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Do you think we should get rid of criminal records secrecy?

(35 Posts)
sandelf Sat 27-Oct-18 10:51:42

I think society would be more honest if all criminal court proceeding were available for anyone to view. At first there would be horror as MANY people would be outed as having convictions. (Me too) It would be uncomfortable. But in the long run more honest and less hypocritical.

Chewbacca Sun 28-Oct-18 23:03:52

Come on now MissA, fess up! No GBH lurking in your past? Or a Rover driver perhaps? Surely a game of golf somewhere along the line? And when do you eat your Sunday lunch hmm?

MissAdventure Sun 28-Oct-18 23:05:32

No comment! smile

Dockersgirl1955 Mon 29-Oct-18 04:22:58

I agree with chewbacca definitely destroy records of a crime unless the perpetrator has been incarcerated. Otherwise otherwise a person who committed a crime but the court due to legalities is found to be innocent and not charged then destroy records. Anyone known to have committed a criminal sexual assault should be on the sex offenders list

PECS Mon 29-Oct-18 07:05:38

When people are convicted of a crime it is on record and likely to have been in the media..national or local depending on severity. When a person has served their sentence/ paid their fine then they are entitled to have the opportunity to go forward and live a good & honest life.Many do that. It is hard enoughvfor a person with a recordcto work again ..why make it harder to rebuild a life?

Lilyflower Mon 29-Oct-18 10:03:46

Court proceedings are held in public now and the principle of open justice prevails. The family court is held in camera and it seems that many abuses are perpetrated by those able to use the excuse of protecting minors by the ensuing secrecy.

Sensible people are able to put misdemeanours committed in youth in context. No one condemns a person for a speeding fine where no one was hurt. And so on.

Open justice is justice. Look at the places in the world where so-called justice is dispensed behind closed doors.

EllanVannin Mon 29-Oct-18 11:12:42

I'm one of the " boring " ones of society who hasn't blotted my copybook so far as the law is concerned------but that's not to say that I agree that every person in prison who's been convicted of a crime deserves to be there.
Far from it ! I'm supporting 3 MOJ's as we speak. Those concerned were given life-term sentences for " murder ". One in particular has enough withheld evidence to choke a goat. Withheld from his defence lawyers who after many years have already discovered anomalies and discrepancies in what information they already hold. There is urgent need for transparency in all cases and its lack has created mayhem involving all those concerned in the justice system.
The body known as the CCRC was appointed in the 1990's as a middle ground in investigating miscarriages of justice but--------I have found that it's biased towards prosecution and whatever the judge's/juries final words happened to have been. Waste of time and space. PII is another bone of contention with me. Why isn't it in the public's interest not to know ? To my mind it's because police/investigators have made such a shambles of the case that nobody is ever going to own up on mistakes made,which remain hidden !
In two of the cases which hold my interest both have top scientists involved who've stated that the two " prisoners " are innocent of their "crimes ". One I've studied for the past nearly 7 years which I reckon will be the biggest MOJ that this country will ever see.

GabriellaG Mon 29-Oct-18 20:11:27

Couldn't do anything for Bains?

Dockersgirl1955 Thu 04-Apr-19 01:01:01

A beautiful wedding song is "Everything I do by Bryan Adams Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie/Diana Ross and Love is all Around by Wet Wet Wet good luck for your big day

M0nica Thu 04-Apr-19 08:58:41

driveranna a tragic case, perhaps the solution is more publicity for Sarah's Law, reminding people that if you meet a partner online you can check them out through the police.

Perhaps online dating sites should have a warning loud and clear on the first page and send an automatic email reminder the fitst time a couple make contact through the site.