Sorry to say if you have a record, however small, your life will change forever. There is no such thing as a "Spent" conviction. Its there until you are 100 years old. The Civil Liberties website lists over two pages of careers no longer open to you. This now includes anyone working with private, personal data, so that rules out even office work. Many private and public sector organisations are retrospectively asking staff to agree to CRB checks, so you need to hope the HR Director has the gift of "common sense". This is particularly galling when you hear more and more about people's supposedly "private" data (like "spent" convictions) being disclosed, by public and private sector employees either for money or for "a laugh". The employee with a spent conviction would be very unlikely to take a risk like this. Its the ones who haven't been caught that are the guilty ones.
There are hundreds of thousands of people with spent convictions from decades ago, now suddenly forced to revel all to their employer. These can include people convicted of things which are no longer a crime eg: shoplifting. Only persistent shoplifters get a record now.
Apparently only 1 in 4 crimes is solved. So 3 in 4 get away with it. They are allowed to continue with their lives, and could end up in the professions from which you have been barred. They are rewarded for getting away with it while you are penalised until you die for being caught.
Apparently 3,000 new criminals are created every day. Approx 20% of the adult UK population has a record. Official figures differ because they exclude people over 55 for some reason. Soon over half the population will have a record. In what way is that an attractive proposition for a country looking to invest in the UK? Once you realise that you will be trapped into low-paid, semi-skilled work is it any surprise that people re-offend? Do the "hang 'em and flog 'em" brigade not realise their taxes are supporting people who cannot get work because of their spent convictions? Do the "hang 'em and flog 'em" brigade not mind the fact that their doctors, teachers, neighbours and colleagues have committed offences, but managed to avoid being caught? For example, can you even begin to imagine how many million people have taken recreational drugs since 1950? An absolutely tiny percentage of them were caught and subsequently had their lives ruined not by drugs but by the "state". The vast majority grew up, got bored and moved on with their lives, finishing their degrees, moving into the "professions", getting married, buying a house and having a successful career. The same can be said for teenage shoplifters, or those who committed youthful "pranks" like stealing a car. My advice - just don't get caught!
Britain compares extremely badly to other western nations in its draconian refusal to give people a real second chance. There is no opportunity, as exists in other countries, to ask, after a period of time and demonstration of your "good character", for your record to be permanently erased. Your spent conviction, even if it is minor, could stop you visiting USA and yet your crime could be totally wiped out if you were a USA citizen and you had the right to appeal to the Sheriff of your State.
What you have to ask yourself is are the government really so stupid and out-of-touch, or are they doing this for a reason? It started under the Labour gov, but the Con/Libs have done nothing to change or improve it. Is it so we can sell our security systems abroad? Is it some form of "control"? To keep us all scared in case we loose our jobs? Or is it because the Crime industry (police, social services, legal, surveillance and IT systems, Orgs like NACRO and Probation Services, prison services etc) is a multi-million dollar business that depends on crime being committed?
Clearly none of this is working in terms of a deterrent. People do stupid things regardless. Its not until its too late that you realise how your life has been wrecked by the state. I am disgusted and ashamed to be part of Britain in the 21st century.
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