Some Advice Please about police cautions

[SoggyBottom]

My son dated a Girl when they were Both minors, right up until he was 17, about (2 years), The Girl took the break up badly and went on vendetta to make his life misery, getting him sacked from his job, her friends threatening to beat him up, the usual rubbish, as soon as he turned 18 she accused him of rape. He and I attended the police station where he was interviewed under caution, by two female police offers, at no point was he arrested, or charges brought against him, the the case was dropped and closed two months later.

My son now almost 24 plans to move to Australia with his Oz girlfriend, My Question is this. Will the caution he received at the time (Northern Ireland) 1, still be on any police records. 2, prevent him from being able to emigrate to Australia, and 3, show up in a CRB check.

Thanks for any advice.

[LondonTeacher]

Hi Soggypants,

Sorry to hear about the dilemma your son currently face.

I copied the following information from the Acesss Northern island website.

Please see the information about cautions in NI:

Levels of check and what they disclose
An AccessNI check is a criminal history record check which provides different levels of information about you. There are three levels of check:

a basic check contains details of all convictions considered to be unspent
a standard check contains details of all spent and unspent convictions, informed warnings, cautions and diversionary youth conferences
an enhanced check contains the same information as a standard check as well as a check of police records held locally and, for positions working with children and vulnerable adults, may include information held by the Disclosure and Barring Service
Fixed penalty tickets, parking fines, some motoring offences and other minor offending, such as failure to pay a TV licence, will not be included in any checks. Some old and minor convictions and non-court disposals on a criminal record may also be filtered and not disclosed on a standard or enhanced check.

[LondonTeacher]

Australian Good Character requirement

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Character and police certificate requirements

Character requirements

Everyone who wants to enter Australia must be of good character and will be assessed against the character requirements. As part of your visa application, you might be required to provide a police clearance certificate or other evidence to satisfy the character requirements.
The character requirements are set out under Section 501 of the Migration Act 1958.
How character is assessed
You will not pass the character test if:
you have a substantial criminal record, meaning you have been sentenced to 12 months or more in prison, or multiple sentences that add up to more than 12 months in prison. A suspended sentence is considered a prison sentence.
you have been convicted of escaping from immigration detention, or convicted for an offence that you committed:
while you were in immigration detention
during an escape from immigration detention
after an escape, but before you were taken into immigration detention again.
you are or have been a member of a group or organisation, or had or have an association with a person, group or organisation that the Minister for Immigration reasonably suspects of involvement in criminal conduct
the Minister for Immigration reasonably suspects that you have been involved in people smuggling, people trafficking, genocide, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a crime involving torture or slavery, or a crime that is of serious international concern, whether or not you have been convicted of such an offence
your past and present criminal or general conduct shows that you are not of good character
there is a risk that while you are in Australia you would:
engage in criminal conduct
harass, molest, intimidate or stalk another person
vilify a segment of the Australian community
incite discord in the Australian community or in a part of it
be a danger to the Australian community or a part of it.
you have been convicted of, or found guilty or had a charge proven for one or more sexually based offences involving a child,
you are subject to an adverse security assessment by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
you are subject to an Interpol notice, from which it is reasonable to infer that you a direct or indirect risk to the Australian community, or a segment of the Australian community.
If you are applying for temporary or permanent migration
For the Australian Government to determine whether you are of good character, you might be asked to provide police certificates for each country you have lived in for 12 months or more, over the last 10 years, since turning 16 years of age.
You must declare all recorded offences to us. If you do not declare an offence and we become aware of this it might have a negative impact on your application.
Do not finalise any travel arrangements until after the grant of your visa. This is because visa processing times can vary depending on the visa type and your personal circumstances.

[AmandaF]

Hi Soggybottom!!
(Love the name! )

It depends, I think, what you mean by "caution". If you mean the standard caution before questioning (as in being read your rights) then that is NOT an indication of any crime being committed.
A police caution can be accepted as a slap on the wrists after admitting an offence, which is entirely different.

if it's the first, it shouldn't show anywhere . this is the case as far as my limited knowledge extends

[Rights Fighter]

He doesn't take a caution and he's not given one. He accepts it. And that is an admission of guilt. He should have been told that before he accepted it. It's the same as having a criminal record unfortunately

[SoggyBottom]

Thanks for all the answers, I think the best for my son to do is speak to a lawyer, and get them to see if the cautions still in effect and if not make sure its removed, as he wasn't charged with anything.

[Rights Fighter]

Best idea yes - try to get the caution removed. He doesn't have to be charged to be offered and to accept a caution. It's an easy "nick" for the police and clears up their crime figures!

[slowdown73]

If he was only interviewed under caution, then he doesn't have a conviction or a caution. It simply means he was questioned about an alleged offence but there was insufficient evidence to arrest or charge him. However, a record of this can still appear on a DBS check if he is considering working with children in the future or may in some other circumstances where the Police feel it is relevant to disclose such as jobs in the Police or army. I can't see it being an issue with him going to Australia because he wasn't charged with anything and the case was dropped but they may ask if he has ever been subject to a criminal investigation in which you would have to disclose but can say it was a false allegation which never went any further. Good luck!

[Rights Fighter]

I don't think she refers to an interview under caution, but that he accepted a Caution from the police.

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/q562.htm

Extract:
However, when applying for particular types of employment, for example, working with children or vulnerable adults, certain professions such as law, health care, and pharmacy, senior management posts within certain sectors and employment where matters of national security are involved, the application form will state that it is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In these situations, you may need need to disclose your caution , and it may be disclosed on your DBS criminal records check. See Q89 for further guidance on whether your caution will be disclosed.

Cautions will always remain on a person's record. There are only exceptional circumstances when a caution could be removed from a person's record and it is anticipated that such incidents will be rare. Examples of such possible circumstances are that it was found that the original arrest or sample was unlawful or where it was found beyond all doubt that no offence existed. Any requests that fit the above criteria should be directed to ACRO Criminal Records Office. Please see the link in the related information for further details.