JimmySmith1888

Hello. Thank you in advance for your help.

I was detained overnight by the police in Scotland many years ago (probably around 20 years?).
I can't remember the official reason but likely Breach of the Peace (or maybe Drunk and Disorderly) as it was just an argument with a police officer where I swore (after coming out a pub). I was kept at the station overnight and released in the morning.
I have no idea whether I was charged, released without charge, case dropped by the procurator fiscal, or given a PF warning, but I know I did not go to court for anything or get a conviction.

I got an ACRO certificate and it says "No Trace".

How do I go about proving this info when it is very likely that all records have been expunged?
I am going to put in subject access requests with Police Scotland, The Scottish Courts and the PF service.
Will the results of these be enough?

civilservant

Answer any questions honestly, if you were formally arrested and the question is 'Have you EVER been arrested' then clearly the answer is yes, and you may need to get documentation from the station that held you stating that paperwork is no longer available.

I understand the want to 'let sleeping dogs lie' but it's not a good idea when talking about immigration, because it's actually a flat lie and can come back to haunt you later.

notaclue

I would love to know how my post encouraged someone to break the law. If the OP was found with 'No Trace' then nothing is present on the SCHC or PNC. A Breach of the Peace is an arrest-able offense that would result in at least two court appearances having been served papers.

A drunk and incapable incident (Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, Section 50) would have at worst resulted in a £50 fine, however he was most likely kept in for safety reasons and again would not show up on either system.

So in short, my post did not suggest that you break the law, if you were arrested you would know about it as you cannot be charged until you can understand the charges which would occur the following morning when you are sober.

If you wish to make a request, contact the Data Protection Team in Aberdeen for any information held on file. If I remember the cost is $15. Send it directly to them, not your local station and it will be much faster.

As this and my previous post did not suggest that you break the law, if it states 'No Trace' then there is nothing on the system and as such it is a fair assumption that as the PNC, SCHS nor ACROS have been able to pull anything on you then nothing happened. 'No Live Trace', however is different.

And yes, I know what I am talking about.

civilservant

That was the correct advice. Find out the facts then answer the question, don't make a (potentially false) assumption that could wind up hurting you.

Alba2018

Rete

Think your answer is in post #3

JimmySmith1888

Now I am in a quandry.
The Police Scotland SAR has come back and they are saying they hold no records on me whatsoever.

If I'm being totally honest I can't really remember the situation or what happened.
I have no idea whether I was actually detained or just left to "sleep it off".

Should I just not mention it?!
If I do mention it then how do I supply evidence for the situation when no one has any info?

Police Scotland report info to the ACRO criminal records office.
They have a different stepping down model than England and Wales, but any "live" info is still on there.

civilservant

If they are saying they do not, and have never, held any records on you, then I would not mention it since a formal arrest would be documented somewhere.

At this point I believe you have done your reasonable due diligence and can say no to the question.

tom169

Just keep a copy of this correspondence for a long time as evidence.

JimmySmith1888

Change of circumstance as of today!

I've just had a reply to my SAR to the PF office.
They have stated that they have a note on record about an alleged Breach of the Peace. No further action was taken and the case was closed 3 months later.
In addition they have stated that, given the time frame and their policy of record keeping, all further records have been destroyed and this is the only bit of information that is help about the offence.

In a way it is a relief and the decision on whether to mention it or not is now out of my hands (I have ambiguity!).
I will mention it on the forms and hopefully the ACRO saying no trace, the SAR from Police Scotland saying no information help, and the SAR from the PF saying they have a note but no action was taken and other records were destroyed, will be enough to satisfy immigration!

If anyone thinks I need more please let me know.
Otherwise thank you all for your help!

Rete

I believe that what you have is sufficient evidence of the incidence. Good luck with the interview.