How long do police keep records?

Having a police record can seriously impact your life. This can be especially distressing and frustrating if you have a police record despite never having been convicted of a crime. Many people are unaware that they could have a police record despite never having been convicted of a crime.  

As a result, this may have negatively impacted people’s lives if they have applied for a job or visa and have been rejected due to the fact that it flagged they had a criminal record. A report published in 2023 by investigative journalists Liberty Investigates found that police forces had been unlawfully storing the sensitive data of potentially millions of people who have never been charged with a crime. This may be a breach of data protection, and those affected could be eligible for compensation.

If you have ever been arrested and subsequently released without charge or conviction, or received an outcome of no further action, provided you do not have any other convictions or pending prosecutions, you could be eligible to claim compensation for distress suffered by the unlawful retention of your data.

In this article, we will discuss more about police records, where police store your data, how long they store it, and in what situations your data shouldn’t be retained, all to help answer the question “How long do police keep records?”.

What kind of data do police collect, and where do they store it?

When you are arrested, police will collect your personal data and may also collect your DNA profile and fingerprints. This is then uploaded to the Police National Database/Police National Computer. This database can be accessed by other organisations to conduct criminal record checks. If your name flags up on the Police National Computer when searched, you could have a criminal record.

How long do police keep records?

All records the police hold about you, including convictions, cautions, reprimands, arrests and warnings, are kept on the Police National Computer (PNC). They may remain in the PNC until an individual turns 100 years old.

DNA profiles and fingerprints may also be collected and retained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The length of time this biometric data is kept depends on the outcome of the case or any resulting conviction.

However, if you have never been convicted of any crimes, the police may have no justification to retain your personal data in the PNC or any other database. This is because it may be classed as unlawful retention of data, as under the Data Protection Act 2018, data should only be retained when proportionate and necessary.

How long do police keep evidence in the UK?

Police keep evidence depending on the nature of the case and the progress of the investigation. If the investigation is still open, evidence is kept until the case is resolved. In cases that involve a conviction, evidence may be stored for the duration of the sentence or longer for serious crimes. In unsolved cases, particularly serious ones that involve offences like murder, evidence may be retained indefinitely.

How can a police record affect your life?

Having a police record can affect many areas of your life in a negative way. Having a criminal record could impact your employment prospects, education applications, visa applications, housing applications, travel plans and even custody arrangements.

While a police record may not stop you from securing employment, certain industries such as education, healthcare, law enforcement or any other that require criminal record checks have stricter requirements. Therefore, if they run a criminal record check and it flags up that you have one, even if you were never charged or convicted of a crime, you could be turned down for that role. This would be detrimental to your life, as this information should no longer be held by police, and you, therefore, shouldn’t necessarily have a criminal record.

What is unlawful retention of data by police?

If you are arrested and receive an outcome of ‘no further action’ from the police, they may still continue to retain your data. In this instance, provided you have no prior or impending convictions, the retention of your data could be deemed unlawful.

This is because, under the Data Protection Act, retention is only permissible where it is proportionate and necessary. Therefore, if the police cannot show that your data has been retained and processed in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, your personal data will have been retained longer than is necessary for the purpose it was processed.

Unlawful retention of data by police is also a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Under the Human Rights Act, people have ‘the right to a private and family life’, and unlawfully retaining your personal data, which can be shared via their database, with no proportionate or lawful reason, is a breach of this right.

This was demonstrated in a landmark case in 2019, Catt v United Kingdom (2019) EHRR 7. In this case, Mr Catt, a 91-year-old man with no previous convictions, had his data collected and retained by police due to his attendance at various political demonstrations organised by the group ‘Smash EDO’. Smash EDO have committed violent offences, but Mr Catt did not. Therefore, it was found that the retention of his data in relation to this case was unlawful and infringed on his Article 8 rights.

How to claim unlawful retention of my data?

If the police have retained your data, if you were not charged or received an outcome of ‘no further action’, and providing you have no other convictions or pending prosecutions, you could be entitled to compensation.

The courts consider a range of factors when determining whether the retention of your data is unlawful, including:

• The distress/damages caused by the retention of your data.
• Whether you pose a substantial risk to the public.
• The sensitivity of the data retained.

If you can prove that you have suffered distress or inconvenience as a result of them retaining your data, such as being rejected for a job role, you have the right to claim compensation.

When making an unlawful retention of data claim against the police, it is beneficial to instruct a specialist solicitor in this area. They will have an understanding of the relevant laws and regulations and will be able to fight for compensation on your behalf.

HNK Solicitors can help with your unlawful retention of data claim

At HNK Solicitors, we are experienced in making unlawful retention of data claims against the police. We have successfully helped many clients in the past secure large amounts of compensation for the distress caused by the unlawful retention of their data.

For example, we recently helped a client secure £13,000 from the Metropolitan Police after they retained his data following their arrest and subsequent release with no further investigation. This led to stress, anger, anxiety and sleepless nights for our Defendant as they were concerned it could affect their future job prospects, and they even had to seek medical attention for their distress.

In another case, we helped a client secure £10,900 in compensation from Bedfordshire Police after the unlawful retention of their data led to them not being able to have unsupervised contact with their daughter or collect her from school.

If you believe the police are unlawfully retaining your data, get in touch with our team today. Call us on 0151 668 0809 or email the team at enquires@hnksolicitors.com. Alternatively, fill in our online claim form, and one of our team members will be in touch to arrange a free consultation to discuss the details of your claim.