The Police Clearance Certificate or PCC is an important link in the verification of an individual who applies for the job or takes admission in the overseas varsity. Besides, there can be other reasons, such as marriage, or visa or, passport renewals etc..

Requirement of PCC

People often times move from one place to another for different reasons. This is the responsibility of the immigration department or foreign affair ministry to check the authenticity of the emigrant. This is where PCC emerges as a crucial document for NRIs to obtain and submit it with the competent authority of the resident country. It carries indigenous or overseas criminal record check report, as in the USA or the UK or anywhere. The immigration authority & the embassy check their criminal record significantly between countries.

In short, all countries allow individuals to obtain the copy of their own criminal record or the confirmation of no panel record, depending on the report. The digitization has already made it super easy for people to apply for it online or through a secure email system.

Forgery

For some people, this is just a matter of mocking. A migrant worker from Bihar who sought after a refinery job in Kochi was caught when he submitted a fake police verification certificate in March this year. The BPCL refinery authority conducted authenticity check, which brought the forgery in the light. Likewise, there occur thousands of frauds despite knowing that this is a criminal offence.

Authority to Issue & Manage

The governments have typically authorized Embassy, Consulate or High Commission to take up applications of the non-residents for this certificate. Yet, the immigration department would largely depend on the provincial system of criminal record management, where individual records are kept at a local police station, to cross check the authenticity of this document.

Turnaround Time 

The time to complete request for getting this certificate is inconsistent across the range of countries. However, the countries that offer online processes typically are faster with the process. In a few countries, a fresh certificate needs to be submitted in every six months as per the said law.

On an average, it may take one week to a fortnight or more, depending on the system.

European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

To regulate such offences of forged personal data cases, the European Union constituted directive principles. It was introduced in March 2018.

This regulation manipulates the use of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences can be processed only under these conditions:

• If the matter is under the control of official authority;
• Or, when it is authorised by the law providing for appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

This law allows the processing of criminal conviction data for a variety of reasons, as employment, social security and social protection, substantial public interest, health & social care, public health and for archiving to feed research and statistics.

The need of this law rose when various organizations and authorities required a policy that comprises procedures to secure compliance with the principles of the GDPR in relation to the processing of criminal records.

This law also puts policies to endure erasure and retention of that data. If required, the competent authority of various member governments can access criminal records data, given that the data subject has sent the consent for meeting specific requirements under this regulatory law.

To ensure its no misuse, the organizations must raise a request to address criminal record processing officially. This is how the protective regulation covers all legitimate purposes for processing sensitive and criminal data.

There may have some cases when organizations require the details in this certificate for serving their own purposes. The records are not revealed unless there are certain concrete judicial reasons to have it. It is solely the consent of the data subject that can allow them to use that information. That person can ask to remove it anytime.

The penalty for infringing this law could be whopping dollars or pounds to pay compensation for invading the right to privacy of the data subject. The rigorous imprisonment is also a part of this conviction, once proved.