Unlawful Police Cautions

Unlawful Police Cautions

With some offences under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, police officers can issue cautions to those who admit the offence and the individual will only be prosecuted if they refuse to accept the caution.

If the police issue a caution, procedures must be followed and issuing the caution must be deemed “reasonable”, under guidelines known as Wednesbury’s principles of reasonableness – and the caution must be appropriate to the offence within the guidelines for issuing cautions.

In cases where a caution or conditional caution has been issued unlawfully, a caution may be quashed.

In some cases, it might be decided by a court that the case should be reviewed and, as a result, an individual might be prosecuted – so it is essential to seek legal advice from our solicitors immediately.

If a caution is quashed because it should not have been issued at all, it is possible to make a complaint to the police force in question – and also to claim compensation.

We can advise on making a complaint to the police relating to unlawful police cautions, as well as advising on making a claim for police compensation.

There is a 12-month time limit for making police complaints, so it is important to contact Duncan Lewis as soon as possible.

Duncan Lewis may be able to secure legal aid, or to offer a no win no fee arrangement for advising on police complaints and claims – with competitively priced rates for privately funding a claim or After the Event (ATE) insurance, if either legal aid is unavailable or where a no win no fee basis is not possible.

For expert legal advice on actions against the police and unlawful police cautions, call Duncan Lewis Action Against Public Authorities solicitors in confidence on 0333 772 0409.