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Disclosure Rules changed for criminal records.

The supreme court has ruled that any minor convictions and police cautions do not need to be disclosed in a criminal records check, and any obligation to disclose would breach the individual's Human Rights.

The Supreme Court ruling upholds a court of appeal decision in which an applicant for a job was made to disclose a caution received at the age of 11, over an alleged theft of two bikes.

These records had been checked when applying for work at a Sports Club and before attending University.

The ruling brings into question how long an offence or caution remains on a person's record as it potentially affects that individual's employment prospects.

When applicants are applying for jobs which involve the vulnerable or children, all convictions and cautions are disclosed, which is seen as penalising those with minor spent convictions and cautions. The new filtering system will ensure only relevant information is provided on a criminal records check.

The government had contested an earlier ruling and the case was taken to the Supreme Court, which ruled against the government.

The new filtering system will remove cautions given to adults after six years and children after two.

In the past Criminal records could literally ruin people's lives because of the disclosure of irrelevant information. A potential employer's reaction to an applicant with a record can often be disproportionate to the information supplied; the new system will help to remedy this.


Update - Criminal Records disclosure.

The court of appeal has ruled that the present criminal records disclosure scheme has insufficient safeguards to be legal.

The Government has already recognised the need for filtering rules on criminal records checks, meaning that if you are guilty of a certain type of crime and it was your only conviction, after a period, it will no longer appear on any criminal records check.
But that does leave those offences that will never be removed, and those persons guilty of more than one offence do not have any sort of filter.

It is accepted that the age at which a crime was committed is a very important factor and that special consideration should be given to crimes committed as a child.

As the court of appeal has ruled that the existing system is unlawful it will be up to the government what to do next, the most likely outcome is the Supreme Court.

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