The big stories surrounding the Conservative Party’s rhetorical drive to get ‘tough’ on crime ahead of the next general election are getting a lot of coverage. Much less is being made about the fact that its actions are actually becoming more and more soft.
The Ministry of Justice announced on Monday that some offenders will no longer be permanently tarred by criminal records, meaning their potential future employers will not see the full picture of those they are taking on. The point is to “lift” a “barrier to employment” for ex-offenders. More than 120,000 of these offenders could benefit from the move.
Officials said that “custodial sentences of four years or more years for less serious crimes become ‘spent’ after a seven-year period of rehabilitation.”
The government’s supporting release refers to rehabilitation a handful of times but fails to mention the other—more conservative-minded—approach of deterrence even once. Yet clearing up the records of those guilty of supposedly “less serious” crimes will undoubtedly remove one more barrier from the minds of those not yet sold on criminality. The plans go hand in glove with those to send fewer so-called low-level criminals to prison, announced earlier in October.
Officials highlighted that “stricter” disclosure rules will continue to apply to those seeking jobs working with vulnerable people, demonstrating that they understand the general importance of employers knowing the records of their employees. They also said that “offenders who have committed serious sexual, violent, or terrorist offences are excluded from these changes.”
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk commented that “carrying the weight of life-long criminal records even after serving their time is a huge barrier for many offenders seeking to reintegrate into society and turn away from a life of crime”—again, failing to recognise the significance of deterrence.
Most of those caught in possession of cannabis are already free from having to declare this crime to their employers, thanks to the non-punishment ‘Cannabis Warning,’ which has been one step of many on the road to making the drug de facto legal.
