The Student Room Group

Will a police caution affect university application?

Hi guys, need help!

Got a caution 2 years ago. Details: neighbour gave me a voucher for a retailer, i used it, got arrested and cautioned.

I had absolutely no idea the voucher was fake, this neighbour (who I gladly no longer associate with) used me to 'test' this voucher.

Will this affect my application? Do you see me becoming a Healthcare Assistant or getting into a degree programme?

Appreciate all the answers, thank you.

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Original post by Zulfi7860
Hi guys, need help!

Got a caution 2 years ago. Details: neighbour gave me a voucher for a retailer, i used it, got arrested and cautioned.

I had absolutely no idea the voucher was fake, this neighbour (who I gladly no longer associate with) used me to 'test' this voucher.

Will this affect my application? Do you see me becoming a Healthcare Assistant or getting into a degree programme?

Appreciate all the answers, thank you.


Cautions and arrests come up on enhanced DBS checks for NHS jobs or degrees so i m afraid that you need to take honesty is the best policy attitude to this and declare it to your employer and university. It will probably go to a panel and then you get a chance to explain what happened and they decide from there.
Reply 2
What a **** ! Hope this dosen't affect your chances at all of going into the profession you want, but you'll have to explain to the Uni/ future employeers whap happened, of course
I know a person who got into Oxford with a reprimand/final warning for four separate offences in a single event when he was 15 years old. This involved possession of a knife, public disorder, drugs, but he was the victim in this case so the court said because he has such a good reputation and was never involved in anything criminal the case is not serious enough for juvenile court so the Police Constable issued a caution. He got really high grades in his AS levels and got into Oxford smoothly.
Original post by claireestelle
Cautions and arrests come up on enhanced DBS checks for NHS jobs or degrees so i m afraid that you need to take honesty is the best policy attitude to this and declare it to your employer and university. It will probably go to a panel and then you get a chance to explain what happened and they decide from there.


This must be filtered in according with the 2013 legislation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-list-of-offences-that-will-never-be-filtered-from-a-criminal-record-check

Cautions for minor offences disappear within 2 years for the persons below the age of 18.

He is under no legal obligation to disclose the act of arrest itself, as many people are detained and then can be found 'not guilty' by the court at all, therefore have no criminal record to disclose.
Original post by William Pitt
This must be filtered in according with the 2013 legislation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-list-of-offences-that-will-never-be-filtered-from-a-criminal-record-check

Cautions for minor offences disappear within 2 years for the persons below the age of 18.

He is under no legal obligation to disclose the act of arrest itself, as many people are detained and then can be found 'not guilty' by the court at all, therefore have no criminal record to disclose.


The op hasnt mentioned their age at any point? therefore didnt want to assume they d be under that rule at all.
Honesty honesty honesty!

If you mention it at interview, and declare it on your application form, as it won't affect patient care (i.e. it's not a violent crime like assault and it's not a repeated set of offences, like you did it twenty times over) you should find that almost all Trusts will be happy to employ you. They will still have to raise it with your manager and discuss it/do a risk assessment but I would imagine you'll be ok for a healthcare assistant role.

Do not assume that under a certain age offences won't show, for enhanced DBS checks a lot of things show that you wouldn't imagine including speeding offences.

If you do NOT raise it at interview and on your application form, they are more than within their rights to withdraw any offer of employment as you've shown dishonesty, even though it's not really a crime that would affect your employment there.
Reply 8
good grief I am so out of touch with what happens these days

You have to disclose a criminal record these days before you do a degree?!
WHY?
What kind of society do we live in?
Wow,what a scummy neighbour.
Shouldn't have accepted the caution, to be honest. Accepting one means admitting that you have acted criminally in order to be 'let off' from going to court; acceptance is an admission of guilt. If you're telling the truth about your neighbour, then you should have simply refused the caution and stuck to your story.

Not that you can do much about it now, tbh.



Original post by TeeEm
good grief I am so out of touch with what happens these daysYou have to disclose a criminal record these days before you do a degree?!WHY?What kind of society do we live in?


One which vets its healthcare professionals so that criminals can't abuse those positions?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by TeeEm
good grief I am so out of touch with what happens these days

You have to disclose a criminal record these days before you do a degree?!
WHY?
What kind of society do we live in?


If you want to do something where you'll need a DBS during your course - such as nursing, medicine, therapies or teaching - then yes, you do.
If you have been convicted of an offence that requires you to disclose this during the period before it is no longer required of the rehabilitation of offenders act then you have to do so or this is another criminal offence.

Just a caution, you shouldn't have to disclose this is to the university and the nature of offence shouldn't be an issue for employers in healthcare.

If brought up explain the circumstances and that you weren't aware it was fake and it should be fine.
Original post by TeeEm
good grief I am so out of touch with what happens these days

You have to disclose a criminal record these days before you do a degree?!
WHY?
What kind of society do we live in?


Exactly, for me this is a hindrance to meritocracy and social mobility.

Criminal record should, in my honest opinion, never be a hindrance to your socio-economic capacities, even in the most extreme cases. There should be a time limit, and once the person's punishment is over, i.e. a prison sentence, she or he should have their record erased altogether.
Reply 14
Original post by William Pitt
Exactly, for me this is a hindrance to meritocracy and social mobility.

Criminal record should, in my honest opinion, never be a hindrance to your socio-economic capacities, even in the most extreme cases. There should be a time limit, and once the person's punishment is over, i.e. a prison sentence, she or he should have their record erased altogether.


totally agree...

I mean how many people do not have a criminal record purely because they have not been caught.
Original post by William Pitt
This must be filtered in according with the 2013 legislation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-list-of-offences-that-will-never-be-filtered-from-a-criminal-record-check

Cautions for minor offences disappear within 2 years for the persons below the age of 18.

He is under no legal obligation to disclose the act of arrest itself, as many people are detained and then can be found 'not guilty' by the court at all, therefore have no criminal record to disclose.


Cautions, even for minors, now appear on an enhanced dbs check, which is what is required for healthcare.
Arrests also appear on an enhanced dbs, even if no further action was taken.
Both cautions and arrests, as well as reprimands and warnings and even 'soft' information such as allegations made about you, are kept on PNC (police national computer), and all such information appears on an enhanced dbs check.
You must disclose all arrests, cautions etc, as they will find out anyway when they do the dbs and then your application will be dismissed on grounds of dishonesty.
Original post by Zulfi7860
........


It won't affect a university application at all. It's highly unlikely to impact future employment opportunities.
Original post by TeeEm
good grief I am so out of touch with what happens these daysYou have to disclose a criminal record these days before you do a degree?!WHY?What kind of society do we live in?


Original post by William Pitt
Exactly, for me this is a hindrance to meritocracy and social mobility.
Criminal record should, in my honest opinion, never be a hindrance to your socio-economic capacities, even in the most extreme cases. There should be a time limit, and once the person's punishment is over, i.e. a prison sentence, she or he should have their record erased altogether.


Perhaps for a degree such as history, or for careers that do not involve interaction with the public; but OP is talking about healthcare.
Healthcare professions involve working with vulnerable people, and quite clearly any history of offences such as sexual assault or GBH would be completely inappropriate for such positions of trust. Therefore vocational degrees that lead to healthcare professions require an enchanced DBS.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by William Pitt
Exactly, for me this is a hindrance to meritocracy and social mobility.

Criminal record should, in my honest opinion, never be a hindrance to your socio-economic capacities, even in the most extreme cases. There should be a time limit, and once the person's punishment is over, i.e. a prison sentence, she or he should have their record erased altogether.


:colonhash:
Original post by theresheglows
Cautions, even for minors, now appear on an enhanced dbs check, which is what is required for healthcare.
Arrests also appear on an enhanced dbs, even if no further action was taken.
Both cautions and arrests, as well as reprimands and warnings and even 'soft' information such as allegations made about you, are kept on PNC (police national computer), and all such information appears on an enhanced dbs check.
You must disclose all arrests, cautions etc, as they will find out anyway when they do the dbs and then your application will be dismissed on grounds of dishonesty.


This is interesting, but you are wrong. You are correct in saying that even 'soft' information, including unproven allegations/arrests is kept forever on the PNC.

However, if the Chief Constable wants to disclose it on the an enhanced DBS check - for example the arrest for a fight and GBH in which the defendant was found not guilty - has to pass the following test:

Relevance is the information relevant to the position/job being applied for? Under this test, the police will also consider whether the information is sufficiently current, taking into account how long ago the incident occurred, the age of the applicant at the time of the incident and their conduct since.

Truth does the information come from a credible source?

Proportionality the police must decide whether by not disclosing the information on the certificate, they are placing vulnerable groups at risk of harm or, if by disclosing it, they are breaching the applicant’s human right to a private life.

In the meantime, the OP has no obligations to state the act of arrest itself because what the employer can ask of an individual is strictly regulated by the legislation. They may ask him about 'cautions, reprimands, final warnings, convictions' and that's it. The arrest itself does not count, or unproven allegations, or court proceedings in which there was no guilt no plea.