Behind the tape
Expert advice to get the details right in your crime fiction from serving police officer Lisa Cutts
If you have a query for Lisa, please send it by email to lisacuttsenquiries@gmail.com
Q
I have a DCI whose husband was cautioned more than a decade before they even met over a scuffle that put someone in hospital. It is questionable whether he should have even been cautioned – he was protecting his girlfriend – but even though the caution has expired, it’s still on the file. He’s never told his wife and she’s upset about that when she finds out. Once their relationship started getting serious, would my cop have checked him out for any criminal record? 1) Is that likely/usual? And 2) how easily could she find it if she had no official reason to check?