Senate passes legislative amendments to expand access to expungement

 

The Senate on Friday passed amendments to the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act, expanding access to expungement in potentially deserving cases.

 

The bill is expected to provide hundreds of thousands of individuals with the opportunity to have their convictions expunged. 

 

In piloting the legislation on Friday, Information Minister Senator Dr. Dana Morris Dixon underscored the need to relax certain provisions of the Act, thereby allowing more individuals convicted of offences the opportunity for a second chance.

 

"So the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Board, currently the board, cannot consider applications where the sentence imposed is for a term of imprisonment that exceeds five years. There have been instances where persons have been convicted of offences which are not particularly egregious however still carry sentences that exceed five years and these include motor vehicle manslaughter, offences under the Malicious Injuries to Property Act, and offences under the Larceny Act.

 

"This limitation on the board's discretion is believed to have partially resulted in an exponential increase in the number of refused applications. The proposed expansion of the board's discretion to consider offences that carry sentences which exceed five years, but are no more than 10 years, ought to result in an increase in the corresponding rehabilitation period," she explained. 

 

The rehabilitation period has been increased from 10 to 12 years.