recordable’. Generally, but not exclusively, an offence that could result in imprisonment is classed as being recordable. The list of these offences has grown over time and is now substantial, and can be found in full here (as provided to Unlock by the Ministry of Justice). Your criminal record generally comprises of information held on the Police National Computer, or PNC. However, there are situations where information held on the Police National Database, or PND, can also be disclosed.
Information about how criminal records and related data is stored can be found on the Unlock website here. It is important to remember that information held on either the PNC or PND can only be disclosed in certain situations governed by the criminal record system. This covers both what and when you have to disclose something as well as what will be disclosed by checks carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information is available on our website regarding criminal records checks, whilst it may be worth referring to the Glossary to find out more about the various phrases used in this toolkit.
A good first step in understanding your criminal record is to find out what information on you is held on the PNC. The easiest and cheapest way to find out your criminal record is to apply for a copy of your police records. You are entitled to exercise your rights to obtain information that is held about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. This process is known as a Subject Access Request. Our website contains further information on this process here. The Information Commissioner’s Office has a useful overview here.
Typically, you make the application to do so through ACRO Criminal Records Office online. However, the ACRO website is currently more limited than normal, so you need to download the relevant form from the sit and submit it by email to subjectaccessrequest@acro.police.uk. ACRO remain committed to attempting to responding to such requests within the legislated one calendar month period. We do not currently know how long this process will remain in place, as the main ACRO website has been unavailable for some time.
Understanding your criminal record
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The Police National Computer, or PNC, mainly stores details of people who have been cautioned or convicted of a recordable offence. For further information on the PNC and what it holds, see the Glossary.
If you are unsure whether an offence for which you have been convicted has been recorded on the PNC, you can make a subject access request to view a copy of your police record.
It is sometimes possible to apply for information to be removed from the PNC, but this process is challenging. Detailed information on this process is elsewhere in this toolkit.
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In addition to the PNC, there is also a system called the Police National Database, or PND. For further information on the PND and what information it holds, see the Glossary.
To find out what is held on the PND, you have to request to see your local records from the relevant police force via a subject access request submitted directly to the police force who hold the relevant information.
Like the PNC, having information removed from the PND is very challenging. Some advice is provided elsewhere in this toolkit.
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As part of an Enhanced check, police are asked to disclose any information that they consider relevant. Wide discretion is given as to what should be disclosed, but guidance must be followed which states the information must be sufficiently serious, current and credibly. This can include things that have been filtered, although the police need to take account of case law around this issue. It can also include non-conviction information on things such as allegations. However, it should always be relevant and proportionate.
If you are applying for a job where an Enhanced check is needed, and you are worried about what might be disclosed, you should start by finding out what is held on both the PNC and PND though a subject access request (see instructions above). If you are unsure on what information would be disclosed on a particular check, contacting the Unlock helpline would be a good place to start.
When an Enhanced check is carried out, the police will normally contact you to offer you a chance to make representations about information they are proposing to disclose. If you worried about information being disclosed but you are not contacted by the police, you should contact them and ask for the opportunity to make representations.
If the police decide to disclose information as part of your Enhanced check that you believe is not relevant, you can challenge this, first through the DBS by completing the form found here (Section D). They will refer your application to the relevant police service to give the chief officer the opportunity to consider your dispute first. If you are not satisfied with the police force’s dispute response, your case will be referred to the Independent Monitor. For further information on the Independent Monitor, please refer to the Glossary. If you disagree with the findings of the Independent Monitor then your next step would be to seek judicial review.
