Police cautions should be removed from database sooner, says Leveson

Telegraph

09-07-2025

Police should no longer be allowed to keep a record of people's cautions until they are 100 years old, a Government review has recommended.
Sir Brian Leveson, a former appeal court judge who headed the review of the criminal courts, said the criminal records system needed to be reformed to recognise that people can be rehabilitated and should not face job discrimination as a result of past misdemeanours.
Any caution remains on the police national computer until an offender reaches the age of 100, even if it is 'spent'.
Details can be requested by employers and have to be declared for visa travel to certain countries including the US, China and many Middle Eastern states.
Sir Brian said: 'I am keen to see that the impact [cautions and out of court resolutions] have on individuals' lives is proportionate to the offending.'
It is one of 45 recommendations from his review, which was set up by Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, to tackle record court backlogs and delays in justice for victims.
As well as scrapping the automatic right to jury trials for thousands of defendants, Sir Brian has also proposed that police should make greater use of out of court resolutions such as cautions to divert offenders like thieves, thugs and drug addicts away from the courts.
Sir Brian said this proposal would 'highlight the difficulty that individuals face in complying with their duties of disclosure of a criminal record in future employment and other applications'.
Under current laws, cautions remain on a person's criminal record on the police national computer until they are 100 but become 'spent' after six years. This means they do not have to be automatically declared to employers through the disclosure and barring service.
There are, however, exceptions for serious offences, and employers are entitled to ask about spent convictions for certain occupations and roles that involve working with vulnerable individuals or those in positions of trust.
Sir Brian called for reform of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 'to address the periods of time before cautions and convictions for low level offences become spent or protected effectively for all purposes and are therefore never disclosed on any criminal record check.'
However, while backing the wiping of cautions from the police national computer (PNC), Sir Brian accepted there should remain exemptions for some offences such as sexual assaults.
'The disclosure system needs simplifying so that offenders and employers have clarity about what can be expected to be disclosed,' he said.
'I would, of course, recognise the importance of retaining information in relation to certain offences (such as sexual assault) which might be relevant to employment possibilities, and also of such information remaining on the PNC for intelligence purposes.
'The organisation Unlock [a charity founded by former prisoners] has called for a fundamental review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 in recognition of the fact that the world has now radically changed since 1974. I would endorse such a review.'
'Total collapse of the system'
In his 378-page report published on Wednesday, Sir Brian proposed changes at every stage of the process to prevent what he warned was the 'total collapse of the system' because of the backlogs. The number of outstanding cases has risen to a record 77,000, with trials delayed as far ahead as 2029.
Sir Brian's biggest and most controversial reform is to the jury system where he proposed that anyone facing an offence carrying a maximum sentence of two years in jail would lose their right to elect for a jury trial.
Defendants for any offence apart from homicide will also be entitled to ask for a judge-only trial.
He said defendants should receive a 40 per cent discount on their sentence if they pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, up from 33 per cent. It could mean a criminal facing a nominal 10 years in jail would serve just two years in prison.
Ministry of Justice sources confirmed the proposals were being considered including on police cautions, with decisions on the Government's plans to be announced in the autumn.