Meet the business behind the recent Kent ‘thought crime’ case  

Founded by solicitor Matt Elkins, Legisia is a legal practice that challenges quiet punishment (Picture: Legisia)

You don’t need to be locked away to have your future be limited. An act as simple as entering a name into a police database can serve the same purpose.

In the United Kingdom, a caution or arrest, without trial, without charge, will remain on the Police National Computer for 100 years. That record becomes a dark cloud that can hover over professionals long after the moment has passed.

It may appear in hiring checks, immigration screening, licensing decisions and security clearances. It follows silently but speaks loudly.

Legisia, a legal practice founded by solicitor Matt Elkins, challenges this quiet punishment. The company focuses on removing unwanted data and appealing Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) decisions.

This work, grounded in law and driven by human consequences, offers not just technical relief but a path to reclaiming dignity.

The weight of a record

These records extend consequences far beyond the initial incident. Doctors, lawyers, finance workers and healthcare professionals find that a police caution, often misrepresented as merely a ‘slap on the wrist’, creates a criminal record appearing on background checks, preventing them from obtaining visas or work permits for countries with strict entry requirements.

‘If a professional gets a record like this, it can completely ruin a valuable and hard-fought career,’ Elkins notes. ‘They cannot work overseas. Often clients want to move to the US, so with a caution for, say, possession of cocaine, they are never going to be able to get green cards.’

According to Elkins, Legisia’s police data removal services directly address these barriers.

Professionals seeking international roles often face barriers due to police records, especially in countries like the United States, China and several Middle Eastern nations. Even low-level cautions or simple arrests — regardless of conviction — can trigger visa denials.

Though policies vary, these records can quietly block global mobility and career progression. For those in regulated fields such as healthcare, education or law, such disclosures can lead to referrals to professional regulators. Even without proof of wrongdoing, careers can be suspended or permanently halted based on records that remain undisputed.

The complexity of police records

Cautions were once informal warnings. Today, they are formal legal outcomes, digitised and retained on the Police National Computer. Unless successfully deleted or filtered under narrow disclosure rules, they remain disclosable.

Police often describe cautions as minor, but their real-world impact is profound. According to Elkins, clients routinely accept cautions without realising they are permanent admissions of guilt. This disconnect between perception and consequence leaves professionals with records they never intended to carry.

Legisia’s expertise in police data removal becomes crucial in these cases. They help clients understand the full implications of their records and challenge them based on procedural flaws, disproportionality, misinformed consent, and under data protection laws.

The victims behind the records

Most troubling are the circumstances under which some of these records are created. Elkins notes that some clients may have been pressured into accepting cautions without understanding the consequences, or where they were actually victims themselves.

‘They might actually be the victim of assault. They might be the victim of a coercive relationship, having been bullied for years,’ Elkins says. ‘And then they find themselves getting arrested, and they often fold when they are in front of the police and end up accepting a caution.”

Legisia’s police data removal process involves gathering evidence to demonstrate innocence or procedural impropriety, which can reveal that clients were pressured or misinformed during the cautioning process. 

The Julian Foulkes case

In a case that recently received national attention, Elkins represented retired special constable Julian Foulkes, whose caution sparked national outrage. 

Foulkes, from Gillingham, was detained at his home by six police officers — from the same force he had worked for as a special constable for ten years — after a comment labelled a ‘thought crime’ was posted on social media. After Legisia’s intervention, the record was successfully deleted. 

The case was viewed by some as a crackdown on free speech, which has fuelled a debate on police powers. Since Legisia’s successful application, Chief Constable Tim Smith rang Foulkes to apologise on behalf of Kent Police, and a full review of the case has been commenced.

Legisia’s specialised approach

Elkins’ focus on police data and DBS cases sets Legisia apart. While other firms offer this as one service among many, Elkins has concentrated on this area for over a decade, with 20 years of experience as a defence lawyer.

This specialisation has given him insight into the varying approaches of different police forces. ‘Each police force is different; they have a kind of different mentality. They do not all act the same,’ Elkins explains.

His expertise extends to understanding the nuances of how records are created and maintained. This depth of knowledge allows Legisia to navigate the complexities of police data management with a precision that generalist firms cannot match. The firm’s police data removal success stems from this specialised knowledge.

Beyond legal services: Emotional relief

Elkins’ work goes beyond statutory remedies. Many clients contact Legisia after years of living with the psychological burden of a police record. Some report shame, isolation, or missed opportunities. Others had given up on international roles, teaching careers, or security-vetted positions.

Legisia’s work offers not only legal redress but personal relief. Clients frequently describe the outcome as life-changing. Deletion restores reputations and opens paths once thought permanently blocked.

A growing need

Awareness of the consequences of police data retention is increasing. Elkins has observed rising demand for police data removal services, especially as individuals learn that records they assumed were closed remain active and disclosable.

He also points to the controversy around non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) — cases where police document behaviour perceived to be hateful but not unlawful, and the rising use of facial recognition technology. This expansion of data collection has created a wider environment in which reputational risk is greater, and police record scrutiny is more essential.

In a society where data is increasingly permanent and accessible, people must be able to challenge outdated or unfair records. Legisia offers a mechanism to do so, backed by legal precision and human understanding.

Elkins and his team continue to help hundreds reclaim control over their professional identities. Each deletion is not just the removal of a data entry — it is the restoration of potential, confidence, and a future.

DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee of your police record being cleared. Legisia Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office: Registration Reference ZA338412.

Legisia Legal Services is not a solicitors firm but is an unregulated legal practice conducting non-reserved legal services. All cases conducted by Legisia Legal Services are led by qualified and regulated solicitors. All solicitors that are employed by, or are owners of, or are consultants to Legisia Legal Services are regulated by the SRA in their individual capacity.