Drunk and in charge, criminal record, DBS check

Convicted Driver Insurance

jayguevara

New Member
Hi guys,

I have been searching the forum for someone in a similar situation to me but can't seem to find anything so here I am.

First of all I know what I have done is wrong and am deeply deeply sorry and regretting it and have become a teetotaller as a result. There is absolutely no excuse for it.

So here is my story, last week I got charged for being drunk and in charge of a vehicle. I had been out with some mates and was not planning on drinking, but eventually caved in and had a massive night out. I knew I was way way over the limit and the brightest thing to do would have been to take a cab home. But I was afraid I wouldn't remember where I'd parked my car so I decided to go to the car instead.

I got into the back seat and passed out. I remember then waking up shivering as it was a bit of a chilly night, so I got into the drivers seat and turned on the car to get the heating on. Bad bad mistake! Whilst waiting for the car to warm up I fell asleep and the next thing I remember is the police knocking on the window!

I was arrested and taken back to the station and blew 110, given the very high reading I was charged and went to court.

The advice from my solicitor was to plead guilty as the keys were in the ignition and car turned on, and since this was my first (and I know will be my only) offence I got a fine and 6 month ban.

So my question is, a conviction of drunk and in charge stays on your licence for 4 years, what happens after? Do I get a clean licence?

Secondly and more importantly for me, I know I get a criminal record, how long would this show on a DBS check? Everywhere I have looked the information has been about drink driving not being drunk and in charge. Drink driving stays on your licence for 11 years for purposes of any future offence you may commit and I'm assuming this is why it stays on a DBS check for 11 years as well? Being drunk and in charge stays on your licence for 4 years, so would a DBS check also only show it for 4 years?

Any clarification on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.
 
Drunk in charge stays on your licence for 4 years, after that you can apply to have it removed.
a DBS check will show up all previous convictions, they do not become spent as a DBS check is for jobs that are exempt from the process under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. If, however, the Drunk in Charge is your only conviction, then it does become spent after 11 years.... you do not have to disclose it and it will not appear on the DBS check.
The 11 years is not about drink driving staying on your licence for that long, this is the same for most offences where you do not go to prison, unless they are on the exempt list - there are hardly any motoring offences on that list.
 
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Just looking for sone advice/info.

Was arrested re drunk in charge on 30th nov 2013. Was 46 and 48 at station and then had blood. Doc was at station so a bit unfortunate. Was not given charge sheet although signed it.

Police turned up 12th may with citation and it shows blood was analysed on 11th feb 2014 (74days) can it be kept this long? where and how it was stored as I understood it should be tested asap to preserve it's integrity and accuracy.

The blood came back at 86 which I believe falls within a 6% tolerance?

In addition citation showed breath as 44 and 49 which as I have said is different from the 46 and 48 I have

The case is due to call at court on 31st October which is 11 months after being arrested and the delay is not my doing.

Final point is this is ny 2nd in 10 years if it is offence to offence but was drink driving and conviction was 21st October 2004.

If it is conviction date to conviction date I am outwith 10 years but if it is offence date I'm within 10 years.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Kevin
 
Kevpen,
the relevant dates for 10 years is the date you were convicted to the date you were caught again, so you ARE within 10 years, so potentially you will be classed as a high risk offender and face a minimum 3 year ban.
I am puzzled about you saying he police turned up with a 'citation'. Is this in Scotland by any chance, because some of the procedures there are different? The long date for court. Also indicates a Scottish rather than an English offence. I am also surprised that the 'citation' quotes your 2 breath readings AND your blood reading. Normally they only quote the lower of the 2 breath readings, but when you then supply a blood sample, that replaces the breath tests so those results are not usually quoted.
Lastly, the 74 day delay in getting the sample analysed is highly unusual, and raised questions at to why this was, where it was stored and what condition it was kept in... Was it refrigerated the whole time? I would be inclined to ask a specialist solicitor to look at this, with a view to challenging the validity of the blood result. As this has replaced the breath readings, a successful challenge to rule out the blood sample will leave the police with no evidence that you were over the legal limit.
 
Yes it is Scotland. I suspect the blood went awol (god only knows where??) or forgotten about and the it sat on someones desk for 3 months at the procrator fiscal. Is there any scope 2 challenge on the 6% aspect?
 
Not on the 6%, because the laboratory deduct that before they publish the result, so the result is certainly over the legal limit! but is it valid? Did the police offer any explanation on the delay?
 
Ok that's clear on that point. Nothing is referred to as to why there is a delay it states only it was tested not why it it was tested on that date or where/ how it was kept.

I was along with my belongings given my sample in the morning after being in the cell from 2.30am to 10.30am and it was given to me from under the desk not brought to me from a refrigerator or other storage area

The blood situation when it was tested did alarm me when I saw it along with the other delays.

I doubt however if I will get a straight answer from the police?
 
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I think you should consult a solicitor with a view to him writing to the procurator fiscal asking about the chain of custody for the blood sample and asking if their office are satisfied that they can rely on the blood sample which has been analysed so long after it has been taken.
To assist with this attempt to get the case withdrawn, your solicitor could approach an independent laboratory to seek their view on a sample being analysed after such a long time.
 
I have a solicitor well saw a lady who said this area was not her area of expertise) and gave her the citation and police report and received a letter advising they will see me again start of October to discuss.

Would you suggest in the upcoming 5 months to be a bit more productive in pursuing the blood angle?
 
It seems your solicitor is focused on the court appearance, whereas I am saying that you should be trying to get the matter dropped BEFORE court.... for your own peace of mind as much as anything, because of the long wait. Doing it her way will simply mean that here is an adjournment when the case come up in October and it will drag on into 2015.
If you were able to submit to the PF office a statement from an independent forensic laboratory saying that samples obtained 74 days previously could not be relied upon for analysis, then that might shame the laboratory that the police used into agreeing and the case would be dropped.
i am not saying for sure that such a sample IS unreliable, but that seems to be your only angle, particularly if there is any doubt about the chain of custody. After all, if someone is able to say "I had that sample in my control for the would time'.... why on earth did they not have done something with it? If it was lost, is the officer stating 'well nothing happened to it because it was found in more or less the same place as I put it' a good chain of custody?
Did the police report say where it was? In a police statement, the officer would say where he put it, or who he handed it to, there would then be a proof of posting and then the analyst would do a statement / declaration saying when they received it, that the seals were intact and what the results of the analysis were. That is the chain of custody, you have to find out if there was a gap that could not be explained, or insufficient evidence to satisfy a court that the sample was kept in a suitable environment, free from the possibility of being tampered wi or from 'going off.'this would normally be an evidence refrigerator, used just for that purpose, not the custody fridge for the staff sandwiches.....!
i am not sure how interactive the PF office is, Scottish procedures are different, but even they would probable find this delay highly unusual and worthy of them asking questions of the Police.
In England you do not get sight of the prosecution case with statements etc until you enter a not guilty plea. I hope that if PF are approached about this case, pointing out that evidence of the chain of custody is integral to your defence, to avoid adjournments from October onwards, you may get the evidence released to your solicitor, or the PF office will ask questions of e Police that they cannot answer, and the case might be dropped. Think of it is way: the PF office would not want unnecessary adjournments as they only have finite resources, a defence solicitor is paid for each court appearance..... so they do not mind as you are funding them.
you also need to be asking your solicitor if they have plenty of experience in drink drive case law. Being a good solicitor does not mean that they can handle a technical case like this, they need to have experience of cases like this, which most solicitors do not really have. They have already given you a person to take instructions from you who admits it is not her area of expertise, the question is: 'does anyone there have that expertise, and will you be getting them?'
 
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Yes I agree the time needs to be used wisely and by someone with experience. The blood when taken was put into a sealed type jiffy bag but I have no idea what happened to it then in terms of storage etc. Only certainty is it was analysed on 11th February when police then made the report that went to the pf.
 
Do you think I could approach the pf directly at this stage to point out the blood result delay?

Would it be advisable?
 
Kevpen,
if you are using a solicitor I would advise that it is best to do it through them.
 
Just another question. My 2 drink related charges in the 10 year period are drink driving then most recent is drunk in charge. In terms of an automatic 3 year ban would I get this or would it be classed differently as the are not exactly the same?

In other words one is mandatory disqualification and the other has some discretionary element or is it likely court will look at both and I could get a ban over 1 year but not as much as 3 years?
 
Kevpen,
if you confirm that you have been charged with the offence of drunk in charge of a motor vehicle, under S6 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, rather than section 5 then you are right, disqualification is not mandatory for this offence and it does NOT automatically trigger the 3 year ban that comes from 2 offences in 10 years under sections 4,5 or 7 of the act.
the court may well disqualify you, because of your previous conviction. If they decide not to, then the offence carries 3 to 10 points, so might make you eligible for 'totting up' disqualification if you already have points on your licence.
Have you done anything to query the delay in the sample being analysed?
 
It was section 5 (b). What is the difference? With regards to sample I have contacted my lawyer about querying it but not heard back as yet.
 
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