Actually, a Byelaw conviction should not normally appear on the PNC at all, (unless its prosecution was accompanied by another charge which is recordable).
The situation is not simple, but for
most situations relating to suspected fare evasion, it might be adequate to say simply:
- Byelaw Offence = not recordable;
- Regulation of Railways Act Offence = recordable.
But there are nuances which can alter that simple explanation in practice:-
The requirements for entries to be made in the Police National Computer (PNC) are defined in the
National Police Records (Recordable Offences) (Amendment) Regulations (as amended). The arrangements are that a record is made in the PNC for all cautions, warnings and convictions for offences which are:
a) capable of a custodial sentence (i.e. it carried the potential for imprisonment irrespective of the actual sentence given following any specific conviction); or
b) listed in the schedule of Offences in the National Police Records (Recordable Offence) Regulations 2000 (a long schedule which includes fare evasion under the RoRA but not the under the RCCA and not all offences in the RoRA, some other offences against railway property, forgery, counterfeiting and fraud); or
c) one of the specifc offences listed in the National Police Records (Recordable Offences) (Amendment) Regulations (as amended) (related to vagrancy, car hire, health workers, the licenced trade, football, prostitution, motor vehicles and others, but not fare evasion); or
d) an offence listed in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code D (mostly summarising all of the above).
To the best of my knowledge,
no Byelaw conviction should be entered in the PNC, whether it is prosecuted publically (by the CPS or Police) or privately (by a Local Authority, Trust, Charity, land Agency, Harbour Master, Railway Operator, other body or private individual)
unless that charge is accompanied by a recordable prosecution for the same offence, even if the other recordable offence does not lead to a conviction. What that means is that if a passenger is accused of fare evasion under both Railway Byelaw 18 and
Regulation of Railways Act S.5 and no evidence is offered to convict the latter, then the succesful prosecution of the Byelaw Offence may be entered in the PNC.
Following a conviction for a Byelaw offence in a Magistrates Court, a solicitor acting for the accused would be well placed to ensure, on behalf of the client, that no entry is triggered by the conviction, as it would be for the majority of the cases heard by that Court.
For security vetting and checks on other sensitive roles in defence and government, investigations should include reporting prosecutions in a Magistrates Court, whether convicted or not, and whether for a 'recordable offence' or not, so it follows that a Byelaw Offence would appear during that check (but that goes beyond the scope of the PNC).
