To think criminals are very common?

That's funny. I miss the emoji

Most of the country lives in areas that are deprived. Youre saying this like it is an insult that someone living in a deprived area should feel ashamed of. Reality is that many of the rich people living in nice areas do so because they have been and still are doing something illegal. Might be tax evasion, might be cocaine dealing, might be fraud. And those who do not? They use their legally earned money to buy drugs, use sex workers, and frequent places which exist to launder money.

Your ignorance is just that, ignorant.

And how nosy / gossipy you are to even know this about so many people

My husband has a criminal record, my ex is in prison. My daughter is in a class of 20 kids and 3 of the parents are drug dealers. I'd say at least half of the parents have some form of criminal record, one of them has just been charged with child trafficking. I suppose it highly depends on where you live.

Is that a serious question? You surely don’t think people who have a criminal record should be unemployed and impoverished forever? Don’t you believe in rehabilitation?

That percentage 'with a criminal record' doesn't only mean convictions or even arrests, it includes cautions and all sorts. Someone erroneously arrested and released without charge has a criminal record under the statistics that are being quoted.

That is very different from being a criminal.

I wouldn't regard someone who nicked from the pick and mix at Woolworths as a kid as a criminal, nor someone who's a little over the 30 mile speed limit on an empty road at night, but both are illegal.

The only person I can think of that I know went to prison was a male teaching assistant at the local primary school. He was absolutely awful, a real Spidey Senses wrong un, and he was eventually charged and convicted of child sexual abuse.

Yes and in America you can risk getting shot and killed too.

I was referring to your That's hardly comforting to people who have spent 40 years not breaking the law and not getting interviews.

40 years and not getting any interviews…. Something is clearly very evidently not right with that person.

Definitely social circle dependent if you are talking about arrests/cautions.

If you just mean speeding, fair enough I think most people have gone over the speed limit at least once in their life, even if they have never been caught.

You can’t discriminate for a criminal record.

rather begs the question what they are for then ?

I have more than one family member with a criminal conviction, so yes it seems to be reasonably common to me.

I know of quite a lot of people who have taken drugs, criminal damage, things like that but not been caught.

You can’t discriminate for a criminal record. If someone is the best person for the role and the criminal record isn’t relevant (ie not an accountant with a fraud conviction or a teacher with a CSA conviction) then they should get the job.

why would you want to make rehabilitated people’s lives worse by not letting them use their skills and experience?

Well they haven't got a police record.

You know what, I forgot my own mother was prosecuted for drink driving and had a criminal record (long since spent) in 1972.

my BILs mum lives in Russia and drink drives everywhere, just slipping any police who interfere a wad of cash, which makes you think about the reality of people who have criminal records vs “criminals” ie the unprosecuted.

nothing on earth would make me “distance myself” from my mother, I’d sooner not live. If anyone suggested they would I would assume they had an unrelated terrible relationship with their mum.

It’s astonishing how often mental health issues escalate into this situation.

Imagine believing you need to fight for your life because you’re going to be killed and oh look, 5 police officers had to leap on you and put you in cuffs to get you in the ambulance- maybe you smacked one of them, or a paramedic whilst you fought for your life. It’s so sad and very frightening. And it could happen to any of us.

Is there a way of checking your own DBS?

Not automatically it doesn’t

it has to be serious for it to have a requirement to be indefinitely disclosed

Yes I have 2. The other is filtered off now I believe. But affray stays forever from what I have read.

If someone with no criminal history has been job hunting for 4 decades and not managed to get an interview…. Then something is likely very seriously wrong. With the someone applying.

You would be astounded at the number of people with records and the types of offences.

That's hardly comforting to people who have spent 40 years not breaking the law and not getting interviews.

but it does explain why most places are a little bit shit.

You referred to multiple cautions @TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater ?

. Now I have to have an appropriate adult with me if I end up in a police station

so yes, it sounds like your caution was indeed for something serious hence it having to be indefinitely disclosed

It was affray. Two cops tried to get me out my house. Was a welfare check. I did not want to talk to them and I would not go and started screaming and shouting. I was arrested. I had never been in a police station before and was in a bad way and self harmed in the cell. I said no to a solicitor as I was too upset and didnt want to talk anyone at all.
I accepted a caution but still am not sure what it was really for. I have looked up what affray is and it does not sound like what happened at all but it was their word against mine. Now I have to have an appropriate adult with me if I end up in a police station although last time I was refused one but I have not been in one since anyway.
I have been diagnosed as autistic since then.

Youth Cautions do not appear on DBS checks and only serious caution have to be indefinitely declared otherwise its 6 years. So….

@TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater that means your cautions were…. serious

I was very surprise to learn that a third of men in the uk have a criminal record. I would have never guessed it was this high.

As far as I'm aware, I hardly know anyone with a criminal record. I'm not counting driving offences like speeding. I know someone who got a caution once for something they didn't realize was illegal. I suspect a distant cousin might have committed a crime at some point in his life but I don't know for sure. I'm quite confident I don't know anyone who has been to prison.

Yes, I realize people don't boast of their criminal records so I might just not know. But I would be genuinly shocked if anyone from my family or close friends turned out to be a criminal.

I myself am very law abiding, as far as I know the closest I ever came to breaking the law was overstaying parking at a leisure center for which I was fined £60.