What makes a conviction spent?

What makes a conviction spent?

Spent convictions are those convictions that have reached a set period as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and are removed from an individual’s criminal record. Unspent convictions are those records that have not yet reached this defined time and will appear on a Basic Criminal Record Check.

How do you know if you have a spent conviction?

If you’re still in your rehabilitation period following a criminal conviction, your conviction is unspent. Any custodial sentence over two and a half years stays unspent. If you were found guilty of a criminal offence by a court, following the specified time-period, your conviction will be considered “spent”.

Are convictions never spent?

All cautions and convictions eventually become spent, with the exception of prison sentences of over 30 months (2 ½ years). The exceptions where you may have to declare spent cautions and convictions are listed on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order (further details below).

How long until a criminal conviction is spent?

Essentially, a conviction cannot become spent until the order ends. Some orders run for many years longer than the ‘main’ sentence. If someone received a 4 month prison sentence, this would be spent 2 years after the end of the full sentence.

If you were found guilty of a criminal offence by a court, following the specified time-period, your conviction will be considered “spent”. The specified time is the rehabilitation period. Informed warnings and cautions are automatically spent. An AccessNI basic check doesn’t include spent convictions.

When is a conviction considered to be spent?

You don’t say what sentence or disposal you received when you went to court but unless you received a prison sentence of over 4 years then your conviction would now be considered ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and, for the majority of jobs would not need to be disclosed to an employer.

Do you have to declare spent convictions when applying for a job?

Explains the difference between spent and unspent convictions, outlines which convictions must be declared when applying for jobs and any exceptions. The document was updated after the Legal Aid and Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. If you have had a past conviction and are applying for a job, read this guide.

How is a conviction spent under the rehabilitation of Offenders Act?

As you may be aware, your conviction is now considered ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. If an employer were to carry out a basic Disclosure and Barring Service check your conviction would not appear on the certificate and would not have to be disclosed to the employer.

Can a spent conviction disqualify a person from a charity?

A spent conviction doesn’t disqualify anyone – the disqualification only applies to unspent convictions. How long a conviction remains unspent depends upon the type and length of sentence a person was given after conviction (the charity Unlock has a list ).