KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Board has approved 1,200 applications from more than two thousand people seeking to have their criminal records expunged.
Chuck told Parliament that 2,322 applications had been received last year.
“When people apply, they expect that within days or weeks, it will be deleted. That is not how it works. When persons apply, the first thing that is done is that a report has to be requested from the Criminal Records Office. Because of the burden on the Criminal Records Office, the likelihood of returning the criminal records report within six months is improbable,” he said.
However, he told legislators that improvements had been realized from the Criminal Records Office over the last few months and that the expungement of criminal records continues to be one of the most demanded services offered by the Ministry of Justice.
“Expungement is an area that the Ministry of Justice comes under a lot of complaints and [receives] a lot of applications,” he said, noting that a submission will be made to Cabinet to look at the widening of the expungement jurisdiction.
Chuck said following Cabinet’s deliberation, it is hoped that a Bill will be brought to Parliament in this fiscal year to widen the categories or to ensure that persons who have been rehabilitated can get their matters expunged.
“We refuse a lot of applications. Some persons have been found guilty of serious crimes, but they, having served their sentence, have returned to the community. They have lived fairly good lives, and because the Third Schedule is quite restrictive, they cannot get an expungement. Many of them, even though they appeal to the Minister, the Minister is reluctant to grant any appeal where the offense is serious, notwithstanding that they have been good upright citizens for 10 [or] 15 years,” he said.
Expungement involves formally removing a conviction from an individual’s criminal/police record after a specific period has elapsed and certain requirements have been met.
To qualify for expungement, the offense in question must be one that attracts a non-custodial sentence or sentence of imprisonment not exceeding five years. The person in question must also not have had any other convictions during a specified period called the ‘Rehabilitation Period.’
Offenses such as the import and export of narcotics such as cocaine and marijuana, murder, rape, and some crimes under the Malicious Destruction of Property Act, including arson, cannot be deleted under the current law.
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