Does this person have a criminal record?

[krayzie_]

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I know this person right they got charged with;

1. Assualt with intent to rob whilst being armed with an offensive and dangerous weapon

2. Malicious wounding inflicting GBH

They were aged 14 and 15 at the time of being charged and was subsequently convicted and incarcerated for four and a half years with a non- parole period of two years and two and a half parole. The maximum a juvenile can get from the childrens court is a control order of two years. These people were at childrens court but because the charge was a serious indictable offense they were moved to the Downing center (Adult court) to be charged as adults. Nature of the crime was as the charge quoted above. Offensive weapon = machete, Dangerous weapon = 0.22 long rifle, bolt action.

They have long since done their time and were released in 2001, if I remember correctly - now its 2008 and they want to know if they apply for a job and it had the usual "Do you have a criminal record?" Do they need to tick? As they were juveniles at the time and its been over 5 years now I would think that the conviction is now considered "spent" and no declaration is necessary?

I know the cops will always have that information on their system, but what I need to know is do those juveniles need to declare? Or are they okay to tick NO for NO criminal record?

Anyone knowledgeable who knows the answer?

[thegovernator]

interesting question but I have no idea, sorry.

Originally Posted by krayzie_

I know this person right they got charged with;

1. Assualt with intent to rob whilst being armed with an offensive and dangerous weapon

2. Malicious wounding inflicting GBH

They were aged 14 and 15 at the time of being charged and was subsequently convicted and incarcerated for four and a half years with a non- parole period of two years and two and a half parole. The maximum a juvenile can get from the childrens court is a control order of two years. These people were at childrens court but because the charge was a serious indictable offense they were moved to the Downing center (Adult court) to be charged as adults. Nature of the crime was as the charge quoted above. Offensive weapon = machete, Dangerous weapon = 0.22 long rifle, bolt action.

They have long since done their time and were released in 2001, if I remember correctly - now its 2008 and they want to know if they applied for a job and it had the usual "Do you have a criminal record?" Do they need to tick? As they were juveniles at the time and its been over 5 years now I would think that the conviction is now considered "spent" and no declaration is necessary?

I know the cops will always have that information on their system, but what I need to know is do those juveniles need to declare? Or are they okay to tick NO for NO criminal record?

Anyone knowledgeable who knows the answer?

If i were them, considering how serious these offences are and that they were bordering on juvenile/adult, i woudl assume that it would need to be disclosed. However given the ramifications of doing so, I would definitely contact a lawyer, legal aid etc - or if this was not financially possible, call Law Access - 1300 888 529 - its a free telephone legal advice service. Having a legal practitioner "okay" your decision may be of assistance particularly should this decision be incorrect and have future consequences.

I would think that in this case, as the offences were serious and they received custodial sentences, the only avenue (IMO that is - and i certainly do not know this area of law in depth) whereby they could justify non-disclosure would be if the convictions were said to be "spent", as you said.

But whether or not its a spent conviction is obviously significant - its less for a juvenile but it depends on the offence so around 5 years is pretty accurate - but if they were not tried in a Children's Court the offence may be said to be an adult offence so the requisite time may not have passed in order for the convictions to qualify as spent convictions - that could be closer to a decade rather than up to 5 years.

That would be something that the Law Access phone line might be able to help with as far as the exact number of years that need to pass.

Might also be worth asking a Legal Professional whether declaring those offences is necessary as far as whether it is relevant to the job as employers are only supposed to request information concerning criminal records where it is relevant to the job - eg traffic offences if the job is driving limos or child abuse if the job is teaching.


Definitely worth contacting a lawyer or at least Law Access to find out what the law is here to be on the safe side not only to know what to disclose, but also to assist should they be refused employment unreasonably on this basis etc

[hfis]

Surely visiting the local constabulary would be a better avenue than posting on a forum full of law students, most of whom would have limited exposure to criminal law? I'm sure if the juveniles in question went in and politely presented their circumstances, they'd get a straight answer.

[William_Lawry]

4.5 years?? what a joke our judical system is

[thegovernator]

Give us shariah law

Originally Posted by hfis

Surely visiting the local constabulary would be a better avenue than posting on a forum full of law students, most of whom would have limited exposure to criminal law? I'm sure if the juveniles in question went in and politely presented their circumstances, they'd get a straight answer.

Completely agree - unless of course the poster is asking purely out of curiosity or for their own interest etc