Still 'living it down'? The old problem of convictions: evaluating the impact of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 after 50 years.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Sociology & Social Policy
Abstract
Over 12.2 million people in the UK - one in six of the population - have some sort of criminal record. Many of these records will be old, since the majority of people who acquired them will have appeared in court only once or twice before going on to lead a law-abiding life. Other records will be more recent, with some pertaining to people who are in frequent contact with the criminal justice system. Yet, regardless of whether the subject of a criminal record has moved on from a one-off incident of lawbreaking, or desisted from a longer criminal career, their criminal record may be a stigmatising characteristic which can restrict their life chances and citizenship even after they have served their sentence in full. It may be disclosed for employment purposes. It may complicate access to insurance or other financial services. It may limit their right to run for public office or otherwise participate in civil society - for instance by sitting on a jury or becoming a charity trustee. It may affect the adoption or fostering of children. It may affect their ability to travel to other countries or their immigration status. It may restrict admission into university. It may even affect their eligibility for government compensation if they are a victim of serious crime.
Nearly 50 years ago the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 was introduced to mitigate the stigma of an old criminal record. This landmark legislation enabled most old records to eventually become 'spent' and thus protected in law for many purposes. However, many exemptions from the principle of a spent conviction exist - often justified by the imperative of 'public protection'. Despite official reviews of the Act and reductions to the 'rehabilitation periods' before a criminal record becomes spent, it remains the case that some people who have served longer prison sentences will never benefit from its protections. Given that sentences have become significantly longer since the Act was introduced, there are a growing number of people who will never be 'legally rehabilitated' and who will remain vulnerable to possible discrimination and social exclusion for the rest of their lives.
This project will investigate the experience of people with a criminal record and consider the effectiveness of the only piece of legislation designed to protect them from discrimination. It will use interviews with people with criminal records, focus groups with voluntary sector organisations who support them or who otherwise have a stake in criminal records policy, and develop co-produced podcasts about the experience of living with a criminal record. The research is timely, since it will take place precisely half a century after the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 was conceived and introduced. This provides an opportune moment to reflect on whether the Act is still 'fit for purpose' in the 21st century. The research is significant because, whilst many studies have been conducted on how persistent lawbreakers desist from criminal offending, little attention has been paid to their lives 'post-desistance', nor to the vast majority of people with a criminal record who only offend once or twice before being subject to stigma and discrimination after they have paid the penalty for their crime.
Awareness of the so-called 'collateral consequences of a conviction' and their impacts on formerly criminalised people is far more advanced in the United States. This research will therefore be ground-breaking, exploring these issues in the UK context at a point when academic interest in criminal records is gaining traction in European criminology. The research will influence public, legal and policy debates around criminal records, their disclosure and the impact of collateral consequences with positive long-term impacts for the social and economic inclusion of people with criminal records, their families and dependents.
Nearly 50 years ago the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 was introduced to mitigate the stigma of an old criminal record. This landmark legislation enabled most old records to eventually become 'spent' and thus protected in law for many purposes. However, many exemptions from the principle of a spent conviction exist - often justified by the imperative of 'public protection'. Despite official reviews of the Act and reductions to the 'rehabilitation periods' before a criminal record becomes spent, it remains the case that some people who have served longer prison sentences will never benefit from its protections. Given that sentences have become significantly longer since the Act was introduced, there are a growing number of people who will never be 'legally rehabilitated' and who will remain vulnerable to possible discrimination and social exclusion for the rest of their lives.
This project will investigate the experience of people with a criminal record and consider the effectiveness of the only piece of legislation designed to protect them from discrimination. It will use interviews with people with criminal records, focus groups with voluntary sector organisations who support them or who otherwise have a stake in criminal records policy, and develop co-produced podcasts about the experience of living with a criminal record. The research is timely, since it will take place precisely half a century after the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 was conceived and introduced. This provides an opportune moment to reflect on whether the Act is still 'fit for purpose' in the 21st century. The research is significant because, whilst many studies have been conducted on how persistent lawbreakers desist from criminal offending, little attention has been paid to their lives 'post-desistance', nor to the vast majority of people with a criminal record who only offend once or twice before being subject to stigma and discrimination after they have paid the penalty for their crime.
Awareness of the so-called 'collateral consequences of a conviction' and their impacts on formerly criminalised people is far more advanced in the United States. This research will therefore be ground-breaking, exploring these issues in the UK context at a point when academic interest in criminal records is gaining traction in European criminology. The research will influence public, legal and policy debates around criminal records, their disclosure and the impact of collateral consequences with positive long-term impacts for the social and economic inclusion of people with criminal records, their families and dependents.
