Rules that force people to disclose decades-old convictions, including for non-violent offences, should be changed
There are good reasons for the existence of the current system of criminal record checks in England and Wales. It is right that some employers and organisations reliant on volunteers (including the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme) want to find out whether applicants have been convicted of criminal offences. Primarily, this relates to work with people who are vulnerable either because they are children or because they have learning difficulties or disabilities. Clearly, it is important for society to do everything it can to protect such people.
Measures should, however, be proportionate. And evidence suggests that there are circumstances when the current system is not. A key area of concern is children, who in some cases will be forced under the present rules to disclose histories of offending, even if non-violent, for the rest of their lives. Another issue is the automatic disclosure of police cautions – which involve making an admission but are not the same as a finding of guilt by a court. Finally, there is the law forcing people to reveal any prison sentence, however short, for the rest of their lives – bearing in mind that people can be sent to prison for failing to pay fines and that 6,500 people were given sentences of less than a month in 2020.
