No Further Action: What does it mean?

Are you facing allegations of committing a crime? There are several outcomes for the case, including “No Further Action”.

In this article, we’ll discuss what No Further Action means, why the police come to this conclusion, and the implications after the investigation ends.

 

What does No Further Action mean?

If you have been arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, No Further Action (NFA) is when the police decide not to charge you with an offence. They bring their investigation to a close.

It means they are concluding the case (for now – more on this later) and you are free to go. If you were released on bail or under investigation, this will end. You will not have to attend court or any more interviews as the police have decided to end their investigation,

 

Why do the police decide to conclude a case with No Further Action?

There are many reasons why the police decide to close investigations with No Further Action. These include:

• The police are satisfied that you didn’t commit the crime.
• The police don’t have enough evidence to charge you with the crime.
• Key witnesses do not want to testify against you.
• They have decided that prosecution is not in the public interest.

 

Will the police tell me they’ve decided to take No Further Action?

The police will tell you or your solicitor if they have decided to take No Further Action on your case. They might do this verbally or in writing (a No Further Action letter). If they don’t supply written confirmation initially, you can request this if you would like or need it.

 

Does NFA mean I’m found not guilty?

No, NFA does not mean that you have been found not guilty. A not guilty verdict is a judicial decision so you would need to go to a court trial to be found not guilty officially.

NFA means they do not have sufficient reason to charge you with the crime at this moment in time. This may be because they have been unable to find the evidence, or they might have determined that you didn’t commit an offence (so essentially they have found you “not guilty”).

When you’re found not guilty at trial, you cannot be legally retried for the same case. If your investigation is concluded with No Further Action, the police can reopen your case – see the next section for more information on this.

 

Can police reopen cases after concluding with no Further Action?

Yes – No Further Action does not mean that the case is closed permanently. The police may choose to reopen your case if:

• They find new evidence that points to you committing the offence.
• They have reviewed the old evidence and found new connections that implicate you.
• There were procedural errors in how the initial investigation was handled.
• There is a lot of pressure or public interest in the case.

 

Does an NFA go on a criminal record?

No, an NFA does not go on your criminal record. It is, however, recorded on the police database – the Police National Computer, where it stays until you are 100 years old.

You can instruct a solicitor to help you request your record of arrest and No Further Action outcome be removed from your record.

Your biometric data like fingerprints and DNA will be removed from the Police National Computer, but they will remain on the National Fingerprint Database (IDENT1) and the National DNA Database (NDNAD). Again, you can ask your solicitor to help you request these records be deleted too.

 

Does an NFA show up on a DBS check?

An NFA may show up on an enhanced DBS check, but not on a basic or standard DBS check.

An enhanced DBS check has a section for “non-conviction information” which includes arrests, cautions, cases closed with no further action. It’s at the police’s discretion whether your arrest and NFA outcome is included in this section of the DBS check. They may choose to include it if they think it is proportionate and relevant to the role you are applying for.

Again, you can ask a solicitor to help you request that this information is removed from your record.

 

Does an NFA affect my employment?

An NFA could affect your employment, but this depends on your employer. Your employer and any professional bodies you are a member of may wish to carry out their own investigations internally which may result in disciplinary action if they find you have breached any of their rules.

It is important to note that an NFA is the best possible outcome after you have already been arrested, so it’s not the NFA that is the issue here, it is that you were arrested in the first place.

 

Facing potential criminal charges?

If you are currently under suspicion of committing an offence, a No Further Action outcome is the best possible outcome for you. You can do your bit to keep the investigation moving and encourage a no-charge outcome by engaging in “pre-charge engagement”. This is when you make a case to the investigators why you should not be charged.

At Holborn Adams, our pre-charge solicitors can help you achieve a NFA outcome. Please get in touch with us today.

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