Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 criminal convictions can become spent or ignored after a rehabilitation period, although they remain on the Police National Computer. The rehabilitation period varies depending on the sentence or order imposed by the court - not the offence. Custodial sentences of more than two and half years can never become spent. The following sentences become spent after fixed periods from the date of conviction:
|
Sentence |
Rehabilitation period Age 18 or over when convicted |
Rehabilitation period Age 17 or under when convicted |
|
Prison sentences of 6 months or less, including suspended sentences, youth custody (abolished in 1988) and detention in a young offender institution |
7 years |
3 and half years |
|
Prison sentences of more than 6 months to 2 and half years, including suspended sentences, youth custody (abolished in 1988) and detention in a young offender institution |
10 years |
5 years |
|
Borstal (abolished in 1983) |
7 years |
7 years |
|
Detention Centres (abolished in 1988) |
3 years |
3 years |
|
Fines (even if subsequently imprisoned for fine default), compensation, probation (for convictions on or after 3 February 1995), community service, combination, action plan, curfew, drug treatment and testing and reparation orders |
5 years |
2 and half years |
|
Absolute discharge |
6 months |
6 months |
With some sentences, the rehabilitation period varies:
|
Sentence |
Rehabilitation Period |
|
Conditional discharge or bind-over, probation (for convictions before 3 February 1995), supervision, care-orders |
1 year or until the order expires (whichever is longer) |
|
Attendance centre orders |
1 year after the order expires |
|
Hospital orders )with or without a restriction order) |
5 years or 2 years after the order expires (whichever is longer) |
|
Referral Order |
Once the order expires |
