Standard DBS check - criminal conviction

[pollygrey101]

has anyone been in a situation where they have plead guilty to the single justice procedure notice for 'fare evasion' and was given a fine to pay, and then later did a standard dbs check to see whether it shows up as a conviction. did it show on the standard dbs check?

i understand that if you plead guilty then you are accepting that you committed the offence.. but i think that in some circumstances they may consider just reprimanding you with the fine or is that just impossible?

 

[3rd rail land]

If you plead guilty you will get a criminal record as well as a fine. There is no way out of getting a criminal record if you are convicted, which you will 100% be if you plead guilty. I have heard it may not show on a standard dbs if it is just a byelaw conviction but I have never been in such so couldn't say either way.

 

[AlterEgo]

has anyone been in a situation where they have plead guilty to the single justice procedure notice for 'fare evasion' and was given a fine to pay, and then later did a standard dbs check to see whether it shows up as a conviction. did it show on the standard dbs check?

A Bylaw offence will not show on a Standard DBS check. It may, in some circumstances, show on an Enhanced one.

Give your question is essentially "can my criminal offences be detected by this method?", be aware: Neither of the above facts affect your obligation to respond truthfully to whether you have spent or unspent convictions, nor any protections you have under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

i understand that if you plead guilty then you are accepting that you committed the offence.. but i think that in some circumstances they may consider just reprimanding you with the fine or is that just impossible?

Pleading guilty means you are convicted of the offence. There is no way the magistrates can just say "oh right ok, well actually we won't convict you" - even an absolute discharge is a conviction.

 

[Hadders]

A conviction under the Railway Byelaws (whether it is dealt with under the SJPN system or in person at a Magistrates Court) is a criminal conviction. My understanding is that a byelaw convictions aren't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and ordinarily won't show on DBS checks. That said a criminal conviction is a matter of public record and there are other ways for organisations to check convictions so it is possible that a byelaw conviction could be disclosed in certain situations.

I always advise being honest if you're asked if you have a conviction. I would not expect a conviction for a minor railway ticketing matter to adversely impact future career prospects but the key thing is to be honest about it if asked.

 

[Pushpit]

The DBS process is not watertight. Errors can happen between courts and the DBS organisations, and I have seen a standard DBS with a byelaw offence mentioned. That came via Disclosure Scotland, possibly reflecting the very different legal structures north of the border, but related to an event in England. Those who administer DBS paperwork on behalf of their employers are very much aware of what can and cannot be used. A common one relates to drug related convictions when the applicant was a child - we know these shouldn't show up, but there seems to be problems accurately recording dates of birth.

As ever, while employers tend to take a benevolent view of relatively minor legal transgressions, and are very mindful about the legal requirements in terms of offender rehabilitation, we tend to take a much harsher view of someone asked to declared any convictions / cautions and yet fails to do some candidly. The question that arises is "what else are they hiding?".

 

[soil]

A Bylaw offence will not show on a Standard DBS check. It may, in some circumstances, show on an Enhanced one.

Give your question is essentially "can my criminal offences be detected by this method?", be aware: Neither of the above facts affect your obligation to respond truthfully to whether you have spent or unspent convictions, nor any protections you have under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

This is misleading:

• byelaw convictions are spent after one year
• most people don't need to respond truthfully when asked if they have spent convictions, and should answer 'no', even if they have them, unless
• for certain jobs such as teaching, where the period is eleven years ('filtered'), and
• for specified jobs, such as police or judiciary, then they will always be disclosable.

 

[sageypoos]

I work in education and had an Enhanced DBS after pleading guilty to byelaw 18.1. Didn’t show. I received the conviction a month before applying for the enhanced DBS.

 

[Hadders]

has anyone been in a situation where they have plead guilty to the single justice procedure notice for 'fare evasion' and was given a fine to pay, and then later did a standard dbs check to see whether it shows up as a conviction. did it show on the standard dbs check?

i understand that if you plead guilty then you are accepting that you committed the offence.. but i think that in some circumstances they may consider just reprimanding you with the fine or is that just impossible?

If a case is prosecuted in court and you plead guilty or are found guilty following a trial then you are convicted of the offence. The court will impose a punishment which is normally a fine and you have to pay other costs like a surcharge and the prosecutions court costs. A court cannot give a reprimand or impose a warning - you are either guilty (and convicted) or not guilty. If a case is settled without going to court (normally by paying some money to a train company which might feel like paying a fine but technically isn't - only a court can impose a fine as a punishment upon conviction) then you aren't convicted and the issue of a criminal records etc doesn't arise.

Generally speaking, railway byelaw convictions are not entered into the Police National Computer and ordinarily won't show an basic or standard DBS checks. That said, a byelaw conviction is a criminal conviction and also a matter of public record and organisations do sometimes have other ways of finding out this sort of information.

For most purposes the conviction will be considered as spent after one year. If you are asked if you have an unspent conviction then I would always advise being honest about it. A byelaw conviction for a minor railway ticketing matter won't normally adversely affect career opportunities.

The charity Unlock is a good starting place for more information:

Unlock

For people with criminal records.

unlock.org.uk

 

[island]

i understand that if you plead guilty then you are accepting that you committed the offence.. but i think that in some circumstances they may consider just reprimanding you with the fine or is that just impossible?

There is no mechanism (in England and Wales anyway) for a court to "just reprimand you with a fine". A court can only issue a fine after a person is convicted.