When I was 17, I made a serious mistake and ended up serving six months in prison. As soon I got out, I vowed to myself that I would never go back.
Even at that young age, I knew that a good job was the key to turning my life around. But because I’d been incarcerated, my conviction would have to be disclosed on an employer’s DBS check for the rest of my life. Every career path I’d once hoped to follow was now a dead end.
That was in the 1970s. And yet, nearly 50 years later, the way we treat people with childhood convictions in England and Wales has hardly changed. Today, a criminal record still follows a child around well into adulthood and often for life. It impacts everything: access to education, housing, travel and, critically, employment.
Even a conditional caution must be disclosed to any employer who asks for a check for three months, often costing a young person a job when they need it most. And for children convicted of taking part in a fight — also known as affray, they must disclose that conviction until they’re 100 years old, even if no-one was injured.
That is not justice. That’s a permanent penalty for being a kid who’s made a mistake — a penalty that can be corrected.
Right now, the Ministry of Justice has an opportunity to begin reforming how we treat childhood criminal records in the 2025 Crime and Policing Bill. A proposed amendment would require the government to produce a report evaluating how childhood convictions and cautions are handled in England and Wales. This review would examine how to respond more appropriately to minor offences, stop treating children as adults in the justice system and identify the legal changes needed to make that shift a reality.
This reporting requirement would be a vital first step toward reforming the current law — the same overly punitive system I was subjected to a half century ago, and which now affects an estimated 13,000 children per year. These are not hardened criminals. Many of them are kids in crisis like I was, struggling with problems at home, bullying, trauma, poverty or other challenges. These children need help, not a life sentence to economic and social exclusion.
I know how powerful a second chance can be. After I got out of prison, I finally found work as a truck driver and not long after, an opportunity came that would really transform my life: an army recruiter decided to look past my criminal conviction and let me enlist.
Having the door opened for me changed my whole trajectory. It set me on the path to a successful career, public service and ultimately business leadership.
Today, as the Director of Rehabilitation at Iceland Foods, I lead a corporate initiative focused on hiring people with criminal records. We’ve employed more than 350 people since we started, and one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that creating opportunities for people coming out of prison — especially young people — is not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.
Right now, England and Wales needs people with records participating in the workforce. There are currently nearly 800,000 open jobs and some industries are facing chronic labour shortages. We cannot afford to lock out skilled workers because of mistakes they made as children.
My childhood record will follow me around for the rest of my life, despite me serving my country, being ordained as a priest and dedicating my life to helping others. I was lucky someone took a chance on me all those years ago, but not everyone gets that opportunity. Most don’t.
Everyone deserves fair treatment by the justice system, including those of us who made mistakes as children. I urge the government to pass the FairChecks amendment in the 2025 Crime and Policing Bill, complete its report on the management of childhood offences and begin the long overdue process of rebuilding our justice system such that every young person has a chance to grow up, learn from their mistakes and contribute to our economy and communities.
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