Justice After Judgment
Reforming Britain’s Criminal Record System
British Democratic Alliance
Policy Statement
“Vengeance and retribution are brothers of hatred that harms society” – Francis Bacon.
The statement captures the metaphysical way of how vengeance and retribution, both born of hatred, corrode the fabric of society. They perpetuate cycles of punishment, harden divisions, and make reconciliation impossible, all of which destroy trust and social cohesion.
- Introduction — When Punishment Never Ends
In 1974 the Government of the day introduced the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act to give those who made mistakes a chance to rebuild their lives, it meant, that with some exception for protected roles and for certain offences, people did not have to disclose their mistakes, and they could move forward with their lives. However, in modern Britain, thousands of citizens continue to face rejection and discrimination for mistakes made decades ago because this core premise has been turned on its head due to the Disclosure and Baring Service which has thrown the aims of the ROA 1974 in the bin.
A simple Basic DBS check can reveal even minor cautions from youth or early adulthood, regardless of how long ago they occurred or how exemplary a person’s conduct has been since.
The result is a quiet injustice: careers blocked, dignity undermined, and rehabilitation reduced to a slogan.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 was meant to restore fairness, to allow people who had paid their debt to society to move on. Yet the current DBS regime has turned safeguarding into lifelong surveillance, career stagnation and punishment.
The present DBS system has become vindictive, a mechanism of continual punishment that contradicts the very concept of rehabilitation. It does not safeguard society; it merely condemns individuals to a lifetime of administrative retribution.”
- R (T) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (2014, UK Supreme Court) — ruled that the blanket disclosure of old and minor convictions was disproportionate and violated Article 8 of the ECHR.
- Gallagher v United Kingdom (2019, ECtHR) — reaffirmed that disclosure systems must strike a fair balance between public protection and individual privacy.
- P, G & W v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2019, UK Supreme Court) — held that disclosing certain minor cautions and convictions, particularly those from childhood, was incompatible with Article 8.
Despite these rulings, the DBS framework still effectively allows permanent administrative punishment, ignoring the principle of rehabilitation embedded in both UK law and human-rights jurisprudence.
Thus, the current DBS system, by retaining and disclosing spent convictions indefinitely, constitutes not only a vindictive breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, denying citizens the right to privacy and to rebuild their lives after rehabilitation, but a very insidious and perpetual form of retribution for what, for many, may have been youthful indiscretions or periods of turmoil in their lives caused by mental health problems for which they had little or no support – should their entire life be perpetually ruined as a result?
The British Democratic Alliance (BDA) believes that justice must include the opportunity for redemption. When a person has lived a decade without offending, society gains nothing by permanently condemning them for their past.
- The BDA Principle — Justice, Not Perpetual Condemnation
The BDA will legislate to ensure that the right to rebuild one’s life is guaranteed in law.
Where a person has remained offence free for ten consecutive years, their criminal record shall be automatically expunged, with strict safeguards and exceptions for offences that may represent an enduring threat to public safety or societal integrity. Continually punishing people does not serve justice nor society, but it must have goal posts that keep society safe at the same time.
- Ten-Year Clean Slate Policy
A person’s criminal record, as far as any DBS check is concerned, shall be expunged after ten years without further offences, this does not mean offences shall be removed from the Police or court records, except in the following cases:
- Terrorism – any offence under terrorism or national-security legislation.
- Human Trafficking – including slavery, exploitation, and related organised crime.
- Drug Importation – import, export, or large-scale supply of controlled substances.
- Weapons Importation – trafficking, smuggling, or manufacture of prohibited firearms or explosives.
- Murder – including conspiracy, accessory, or aiding and abetting.
- Attempted Murder – and comparable offences of grievous intent.
- Any Wounding Offence Involving a Firearm – including armed assault or aggravated discharge.
- Any Wounding Offence Involving a Bladed Weapon – including stabbing, slashing, or aggravated assault.
- Any Offence Involving Deliberate Poisoning – including chemical, biological, or toxic harm.
- Any Offence Involving Deliberate Harm to a Child – whether physical, sexual, or psychological.
- Any Offence Involving Penetrative Sex – including rape, assault by penetration, or sexual activity without consent.
- Any offence involving Kidnap or False Detention:
- Any offence of Fraud involving more than 5 victims or more than £1 million
All other offences, cautions, or convictions shall be automatically removed from public and employer accessible databases after a ten-year period of lawful conduct.
- Supporting Principles
- Automatic Expungement – Record clearance shall occur automatically; no application, cost, or bureaucracy required.
- Proportional Disclosure – Enhanced or Standard DBS checks may show historical records only when directly relevant to the role (e.g., safeguarding).
- Any role in any medical field will always show any criminal history no matter how old.
- Roles in medical institutions will only show any offences that may be relevant to that roles level of access to vulnerable patients and/or drugs if the offences are related to drugs or of a sexual nature.
- Any role in any State Security system will always show all criminal history no matter how old.
- Record Accuracy and Oversight – A new Criminal Record Review Authority (CRRA) will ensure accuracy, fairness, and sanction any misuse.
- Right to Appeal – Every citizen may challenge inaccurate or disproportionate disclosures.
- Equal Opportunity – Employers discriminating on the basis of expunged or irrelevant records shall face civil penalties.
- Private Companies will be barred from accessing records. All applications for records access will be via a new Government portal.
- The Constitutional Principle — Rehabilitation and Human Dignity
- Rehabilitation must mean more than survival — it must mean renewal.
- A civilised nation cannot preach reform while legislating permanent condemnation through bureaucracy.
- The British Democratic Alliance believes that any person who has paid their debt to society and lived ten years in lawful conduct has earned the right to begin again — unmarked, unlabelled, and unafraid.
© British Democratic Alliance – Justice & Law Reform Policy
Last Edited October 2025