I have booked a trip to Florida for my family, and am now I don’t know what I should do. I was arrested 8 years ago without charge for possession of class A. I done a SARS request and it came back no information held. I had no photos or fingerprints taken in custody. Would CBP be able to see anything on me if my request came back no information?
Arrest without conviction
What country are you flying from?
Scotland
>Would CBP be able to see anything on me if my request came back no information?
No-one here ar anywhere else knows exactly what UK criminal record/police information is shared with the CBP so no-one here or anywhere else can answer that question with any certainty.
The advice given by the US embassy in the UK is very clear:
>We do not recommend that travelers who have been arrested, even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction, have a criminal record.....attempt to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program (my underline).
https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-waiver-program/additional-requirements/
Only you can decide whether to travel on an Esta or apply for a US visa.
[ Edit: Edited on 20 Sep 2023, 11:40 GMT by leics2 ]
[quote=leics2]>Would CBP be able to see anything on me if my request came back no information?
No-one here ar anywhere else knows exactly what UK criminal record/police information is shared with the CBP so no-one here or anywhere else can answer that question with any certainty.
Yes my question is why has it not shown up on my subject access request? If under freedom of information I can not see it, what is there for any authority to see?
>Yes my question is why has it not shown up on my subject access request?
That wasn't your question. You asked >Would CBP be able to see anything on me if my request came back no information?<.
I have no idea why your arrest hasn't appeared on your SAR and I very much doubt anyone else on the internet has either.
Perhaps you should ask ACRO directly?
>If under freedom of information I can not see it, what is there for any authority to see?
As I said, no-one here or anywhere else knows exactly what information can be 'seen'.
You say you were arrested but not charged and one would certainly expect there to be a record of that arrest and a record of NFA (no further action). Imo, it's more likely that an error occurred in the SAR processing than in the original records but, frankly, the only way to find out for certain is to contact ACRO and/or the force which arrested you
[ Edit: Edited on 20 Sep 2023, 18:49 GMT by leics2 ]
Quoting leics2
>Yes my question is why has it not shown up on my subject access request?
That wasn't your question. You asked >Would CBP be able to see anything on me if my request came back no information?<.
I have no idea why your arrest hasn't appeared on your SAR and I very much doubt anyone else on the internet has either.
Perhaps you should ask ACRO directly?
>If under freedom of information I can not see it, what is there for any authority to see?
As I said, no-one here or anywhere else knows exactly what information can be 'seen'.
You say you were arrested but not charged and one would certainly expect there to be a record of that arrest and a record of NFA (no further action). Imo, it's more likely that an error occurred in the SAR processing than in the original records but, frankly, the only way to find out for certain is to contact ACRO and/or the force which arrested you
I am in the process of contacting my local police force to try and clarify this the now, was just hoping I may come across other people who have had a similar situation. Hopefully I can get some answers in the coming days as I was originally requesting this information as I don’t have the dates at hand and would require this to apply for relevant visa.
>was just hoping I may come across other people who have had a similar situation.
A very, very small chance of that, I'm afraid. I suspect the number of people this has happened to is tiny and the number of those who might look at this or any other forum is even tinier.
In 20+ years of answering forum questions about UK citizens with a criminal revcord/a previous arrest travelling to the US (on this site and elsewhere) I can't recall anyone saying their legal arrest & subsequent NFA hasn't shown up on an SAR.
Are you 100% certain you were properly and legally arrested? Full legally required wording/caution by the arresting officer at the time etc etc?
>I am in the process of contacting my local police force to try and clarify this the now,
Perhaps you could come back and let us know the results, if any? That sort of info is always helpful for others.
[ Edit: Edited on 20 Sep 2023, 19:33 GMT by leics2 ]
Quoting leics2
>was just hoping I may come across other people who have had a similar situation.
A very, very small chance of that, I'm afraid. I suspect the number of people this has happened to is tiny and the number of those who might look at this or any other forum is even tinier.
In 20+ years of answering forum questions about UK citizens with a criminal revcord/a previous arrest travelling to the US (on this site and elsewhere) I can't recall anyone saying their legal arrest & subsequent NFA hasn't shown up on an SAR.
Are you 100% certain you were properly and legally arrested? Full legally required wording/caution by the arresting officer at the time etc etc?
>I am in the process of contacting my local police force to try and clarify this the now,
Perhaps you could come back and let us know the results, if any? That sort of info is always helpful for others.
I am actually unsure about the arrest as no mugshot’s, fingerprints or dna was taken while in custody. I wasn’t even questioned and after a few hours I was released. I never signed anything and wasn’t asked to accept a warning/caution on my release. That’s why I was unsure about it. I am not sure if this is just classed as detained, am certainly not a legal expert. Hopefully I get some answers in the coming days.
And would be happy to share whatever resolution I get on this matter.
If you were legally arrested the arresting officer would've said:
>I am placing you/you are under arrest on suspicion of xxxxxx. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."<
Those words are usually said when a person is first detained e.g. on the street, in a pub, in a house....but they can be said later after investigation at the police station.
If those words weren't said you weren't legally arrested.
I'm beginning to think what you thought was an arrest wasn't actually an arrest (could your memory have been impaired by e.g. drink/drugs?) and that you were just detained on suspicion (which the police can do for a short time).
What does your ACRO certificate say?
[ Edit: Edited on 21 Sep 2023, 07:26 GMT by leics2 ]