Criminal records and police records: two registers that are not the same

Many people know that a criminal conviction generates a record, but few understand that there is more than one type, regulated differently and with consequences that do not always coincide. Confusion between criminal records and police records is common: someone who was arrested but never convicted may have a police record even though they have no criminal record, and that difference can be highly relevant in competitive public examinations, visas or nationality procedures.

Criminal records are the entries appearing in the Central Register of Convicted Offenders, under the Ministry of Justice. This register records exclusively final criminal convictions: a mere arrest, an investigation or a charge without conviction does not generate a criminal record. Its legal value is precise: it serves to determine recidivism and to evidence whether or not a person meets certain legal requirements. They are cancelled once the sentence has been served and the time limits of Article 136 of the Criminal Code, ranging from six months to ten years, have elapsed.

Police records are entries in the internal computer systems of the security forces, such as the National Police, the Civil Guard and the regional police forces. They record information on arrests, identifications, investigations and actions in which the person has been involved, regardless of whether they led to a conviction. They may exist simply because someone was arrested and then released without charges, or because they were identified as a suspect. Their presence does not imply guilt.

The essential differences are several. The basis: criminal records require a final conviction; police records are generated by any relevant police action. The body: criminal records are managed by the Ministry of Justice; police records, by the Ministry of the Interior. The cancellation rules: criminal records are cancelled according to the time limits of the Criminal Code; police records, according to data protection regulations, and must be cancelled when they are no longer necessary. And access: there is an official criminal record certificate, but no equivalent certificate of police records, although citizens may exercise their right of access before the security forces.

The existence of a police record without a conviction can have practical consequences: in the selection processes of the security forces, which may consult the internal files; in some visa and nationality applications; and in subsequent criminal proceedings, where they may influence the assessment of the risk of flight or reoffending, although not as proof of guilt.

Citizens have the right to request the cancellation of their data in police files when they are no longer necessary for the purposes that justified their collection or when they are inaccurate. The request is addressed to the relevant police unit, and if it is denied a claim may be filed before the Spanish Data Protection Agency. A dismissal, an acquittal or the statute of limitations may support such a request.

It is therefore advisable to be aware of both registers: if there are doubts about the criminal record, it is enough to request the certificate from the Ministry of Justice; to find out the police data, one must exercise the right of access before the Police or the Civil Guard. And it should be remembered that the cancellation of a criminal record does not automatically cancel the police record: they are independent registers that require separate applications.