Pharmacy Student’s Record Corrected After Police Misapplied Medicines Act
The Situation:
What Our Client Was Facing
Our client, a pharmacy student nearing qualification, was issued with a community resolution following an allegation under the Medicines Act. He was concerned about the impact on his future registration in a regulated profession.
Community resolutions are informal disposals. They are not convictions or cautions, and are not automatically recorded as disposals on the Police National Computer. However, they can still be disclosed on enhanced DBS certificates where considered relevant to the role applied for.
In this case, the resolution had been unlawfully issued. The police had misapplied the law. At the time of the incident, simple possession of the substance was not a criminal offence under the Medicines Act.
The client faced disclosure risk despite no offence in law. Had the matter come to the attention of his regulator, it could have prevented him from qualifying as a pharmacist.
FACING DBS DISCLOSURE FOR SOMETHING THAT WASN’T EVEN ILLEGAL?
Here are the following steps we took to address the issue:
Legal Analysis: Reviewed the Medicines Act in detail and confirmed that the alleged conduct did not amount to an offence at the time.
Written Representations: Submitted clear and detailed legal representations to the police, demonstrating that the community resolution had been issued unlawfully.
Disproportionality Argument: Set out the serious impact disclosure would have on our client’s ability to enter the pharmacy profession, given the regulatory checks involved.
Unlawfulness Grounds: Stressed the broader injustice of retaining a record for behaviour that was not, in law, a criminal offence.
The police accepted our submissions and agreed to remove the resolution from the client’s record.
The Outcome:
How Legisia Protected & Reinstated The Life
The police accepted our representations and removed the community resolution. The PNC entry was corrected, meaning there was no longer any risk of disclosure on the client’s enhanced DBS certificate.
While community resolutions are not convictions or cautions, they can still be disclosed where the police consider them relevant. In this case, the resolution should never have been issued. Leaving it in place would have created a false impression of wrongdoing.
By getting it removed, he was able to continue with his training and enter the pharmacy profession without the burden of an unjust police record.
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Why This Case Mattered — and What Others Can Learn
This case is a clear example of how even an informal disposal can put a regulated career at risk. The client hadn’t committed an offence, yet still faced the possibility of disclosure on his enhanced DBS.
Had the record stayed in place, it could have stopped him from qualifying as a pharmacist. It shows how important it is to challenge mistakes early especially when the stakes involve professional registration and future employment.
See How Our Legal Intervention Has Restored Futures
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