Police disclosure in family proceedings — getting police records before the court
REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-09-01
Why police material matters in family cases
Police records — call-outs to the family home, domestic abuse reports, arrest and caution records, child concern reports — are often the most objective evidence available in children proceedings. Both the Family Court and Cafcass treat a clear police record of patterns over time as highly significant. Cafcass carries out its own police checks as part of safeguarding screening, and local authorities request police information under public law procedures.
How police records reach the family court
1. Cafcass safeguarding checks — in private law children cases, Cafcass undertakes local authority and police (domestic abuse) checks on every adult named in an application, and summarises relevant risk in its safeguarding letter or report. 2. Court disclosure directions — the court can direct disclosure of specified documents: for example, an order requiring the police to produce records of incidents at the address within a date range, or CAD/incident logs. If you are a party, ask the court to make a disclosure direction at the first hearing; the Family Procedure Rules and the police's disclosure duties under DPA 2018 Sch 2 (family proceedings are an "excepted purpose") govern how police respond. 3. Your own subject access request (SAR) — you can request your own personal data from a police force. Be aware a SAR often returns redacted or partially withheld material (other people's data, operational information), and it does not compel disclosure of third-party information into proceedings — only a court can do that.
Third-party records in proceedings
Records about other people (your ex-partner's account, a neighbour's statement) cannot simply be obtained by one party. The normal route is to ask the court for a third-party disclosure order identifying the records sought and explaining their relevance. The court balances relevance against confidentiality, often via a separate disclosure hearing. Asking early — at the first hearing (FHDRA in private law, case management hearing in care cases) — keeps disclosure on the timetable.
Practical steps
- Keep your own incident log with dates; it lets you frame a precise disclosure request ("all CAD records for [address] between [dates]") rather than a fishing exercise, which courts resist.
- Apply for domestic abuse disclosure under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare's Law) through your local police force if you need to know about a partner's history — separate from court proceedings but complementary.
- If you are the subject of allegations, the same disclosure routes work in your favour: full police records may show allegations were not pursued, or that an incident was recorded differently from how it is now described.
Official links
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme-factsheet (Clare's Law)
- https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/ (safeguarding checks explanation)
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12 (Data Protection Act 2018)
- https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family
This page is general information, not legal advice. YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory and is not affiliated with HMCTS or gov.uk.
Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.