New rules simplify process for clearing criminal records

The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has outlined the application and appeal processes for eligible persons seeking to have their criminal records cleared, under the newly amended Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act.

Director of Justice Administration Services in the Ministry, Petrina Denton-Allen, explained at a recent JIS Think Tank that the expungement process for eligible applicants is straightforward, requiring an application to the Criminal Records Rehabilitation of Affairs Board.

“An applicant is required to complete two application forms, and those application forms can be downloaded from the ministry's website at moj.gov.jm or those persons can walk into the ministry at our head office at 61 Constant Spring Road and collect the application forms,” she said.

A processing fee of $3,000 should then be paid at any tax office convenient to the applicant.

“They are also required to provide their fingerprint impressions, which can be taken at any divisional headquarters of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, or they can visit the Criminal Records Office at 56 Duke Street in downtown Kingston,” Denton-Allen added.

Applications should also be accompanied by two letters of recommendation from persons of reputable character, such as a Justice of the Peace or minister of religion, along with a certified or notarised copy of their birth certificate or a government-issued ID.

“Once the application is completed, you'll submit all of those documents to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The office will now request a police report from the Criminal Records Office [and] upon receipt of the police report, the application is now submitted to the Board for a determination,” Denton-Allen stated.

“An application can take approximately one year to be processed because there is an external entity for the process, which is the Criminal Records Office, and the board heavily relies on the police report,” she added.

APPEALING REJECTION

Director of Legal Education in the Ministry, Julia Wedderburn, informed that an appeal to the rejection can be made to the board after two years.

“Should their application be rejected again, there is a further level of appeal to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs [who] will assess the application and determine whether or not the board did not consider something that, if they had considered it, that expungement would [possibly] have been granted,” Wedderburn explained.

“If the minister finds that, then the application will be remitted to the board for that to be considered and if the minister finds that there was some prejudice by the board, then the minister will grant the expungement. And, of course, the minister's decision is final.”

The amended legislation also addresses employer liability for dismissing persons who have had their criminal records expunged.

“In the spirit of granting persons a meaningful second chance… an [employer] who dismisses a person because of a spent or expunged conviction is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding $1 million or two years’ imprisonment,” Wedderburn informed.

“It allows for persons to actually access this benefit without the stigma being still held against them.”

- JIS

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