Almost 1,800 Jamaicans had their criminal records expunged last fiscal year

Almost 1,800 Jamaicans who applied for their criminal records to be expunged were successful in fiscal year 2024/2025.

However, the justice ministry turned down 700 applicants.

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck reported that since 2016, more than 7,000 expungement applications have been approved, out of a total of almost 11,000.

He said the ministry is making systemic changes to facilitate the transformation of more Jamaican lives.

Two persons were employed recently by the ministry and assigned to its Criminal Records Office to assist with locating records for expungement applicants.

The increased staff complement, said Chuck, has led to a dramatic improvement in the processing times and has contributed to the clearance of more than 2,000 backlog applications.

“It is no secret that countless job seekers, isolated family members, critically ill persons in need of overseas treatment, some self-employed persons, some aspiring entrepreneurs– just to name a few examples, would all like to have their records expunged in order to maximize their full potential,” Chuck said.

- Edmond Campbell

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