convictions

[red7]

how long do they last for? i.e if someone as been arrested for a relatively petty crime, do you have police record forever or does it expire?
is there anything you can do rehabilitation wise maybe for a drugs offense?

[Buenchico]

A criminal record is for life. Convictions will always show up if an employer (or licensing authority, such as the SIA) carries out a check with the Criminal Records Bureau.

However, when applying for things like insurance and for most types of employment, the majority of convictions become 'spent' after a certain period of time. This period is determined by the sentence imposed by the court. This is 5 years for most non-custodial offences, 7 years for prison sentences up to 6 months and 10 years for other prison sentences up to 2� years. (Convictions resulting in sentences over 2� years never become spent). Those periods are halved if the offender was under 18 years old at the date of conviction.

For certain types of employment applications, convictions are never regarded as spent. These are primarily jobs working with, or alongside, children and vulnerable adults. Jobs working in the administration of justice (police, courts, etc) are also exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. When applying for these types of work, all convictions must always be declared.

http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/rehabact.htm

Chris

[red7]

thanks