[6][7] Although a caution is not a conviction, it forms a part of a person's criminal record and can be used as evidence of bad character if a person is prosecuted for another crime,[4][8] and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks (previously called Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks) for certain types of employment.
A caution will not be appropriate where a person does not make a clear and reliable admission of the offence (for example if intent is denied or there are doubts about their mental health or intellectual capacity).
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does, however, have a role to play in helping the police to ensure that the Ministry of Justice guidelines contained within the Guidance are applied consistently and fairly.
[16] All information relating to simple cautions (as well as convictions) issued for a recordable offence is retained on the Police National Computer (PNC).
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidelines set out how long this information will be retained for.
The 1997 Police Act made provision for disclosing cautions to employers of those who might have unsupervised contact with children.
[2] In 2008 a Home Office circular made clear suspects must receive a written explanation of the implications before accepting a caution, to meet the informed consent obligation, and provided a new form to be signed by the offender which explained in considerable detail the consequences.
This is usually called a 'Community Resolution' (CR) and requires less police time as offenders are not arrested or prosecuted as such.
Guidance by National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) (at the time ACPO) lays out such criteria e.g. the victim agreeing to the CR being used, the offender accepting responsibility for it, only used on low level offences, not already on bail, etc.