How to apply for information held by the Police
You must print the form at the bottom of this page, complete, sign and return to the address below. Electronic submission of the forms will not be accepted.
The forms are in PDF format and require Adobe Reader to view. If you do not have a copy, you can download Adobe Reader free from Adobe's web site.
Evidence of Character
Police Forces within the United Kingdom DO NOT issue 'Certificates of Good Conduct' or 'Police Clearance Certificates'. Nor do they provide other evidence of good character. It should therefore be noted that the exercise of your rights under the subject access provisions of the Data Protection Act will NOT provide you with a certificate of this nature.
Your Rights
Subject to certain exemptions, you have a right to be told whether any information is held about you and a right to a copy of that information. The Chief Officer of Police will only give that information if he/she is satisfied of your identity. He/she does not have to give you any information identifying someone else, unless that person agrees. If you think that information might be held about you which may identify another person, you may want to get that person's agreement to you being given information and send it with your application.
The Chief Officer's Rights
The Chief Officer of Police may deny access to information where the Act allows, but the main exemptions in relation to information held by the Police are where information is held for:
- The prevention or detection of crime
- The apprehension or prosecution of offenders
and giving you the information would be likely to prejudice any of these purposes.
Fee
Payment must be in pounds sterling to the value of £10:00. Cheques or Postal Orders should be made payable to: 'CLEVELAND POLICE AUTHORITY'.
Proof of Identity
To establish your identity you MUST produce copies of sufficient documentation to clearly prove your 'FULL NAME', 'DATE of BIRTH' and 'CURRENT ADDRESS'. This documentation should accompany your application.
A combination of the following documents may serve this purpose:
-
FULL NAME
(e.g. Passport, Driving Licence, Medical Card or Birth/Adoption Certificate)
-
DATE of BIRTH
(e.g. Passport, Driving Licence, Medical Card or Birth/Adoption Certificate)
-
CURRENT ADDRESS
(e.g. Bank/Building Society Book, Pension/Benefit Book, Utility/Telephone Bill)
PHOTOCOPIES OF ALL THE ABOVE DOCUMENTS ARE ACCEPTABLE
Cleveland Police cannot be held responsible for any original documentation which may be lost in the post
(therefore, we suggest you do not sent original passports with your application)
When you have completed the form send it together with the required documentation, fee, and a stamped self-addressed envelope, to:
Data Protection Officer (Dept SAR)
Police Headquarters
P.O. Box 70
Ladgate Lane
Middlesbrough
TS8 9EH
Please note:
A receipt for the fee will be returned to you (in the stamped self-addressed envelope) within one week.
The full response to your request for this information will take a maximum of six weeks.
Should any advice or guidance be required in completing this application, please telephone Cleveland Police Headquarters, Data Control Unit, 01642 306818 (Monday - Friday 8am to 3pm)
Download Forms
There are two forms available to complete.
Please note that anyone submitting the form C01-50a (Local system search) must also complete the form C01-50 in order to provide all their personal information. It is not a form that can be completed in isolation.
C01-50: Application for Prosecution/Conviction History from the Police National Computer. Details of Prosecutions, Convictions and Cautions
C01-50_SAR.pdf
C01-50a: Application for Access to Information held by Cleveland Police (other than Police National Computer, Prosecutions, Convictions and Cautions)
C01-50a_SAR_local.pdf
Police Certificates - Visas
Individuals requiring Police Certificates for the purposes of visa applications for the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & South Africa, who are seeking application forms, must be directed to the contacts shown below in order to obtain an application form for the ACRO Police Certificate. The form is also available from the website address which is also shown below .
Please note that this Certificate is processed entirely by the ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO). All submissions and enquiries relating to this process should be directed to ACRO, who can be contacted through the following routes:
Telephone from the UK: 0845 6013999 (during their office opening hours of 8:30-16:30, Monday to Friday).
From outside of the UK: 00 (44) 1962 871111, unless dialling FROM Australia, in which case call 00 (44) 1962 871609
Or E-mail: acro.policecertificates@acro.pnn.police.uk
Postal Address: ACRO, PO Box 481, Fareham, PO14 9FS
Website: http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp
Police data protection application forms should no longer be requested for this purpose.
This new process for visa applications does not affect data protection applications to other countries other than the 5 countries listed above.
