Closed petition Remove drug-related convictions committed by under 21s from criminal records

Closed on 17 February 2021

I want convictions for drug-related offences committed by under 21s to be cleared from criminal records once the sentence has been served, so that young offenders have the opportunity to make positive changes to their lives and not continue to be penalised throughout their adult life.

I was a young offender who was imprisoned for a drug conviction at 20. I am now 40 and have spent 10 years in recovery rebuilding my life. I am soon to study at postgraduate level and I am still having to disclose my offences 20 years later, which may affect my capacity to move on from my training into a professional setting.

I paid my debt to society and I feel like people should not continue to be penalised for crimes committed 20 years old. The impact of labelling someone as a criminal for the entirety of their lives would have a detrimental effect on an individual's capacity to not only move forward with their lives professionally, but also their belief that they can do so. This law doesn’t give people opportunities to make positive changes and move on.