The Act Commentary on Sections Part 5: Safeguarding vulnerable groups, criminal records etc. Section 84: Criminal conviction certificates: conditional cautions
344.Section 84 amends section 112(2) of the 1997 Act which details the content of a criminal conviction certificate. Such a certificate includes the details of any convictions unspent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The amendment to section 112(2) provides that a criminal conviction certificate must also include details of any unspent conditional cautions. A conditional caution is an out of court disposal whereby an offender avoids being prosecuted for an offence by admitting his or her guilt and agreeing to comply with certain conditions designed to rehabilitate the offender or provide reparation to the victim; under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 a conditional caution becomes spent after three months. Section 112 of the 1997 Act is not in force in England and Wales.