More Jamaicans with criminal convictions can have records cleared

The Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act has been amended to strengthen and modernise the expungement framework and afford more Jamaicans with criminal convictions an opportunity to have their records cleared. 

Expungement is the legal process through which eligible criminal convictions are removed from an individual's police record, allowing persons who have met the eligibility requirements and have demonstrated rehabilitation to move forward without the limitations of a past conviction. 

Director, Legal Education, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Julia Wedderburn, told a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank on Thursday (July 30), that the process allows persons to access benefits that would reasonably have been withheld because of a criminal record, such as educational opportunities, employment, travel and housing. 

“The underlying principle of the Act is that individuals who have made a genuine and sustained effort to become law-abiding citizens are afforded a second chance, and this opportunity allows them to reintegrate into society,”  Ms. Wedderburn said. 

She noted, further, that the amendments, passed in February 2026, are intended to expand eligibility for expungement, increase access to rehabilitation opportunities, and clarify the decision-making process of the Criminal Records Rehabilitation of Offenders Board. 

“This Board reviews applications when persons are applying to have their records expunged. The [amendments] improve efficiency and fairness in the application process and support the successful reintegration and rehabilitation of citizens,” Ms. Wedderburn said. 

“This forms a part of the Ministry's broader commitment to improve access to justice and improve and promote a rehabilitative approach to justice… and prioritises successful reintegration into society, particularly for persons who have demonstrated rehabilitation and pose a low risk of reoffending,” she added. 

Among the key changes to the legislation is the expansion of automatic expungement for certain historical convictions to include non-custodial convictions where the sentence was imposed and completed before January 1, 2005, provided the individual has not committed any additional offence. 

“These individuals are eligible. They will not have to submit an application to the Board… their offences will be automatically expunged once they make an application for their criminal record,” Ms. Wedderburn noted. 

The legislation has also broadened eligibility by allowing applications from individuals who received custodial sentences of more than five years, but not exceeding 10 years.  

The rehabilitation period is now 15 years for persons who were 18 years and older at the time of conviction, and eight years for persons who were under 18 years of age at the time of conviction. 

Removal of additional offences from the Third Schedule of the Act is another amendment under the legislation.  

“Offences that were removed include offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act… .  What happens now is that all offences under [The Act] are eligible for expungement,” Ms. Wedderburn pointed out. 

“Specified offences under the Malicious Injuries to Property Act has also been removed. Certain offences under the Larceny Act like robbery and extortion, burglary and housebreaking offences under section 39 and 40 have also been removed. This reform significantly expands eligibility and opportunities for deserving individuals to benefit from expungement,” she added.