Are Police Records Criminal Records?

Abstract

Criminal background checks are used often for employment purposes. In some countries like the uk these checks tend to disclose not only convictions but also police information like arrests, cautions, and acquittals. By contrast, in other continental European countries criminal background checks for employment purposes tend to disclose only convictions. This paper argues that the disclosure of police information like, for example, arrest records is against the presumption of innocence and the right to privacy as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights.