The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 came into force in April, allowing for many criminal convictions to become spent.

A number of criteria have to be met for a conviction to be spent where the offender was 18 or over at the time of the crime. At least seven years must have passed since the date of conviction, the sentence imposed by the court cannot be an ‘excluded sentence’, and the person shall have served the sentence or complied with the relevant court order.

Crucially, this is a one-time opportunity. Offenders with more than one conviction do not get the benefit of a spent conviction unless those convictions are for minor public order offences or road-traffic offences (other than dangerous driving). Similar criteria apply for offences committed by offenders under 18 years of age, but the time limit is three years rather than seven.

Matthew Holmes (a lecturer in DIT and practising barrister) gives a detailed analysis of the new legislation, and its likely effects, in the July Gazette.

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