According to Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, 1,200 out of more than 2,000 requests for expungement of criminal records have been authorized by the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Board.
Chuck informed the legislature that 2,322 applications had been submitted the previous year.
“When people apply, they anticipate that it will be removed in a matter of days or weeks. That is not how things operate. The first step after submitting an application is to obtain a report from the Criminal Records Office. However, due to the workload of the CRO, it is highly improbable that the report will be sent in less than six months, he said.
He did, however, inform the lawmakers that the Criminal Records Office had made advances in recent months and that the erasure of criminal records remained one of the Ministry of Justice’s most popular services.
He noted that a report will be made to Cabinet to look at the expanding of the expungement jurisdiction. “Expungement is an area that the Ministry of Justice comes under a lot of complaints and [receives] a lot of applications,” he added.
Following Cabinet discussion, according to Chuck, it is hoped that a Bill will be introduced to Parliament this fiscal year to expand the categories or ensure that people who have undergone rehabilitation can have their records cleared.
We reject many applicants. Some people have been convicted of serious crimes, but after serving their sentences, they have rejoined society. Even though many of them appeal to the Minister, the Minister is reluctant to grant any appeal where the offense is of a serious nature, despite the fact that they have been good upright citizens for 10 [or] 15 years. They have lived fairly upright lives, but because the Third Schedule is quite restrictive, they cannot get their records expunged.
When certain conditions are met and a certain amount of time has passed, a conviction can be officially expunged from a person’s criminal or police record.
In order to be eligible for expungement, the offense must carry a non-custodial sentence or a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding five years, and the offender must have abstained from all convictions for the ‘Rehabilitation Period’.
Under current law, certain crimes, including arson and some under the Malicious Destruction of Property Act, such as the import and export of drugs like cocaine and marijuana, murder, rape, and other crimes are not expungable.