OC 168/15
This OC summarises the policy and procedure for inputting HSE convictions on the Police National Computer.
The Police National Computer (PNC) contains records of all criminal convictions arising from police investigations. Following a Home Office review into intelligence-based record keeping and information sharing, it was recommended that the information on the PNC should be updated automatically from the courts. As a consequence of this, many courts now require details of potential prosecutions to be entered on the PNC before they will issue a summons. Non-police prosecuting agencies (NPPAs) are therefore required to record certain prosecutions on the PNC prior to obtaining a summons.
It is now necessary for HSE to record all prosecutions for “recordable offences” on the PNC. This will increase the effectiveness of pan-government intelligence-sharing, allow the police and other NPPAs to view the criminal records of individuals and companies that would otherwise go undisclosed, and facilitate compliance with our duty to disclose previous convictions of defendants prior to hearing. This applies to both individuals and companies.
All prosecutions will continue to be recorded and published automatically in the HSE online public database.
Prior to laying an information in court, the details of the prosecution are recorded on the PNC. This generates a unique Arrest Summons Number (ASN).
This unique ASN is then supplied to the relevant court when laying an information. The court will then link the prosecution to the ASN on their computer system. All hearings, adjournments and sentences are then linked to this number.
Following conviction or acquittal, the court’s computer system will automatically update the PNC of the outcome of the case.
Therefore once an initial ASN is raised prior to laying the information, no further action will be necessary by HSE, and the PNC will be updated automatically.
Only “recordable offences” are required to be recorded on the PNC. A recordable offence is one in which a term of imprisonment is available as a sentence, and will therefore cover the majority of offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and relevant statutory provisions. This applies even if the defendant cannot actually be imprisoned – and so companies as well as individuals will have a PNC record created.
Where both recordable and non-recordable offences are taken against the same defendant, then all offences (including non-recordable ones) should be recorded on the PNC.
Where only non-recordable offences are taken, then these should not be entered onto the PNC. Court documents should be marked “No ASN required”.
Appendix 1 contains a list of recordable offences for which HSE may prosecute.
Formal cautions by HSE are not recorded on the PNC.
On receiving instructions to lay an information, Litigation Officers should establish if one or more of the offences are recordable. Where this is the case, they should contact the PNC Bureau of the relevant police force. The court will be able to advise the correct contact point. Court practice varies, with some requiring an ASN before accepting the information, and others after the summons has been served.
The Litigation Officer will be required to complete a form “NPA01” and return this by fax or e-mail to the PNC Bureau. An ASN will then be raised, which should be recorded on the front sheet of the prosecution file.
If two or more informations are laid against the same defendant, then the additional offences should be listed on the follow-on form, “NPA02”. Additional non-recordable offences are also listed on the NPA02 form.
The ASN should be printed on any correspondence being sent to the court, including informations, Initial Details of the Prosecution Case, and the record of any previous convictions of the defendant.
Details of previous convictions of defendants and witnesses should continue to be requested through FOD Legal and Enforcement and not via local police forces. For further information see OC168/6.
An example of an NPA01 form is reproduced in Appendix 2. Local police forces may adopt a different format. Only the highlighted fields are mandatory, and some of these may not be applicable when inputting a corporate entity. HSE is not required to obtain additional information to populate physical description fields etc.
To ensure accurate and consistent recording of our offences, the wording of the “Offence” field should mirror the text in the table of offences at Appendix 1. For example:
“HS74001 Employer breaching general duty to employee, s33(1)(a) & 2 Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974”.
The “Method Used in Offence” field should then summarise the nature of the offence, which may be transferred from our information / summons. Such description may be amended as necessary to facilitate third-party comprehension.
Non-recordable offences, which are recorded when taken in conjunction with one or more recordable offences, should follow a similar pattern.
Copies of the completed forms should be retained with the prosecution papers.
| CJS Code / Offence Description | Sect | Act / Reg |
|---|---|---|
| HS74001 Employer breaching general duty to employee | 33(1)(a) & 2 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74002 Employer / self-employed person breaching general duty to other than employee | 33(1)(a) & 3 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74003 Person concerned with premises breaching general duty to other than employee | 33(1)(a) & 4 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74005 Manufacturer breaching general duty regarding articles and substances for use at work | 33(1)(a) & 6 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74006 Employee breaching general duty at work | 33(1)(a) & 7 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74007 Interfering or misusing item provided to meet statutory health safety or welfare provision | 33(1)(b) & 8 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74009 Contravening requirement imposed by inspector under s20 of this Act | 33(1)(e) & 20 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74010 Contravening requirement imposed by inspector under s25 of this Act | 33(1)(e) & 20 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74011 Preventing another person from appearing before inspector or from answering inspector's question | 33(1)(f) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74013 Contravening improvement notice | 33(1)(g) & 21 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74014 Contravening prohibition notice | 33(1)(g) & 22 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74018 Contravene a health and safety regulation | 33(1)(c) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74026 Obstructing inspector | 33(1)(h) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74029 Use information without authorisation | 33(1)(j) & 27(4) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74030 Disclose information without authorisation | 33(1)(j) & 28 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74031 Make false statement | 33(1)(k) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74032 Make false entry in document | 33(1)(l) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74033 Make use of false entry in document | 33(1)(l) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74034 Use document with intent to deceive | 33(1)(m) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74035 Make document with intent to deceive | 33(1)(m) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74036 Possess document with intent to deceive | 33(1)(m) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74038 Fail to comply with court order | 33(1)(o) & 42 | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| HS74039 Attempt to prevent another person from appearing before/answering inspector's question | 33(1)(f) | Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 |
| Contravention of a working time Prohibition or Improvement Notice | 29(3)(c) | Working Time Regulations 1998 |
