I’m calling on the government to reform our criminal records system – lifelong stigma undermines rehabilitation
(Credit: Ron Fassbender/Alamy Live News)
3 min read
It seems obvious that a child caught shoplifting or getting into a fight shouldn’t be burdened with a criminal record that penalises them until the day they die.
Consequences may be appropriate at the time, even serious ones. But the idea that people in their 50s and 60s are still being punished for something they did as children is plainly unfair.
Modern society accepts that people can change, especially children, and that rehabilitation as we progress through life is both possible and desirable. But all too often, childhood convictions stick with offenders for the rest of their lives, shutting them out of opportunities and diminishing our job market.
While society’s views have evolved, England and Wales continue to have one of the most punitive childhood criminal record systems in the western world. In 2024, over 18,000 DBS checks revealed childhood convictions.
Rather than helping vulnerable children to overcome adversity, our system exacerbates that adversity throughout their life. Childhood criminal records undermine the very idea of rehabilitation. They block people from employment, discourage ambition, and trap them in cycles of stigma and hardship. No amount of personal effort can beat a system where your record means ‘computer says no’.
We are behind on this issue. If a troubled teenager in England is convicted of affray, this will be disclosed in any enhanced criminal records check until they die. If that same teen was caught in Canada, they would likely be given a social worker and support to change. In the USA, 24 states have laws that automatically seal or expunge childhood criminal records.
Even more progressive is the Spanish model, where everybody has a right to remove their criminal record after a set period of good behaviour. The timing for cancellation depends on the offence and ranges from six months for minor offences to 10 years for the most serious.
In my very first constituency surgery as an MP, I met a resident who had served time in a youth offenders’ institution for a one-off offence committed 34 years previously, at the age of 18. He grew up, turned his life around and worked a solid job, without issue, for a decade after declaring his historical offence. Suddenly, new HR staff suspended him for two years and eventually terminated his employment on account of his legacy criminal record.
I was struck by his case and agreed with him that the law should reflect the time and distance between a historical offence and rebuilding your life. It did not seem right that, legally, some people can never be considered rehabilitated. That is, as my constituent said, “effectively a life sentence”.
His story is one of many. These cases are most common among those who were disadvantaged in childhood; research shows the majority of children in the criminal justice system have been victims of childhood abuse. If we truly believe in rehabilitation, our laws should reflect that. I’m calling on the government to reform our criminal records system so that youth convictions are time-limited and can be wiped clean.
This call is backed by leading organisations in youth justice and rehabilitation, and it echoes the work previously championed by David Lammy. The government has indicated it is open to change, with the Justice Secretary telling the Commons: “We will consider opportunities to simplify the criminal records regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences.”
Our justice system should protect society. But it must also allow people to rebuild and contribute to society. It is time to modernise the law to recognise what most people already believe: mistakes should not determine your future.
Fred Thomas is Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View
