Half of Eastbourne residents think ex-criminals should have minor offences kept on record

A Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS check) is the term used for the analysis and record of a person’s past, looking specifically at convictions and warning they may have received.

Currently in the UK there is a list of offences that could be filtered from someone’s DBS check as long as they meet certain requirements.

This means if someone had been caught shoplifting in the past, they could potentially not disclose it to someone who requests to see their records like an employer.

It is actually illegal for an employer to take into account an offence that has been ‘filtered’ out of the records.

Other offences on this list include common assault, destruction of property and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The survey, carried out by DBS checking platform uCheck.co.uk, asked 3,200 people across the UK if they felt ex-criminals should have these offences wiped.

In Eastbourne 50 per cent of people think minor convictions should remain on records for DBS checks – a figure that fell just below the national average of 54 per cent.

Looking across the country, the West Midlands had the highest figure with 64 per cent believing in keeping the offences on records, while London was the lowest at 43 per cent.

In terms of different sectors it was revealed that respondents in the finance industry felt most strongly about all convictions remaining in DBS checks with 87 per cent saying they should not be eligible for filtering.

Those in the legal industry were keener on second chances with 41 per cent of employees saying minor convictions should not be filtered.

Overall, respondents said DBS records should be filtered after a period of 12 years.

At the moment, criminal records are kept on file by police until the individual turns 100-years-old and a conviction will always be visible in your police records, even if it is filtered from your background check which is what employers see.

To view the full survey go to: https://www.ucheck.co.uk/embeds/clean-slate-infographic/