Criminals could be allowed to hide past from bosses
‘Employers have a right to know’
CRIMINALS would be allowed to hide their convictions from prospective employers under proposals to be published by a government- backed review this week.
Former Labour minister David Lammy is expected to recommend the move to make it easier for former convicts to get a job and cut reoffending rates.
The proposal is part of a wider plan to improve the treatment of black and ethnic minority people in the criminal justice system.
Mr Lammy, who was commissioned by David Cameron to conduct the review last year, is also expected to call for the wider use of non-criminal penalties, particularly for first offences, to prevent people having their lives derailed by juvenile mistakes.
He will also call for measures to improve trust between the black community and the criminal justice system – arguing that some offenders end up being treated more harshly because of their refusal to cooperate with the authorities. Government sources declined to comment in advance on the report yesterday, but Theresa May has previously identified the treatment of young black men in the criminal justice system as one of the ‘burning injustices’ she wants to tackle.
The plan to allow criminals to hide their convictions is likely to prove highly controversial.
Minor convictions are already deemed to be ‘spent’ after a short period and do not have to be declared to prospective employers. But even short jail sentences have to be declared for years.
Sentences of more than four years can never be considered ‘spent’, meaning they follow offenders around for the rest of their lives.
Under the proposals offenders deemed to have mended their ways would be given the chance to apply to a judge or the parole board to have details of their criminal past ‘sealed’.
The judge would weigh up evidence of rehabilitation, the seriousness of the offence and the amount of time passed before deciding whether to grant the order.
If successful, the offender would be able to hide their criminal record from prospective employers, although the record would remain on file.
Evidence from the United States suggests that similar proposals can boost employment rates among ex-offenders.
A source familiar with the report’s findings said Mr Lammy wanted to see ‘fundamental change’, including a ‘fresh start’ for offenders who had reformed.
‘Our criminal records regime is trapping offenders in their pasts,’ the source said. But Tory MP Andrew Bridgen last night warned that the proposal should be treated with caution.
He said employers had a right to know about job applicants’ serious criminal convictions.
‘I am all for former prisoners moving into employment, as it reduces reoffending rates, but in serious cases it has to be out in the open,’ he said.
‘We will have to look very carefully at the detail, such as the type of offences involved and the length of time that has passed since the last offence before going too far down this road.
‘There are many jobs where you would want to make sure you were not employing a sex offender, a fraudster or a thief – employers have a right to know.’
Official figures show that black and ethnic minority people are more likely to fall foul of the criminal justice system.
Although just 3 per cent of the population is black, black people account for 12 per cent of the prison population.
In total, 25 per cent of the prison population, and 40 per cent of youth offenders, come from ethnic minority backgrounds, despite them making up just 14 per cent of the population.