Fitz-Henley urges Jamaicans to use opportunities provided by amended expungement law
KINGSTON, Jamaica — State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Senate Abka Fitz-Henley has urged Jamaicans who will benefit via opportunity for expungement of their record following passage of the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) (Amendment) Act 2026 in Parliament not to squander the second chance afforded to them.
Senator Fitz-Henley made the appeal while he made his contribution to debate on the bill which was approved in the upper house on Friday.
“I appeal to our citizens who will benefit from passage of this bill into law, and resolve to take advantage of this opportunity. I urge our brothers and sisters whose progress has been affected by a lesser, often non-custodial conviction which was placed on their criminal record, do no squander this opportunity, take advantage of the second chance and commit to being positive contributors to your own welfare, that of your family and the wellbeing of society on a whole”, Minister Fitz-Henley said.
Fitz-Henley told Parliament that the bill has his support because it brings Jamaica in line with functional and modern laws in developed countries including in North America, Oceania and the general commonwealth region which have variations of the law which are known as Spent Convictions, the Clean Slate Act and the Record Conviction Act.
The state minister says the bill also has his support because it will provide an opportunity for transformation of the lives of people who have made mistakes which offended the law but are genuinely interested in changing their lives and contributing positively to society.
However, Fitz-Henley cautioned that passage of the bill should not be confused with the Government being soft on crime.
“Quite the contrary, this Government has demonstrated that where and when necessary, even when we do not get cooperation from some stakeholders including the Opposition, we are prepared to pass tough laws to reduce violent crime and that is a large part of why we are able to report to the country today that the latest data from the police indicate that as this first month of this new year draws to a close, murders are down by 54 per cent, that is as of January 29 this year. This follows a 41 per cent reduction for the duration of last year.”
Fitz-Henley says the passage of the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) (Amendment) Act 2025 should be accurately contemplated as the Government being prepared to adopt a holistic approach to achieving positive social transformation via legislative processes.
The Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act allows for the removal of certain convictions from a person’s criminal record after a rehabilitation period. The amendments debated in the Senate today expands eligibility to include sentences up to 10 years (previously five), and introduce automatic expungement for lesser, non-custodial convictions dating before January 1, 2005.
The intent of the Act is to give rehabilitated individuals a “second chance” by allowing them to start afresh without being haunted by a past conviction. Applicants must have served their sentence and maintained a clean record for a specific rehabilitation period (generally 3 to 10 years, depending on the offence).
Serious offences such as murder, rape, and drug trafficking cannot be expunged. Applications are reviewed by the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Board.
