Reply to: SC Clearance and recent arrests

[SueEllen]

https://hub.unlock.org.uk/knowledgeb...information-2/

[malvolio]

Hello,
Im due to apply for SC (or CTC as a minimum) as a part of contract employment within the UK government sector.
Unfortunately, 3 years ago I was arrested but was not charged with an offence and released with no further action. The reason for the arrest was that my spouse called the police during a verbal argument at home, she falsely alleged that I had pushed her during the argument. She later retracted her allegations (not to mention that I never pushed her in the first place) plus the police did not have enough evidence that the alleged offence had happened, hence the NFA.
Apart from this arrest, I do not have anything on my record.

Questions:
- Will the above incident effect my SC or CTC application?

- The general advice I've seen regarding vetting applications is to be open and honest, and not let them find something which you haven't put in the application already. With that in mind, should I mention details of the arrest in my application? If so, then where within the application form should I put this ? I could not find a relevant question or suitable place in the form available online - https://assets.publishing.service.go...SV001_v1.1.pdf

Any advice would be awesome!

The advice is "disclose everything and see what happens". As has been said many many times in this thread and others on the same topic. Anyway, there is space on the form for additional relevant information and even if there isn't, then add a note of your own.

Why do you assume the vetting people won't already have that information? Think about what they are testing.

[honestprofessional]

Hello,
Im due to apply for SC (or CTC as a minimum) as a part of contract employment within the UK government sector.
Unfortunately, 3 years ago I was arrested but was not charged with an offence and released with no further action. The reason for the arrest was that my spouse called the police during a verbal argument at home, she falsely alleged that I had pushed her during the argument. She later retracted her allegations (not to mention that I never pushed her in the first place) plus the police did not have enough evidence that the alleged offence had happened, hence the NFA.
Apart from this arrest, I do not have anything on my record.

Questions:
- Will the above incident effect my SC or CTC application?

- The general advice I've seen regarding vetting applications is to be open and honest, and not let them find something which you haven't put in the application already. With that in mind, should I mention details of the arrest in my application? If so, then where within the application form should I put this ? I could not find a relevant question or suitable place in the form available online - https://assets.publishing.service.go...SV001_v1.1.pdf

Any advice would be awesome!

[northernladuk]

It may be worth investigating and contacting the SC people directly and asking.. but..

It may depend on the types of charges that were brought against you. I was applying for an ESTA to enter the states before and they ask if you "have ever been arrested".

Strictly speaking, I have. Even been to court and while not convicted, have had facts proven against me. (Public order).

This didn't matter to ESTA because that arrest question is only relating to crimes of "moral turpitude".. therefore I could confidently tick the no box.

I have successfully entered the US a few times since then.

It's just useful context but YMMV, obviously.

ESTA is completely different so totally irrelevant but cool story bro.

[Crossroads]

Open allegations would increase risk, which is what the BPSS asks for, I believe on the BPSS it asks for any pending charges?

If an allegation has gone through the justice system and all investigations are now closed, and nothing has come out of it, what risk is there to assess?

It is not necessarily about telling them something they don't know. It is about demonstrating you have nothing to hide and therefore nothing that could be used as leverage over you.



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[kmo1993]

You are not being punished. They are making a risk assessment against you.

If I was making a general risk assessment of you I’d think having an allegation against you would increase your risk.

All the advice you have been given has been good.


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

Open allegations would increase risk, which is what the BPSS asks for, I believe on the BPSS it asks for any pending charges?

If an allegation has gone through the justice system and all investigations are now closed, and nothing has come out of it, what risk is there to assess?

[MrButton]

You are not being punished. They are making a risk assessment against you.

If I was making a general risk assessment of you I’d think having an allegation against you would increase your risk.

All the advice you have been given has been good.


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[kmo1993]

The exact wording states "Full details, including dates are required if you have" ..... the details that you found in the public domain. You are given a text area to add the details of each and you can explain whether you do or do not have spent convictions.
My advice, for what it is worth, would be to include as much detail as possible and not to leave out those details that you feel may harm your application. Worse case would be that you aren't granted SC clearance.

Sure, but for spent or unspent convictions which includes cautions and warnings right?

I'm not sure if i would have to mention these? They will most likely see them on the PNC anyway, but they do not come under any form of conviction/warning/caution, they are thrown away charges now

[kmo1993]

No read the whole thread, but you are right, there might not be your exact circumstances in that big thread, however the principles is always the same.

Better to tell them and not need to, than not tell them and need to.

They are trying to judge your integrity, so by asking the question in the first place it's a fair shout you've failed.

Appreciate the time you took to reply, but no, this says nothing about my integrity. I'm not trying to hide anything from them. The whole point of my thread was to see if i should bother applying for security cleared jobs in the first place.

Also, I wasn't sure if arrest records or charges dismissed/discontinued charges needed to be disclosed.

Why should I be punished for stuff I haven't done? Where it has been proven that it was not a crime but instead a serious allegation?

I understand why i need to disclose anything that i have been found guilty of, whether that be a warning, caution or conviction spent or unspent. But if the outcome was not guilty, why do i need to be punished by a vetting agency on that case? Does that not sound like a complete joke?

[SimonMac]

I have read through that, however, I couldn't find information about arrests and charges which resulted in a dismissal or discontinuance.

No read the whole thread, but you are right, there might not be your exact circumstances in that big thread, however the principles is always the same.

Better to tell them and not need to, than not tell them and need to.

They are trying to judge your integrity, so by asking the question in the first place it's a fair shout you've failed.

[andyg]

The exact wording states "Full details, including dates are required if you have" ..... the details that you found in the public domain. You are given a text area to add the details of each and you can explain whether you do or do not have spent convictions.
My advice, for what it is worth, would be to include as much detail as possible and not to leave out those details that you feel may harm your application. Worse case would be that you aren't granted SC clearance.

[northernladuk]

It is quite difficult to not be paranoid about it, however, I was wondering, would I need to declare my recent charges and arrest on the form, even though they were dismissed or discontinued? (Currently i have nothing pending against me)

On the example SC clearance form which seems to be available publicly online from the Guardian:

https://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-fil...8Compliant.pdf

It mentions the following statements:
"spent convictions may be taken into account where national security is concerned"

"You must reveal all convictions, whether or not spent,
under the Acts."

Also on page 14, the following question is asked:
"b. on probation, or received a formal caution, or been absolutely/conditionally
discharged, or accepted a fiscal fine from the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland,
or been bound over after being charged with any offence, or is there any
action pending against you?"

I am not sure what exactly "been bound over after being charged with any offence" means, I'm assuming that it means that the defendant accepts some form of guilt for any of his/her charges and therefore faces some form of consequences, this assumption is based off of a google search:

Google: "bound over after being charged" - Result:
"Magistrates can bind over a person to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace, any person, such as a defendant, witness or claimant. This may happen where the case involves violence or the threat of it. Sometimes the prosecution will drop such a charge if the defendant agrees to be bound over in this way."

So in my case where I was not found guilty of anything, would I have to mention my recent arrest and charges? And if so will they have any effect on my application or are they looking for actual instances of guilt or current pending charges? And if i don't have to mention them, will they still have an affect on my application for SC?

Dunno.

[malvolio]

What part of my original question didn't you understand - if indeed you read it in the first place or did you just jump straight for the keyboard? Are you hoping to go straight for SC clearance or do you intend to start with BPSS and Disclosure first?

If you don't know, tell them anyway and let them make the decision. That's a lot more positive than saying nothing

[BR14]

Ah, FFS, - give yourself up at the local nick

[kmo1993]

Yes.

Time to stop being paranoid and just get on. I don't see how trying to thrash out an answer is going to change anything for you except make you even more paranoid about it.

It is quite difficult to not be paranoid about it, however, I was wondering, would I need to declare my recent charges and arrest on the form, even though they were dismissed or discontinued? (Currently i have nothing pending against me)

On the example SC clearance form which seems to be available publicly online from the Guardian:

https://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-fil...8Compliant.pdf

It mentions the following statements:
"spent convictions may be taken into account where national security is concerned"

"You must reveal all convictions, whether or not spent,
under the Acts."

Also on page 14, the following question is asked:
"b. on probation, or received a formal caution, or been absolutely/conditionally
discharged, or accepted a fiscal fine from the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland,
or been bound over after being charged with any offence, or is there any
action pending against you?"

I am not sure what exactly "been bound over after being charged with any offence" means, I'm assuming that it means that the defendant accepts some form of guilt for any of his/her charges and therefore faces some form of consequences, this assumption is based off of a google search:

Google: "bound over after being charged" - Result:
"Magistrates can bind over a person to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace, any person, such as a defendant, witness or claimant. This may happen where the case involves violence or the threat of it. Sometimes the prosecution will drop such a charge if the defendant agrees to be bound over in this way."

So in my case where I was not found guilty of anything, would I have to mention my recent arrest and charges? And if so will they have any effect on my application or are they looking for actual instances of guilt or current pending charges? And if i don't have to mention them, will they still have an affect on my application for SC?