Children guilty of serious offences could get a second chance and no longer declare criminal records

Proposed disclosure changes

The government wants to reduce the number of offences requiring lifelong disclosure on standard and enhanced DBS checks. The proposals distinguish between offences committed as a child and those committed as an adult.

For listed offences without a custodial sentence, disclosure would be required for five and a half years. A sentence of two years or less would mean disclosure for 11 years, while convictions resulting in a fine would no longer need to be declared.

The plans would also end automatic disclosure of out-of-court resolutions. They would remove a rule that extends the time before a conviction becomes spent when someone is convicted of another crime during their rehabilitation period.

Wider youth justice aims

Richards said the current system does not distinguish offences committed during childhood from those committed as an adult. The article does not provide Richards’s first name or role.

Former offenders back reforms

Paula Harriott, chief executive of the charity Unlock, said it was unfair for tens of thousands of people each year to disclose childhood offences that no longer reflect who they are. Joanne said she was convicted of several counts of affray and assault, beginning when she was 10, after a gang exploited her and pushed her to sell drugs. She described using violence to stop people taking drugs from her.