A Criminal Record
Criminal Records: The impact
Having a criminal record can be daunting, but not the end of the world. understanding the limitations of having a criminal record is more important as so many young people lack knowledge or advice about how their criminal activities can impact on their lives.Fair enough you can still get a job , even though it may be more difficult to obtain, You still have most of your rights as a citizen, you may even go onto be successful in the career you choose. The purpose her is to inform you of the limitations that naturally occur once you are have a criminal record.
The fact is serving time in prison or having a criminal record will undoubtably have a massive impact on the way you live your life. We could even go as far as saying most people that serve a sentence or have a non custodial criminal record, go on to be upstanding members of their communities. But the fact is that’s just is not the case!
A criminal record is something that is not looked lightly, many employers will ask for a full disclosure before even looking at an interview. This means that you will have to tell them about all of your convictions, even the ones that you think are spent!
The chances of getting an interview can become a distant dream. Its this and plenty of other aspects of your life that are looked at in great depth when you have a criminal record.
It’s such a shame when you stand in court with a young person and they have little or no knowledge of their future. We must find a better way of informing them beforehand.Parents and carers should also inform young people of the consequences of having a criminal record, as understanding the way the law works could help young people to avoid the peril of prison and probation. Many parents still do not take the time to understand the impact of having a child with a criminal record. The responsibility of educating them is totally ours.
The Criminal justice system is very complex and has many different aspects to it, most notably the sentencing handed out for specific crimes. There is a lot of speculation by young people that spending time in prison does not affect the rest of their lives.
Convicted of a crime?
Even if you were under 18 at the time the consequences of a conviction can still impact your life.
If you are convicted of a crime, you will have a period of time to undergo rehabilitation. The more serious the crime, the longer the period of rehabilitation. Once the period of rehabilitation is up then your conviction will be ‘spent’, although prison sentences of more than 30 months mean that the conviction will never be ‘spent’.
Convictions that are ‘unspent’ mean that there hasn’t been enough time since the original offence without you re-offending, which means that the conviction has to be declared.
What about higher level disclosure checks?
When it comes to higher level disclosures the rules are more strict.
Even if your conviction is spent, it may still have to be disclosed to an employer if it is on the “always disclose” or “disclose subject to rules” list. Also, it may also still have to be disclosed to an employer if it has been less than 7 years and 6 months since you were convicted – this applies to people who were convicted when they were under 18.
Why would you need a higher level disclosure?
Certain types of higher education courses will do high level disclosure checks include Nursing Studies, Early Childhood Studies, Social care and Medical Sciences.
If you are thinking about your future career, some jobs will also do higher level disclosure checks. This includes working as an accountant, a solicitor or a care home assistant.
Even voluntary roles will have high level disclosure checks, including roles as classroom assistants, tutors and helping out at the brownies or scouts.
What does this mean?
It means that for certain jobs, when your conviction is spent you don’t need to disclose it.
But for other jobs, you will have to disclose it, even if it has been spent.
How does it impact people?
Alistair, 22, a student was thrown off his university training course because of theft committed when he had just turned 17. Five years ago when he was working in a shop, he stole £400 at the request of a more senior member of staff who had helped him.
He admitted theft and a related fraud charge concerning falsifying accounts when he appeared in court. He was given a fine. His mistake was totally out of character and this is the only time he has been in trouble with the law. Alistair has always declared the offence on application forms when asked to do so.
After deciding on a career change to a more ‘caring’ profession, he successfully applied for a place on a three-year nursing course at university. Alistair was aware that a PVG check would be carried out for all applicants and declared his conviction when he received the appropriate form before starting in March this year. But after the university asked for a full written account of his offence, Alistair was told his place had been ‘withdrawn’. The information about Alistair’s criminal record was disclosed on the PVG scheme certificate as the conviction is unspent. It becomes spent if it is 7.5 years old and the offender was aged under 18 years old at the date of conviction. (For those over 18 it becomes spent after 15 years). This means that Alistair will have to declare his conviction until he is ages 24.5 years. The conviction will be included on any higher level disclosure until he is ages 24.5 years old.
The contents of this website are copyrighted to Youth Unity CIC (c) any unauthorised use, disclosure, or copying is not permitted. Registered CIC Number 11843189