Case studies

Discover How Our Legal Intervention Has Restored Futures

Explore real stories of individuals just like you who turned to us at pivotal moments and how our timely legal intervention helped protect their future, dignity, and livelihood.

Finance Professional Secures U.S. Career and Fiancée After Drug Caution Deleted

Our client, a young professional working in finance, received a police caution for possession of small amounts of Class A drugs, specifically cocaine and MDMA. Although a caution is not a conviction, it remains a formal record on the Police National Computer (PNC).

While cautions are considered “spent” for certain purposes in the UK, they stay recorded on the PNC until the individual reaches 100 years of age. As a result, they can appear for decades on an ACRO Police Certificate, the document required for visa and immigration applications.

For this client, the impact was particularly severe. He had secured a position in the United States and was engaged to an American citizen. Under U.S. immigration law, drug-related offences are treated with extreme seriousness. Even a simple caution for possession can lead to a permanent bar on both work visas and citizenship.

There were two critical risks: a direct disclosure of the caution on his Police Certificate would result in visa refusal, and even a “No Live Trace” entry would trigger further inquiries by U.S. authorities, leading to the same outcome in practice.

Because his employer would handle the visa process, the caution would inevitably have been revealed to them. This caused immense anxiety. He feared losing his career opportunity, damaging his professional reputation, and facing the stigma that such a record can carry in a competitive field.

Single Mother Wrongly Cautioned for Child Neglect Cleared to Train as Teacher

Our client, a single mother, had recently separated from her partner following serious domestic abuse. She was living alone, financially strained, and in a highly vulnerable position.

One evening, she was locked out of her home while her children, both under the age of 10, remained inside. In an attempt to reach them, she tried to force entry. A neighbour contacted the police. She briefly left to seek help, but during her absence, the police arrived. When she returned, she was arrested for child neglect.

During the incident, she became involved in an altercation with the officers and was further accused of assaulting a police officer. She later accepted a police caution for child neglect, a specified offence under DBS rules.

Specified offences are always disclosed on both standard and enhanced DBS certificates, regardless of the passage of time. At the time, our client was retraining to become a teacher. The disclosure of this caution posed a permanent barrier to entering a regulated profession.

Pharmacy Student’s Record Corrected After Police Misapplied Medicines Act

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.

Wrongly Issued Shoplifting PND Deleted for Medical Professional

Our client, a medical doctor, was shopping the day before travelling abroad. Distracted by a phone call and under significant personal stress, he accidentally left a shop without paying for an item. He was detained by security staff and accused of shoplifting.

When the police arrived, he was offered a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND). Fearful of prosecution and unaware of the consequences, he accepted the PND on the spot.

At the time, PNDs were often presented as informal tickets. In reality, they were recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) and could be disclosed on enhanced DBS certificates. For a doctor, this posed a serious risk to professional standing.

The client paid the fine and left the matter alone, believing it was “no big deal.” It wasn’t until years later, when the PND appeared on an enhanced DBS check, that the potential damage to his career became clear.