Hi,
Just curious to know, how do we know if we have criminal record.
With effect from 17 October 2005, the Registration of Criminals Act as amended will allow the record of a minor conviction kept in the Register of Criminals to become spent if the person has stayed crime-free for a specified period. The purpose is to help such deserving ex-offenders put their past behind them and re-integrate into society.
The Registration of Criminals Act is amended to allow the record of a conviction kept in the Register of Criminals for a less serious crime to be considered as spent if the person stays clean after a specified period. The purpose is to help such deserving ex-offenders put their past behind them and re-integrate into the society.
Police Records Office operates from 9 am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
Under the Registration of Criminals Act, there are stipulated criteria to ensure that the need to provide a second chance to ex-offenders is balanced with the security of the rest of society. These criteria are listed in the new section 7B and 7C of the Registration of Criminals Act.
First, the person must satisfy a crime-free period. This is a period of 5 years starting from either the date of sentence (for cases where no term of imprisonment is imposed) or the date of release from legal custody. During the 5 years, the person must not be convicted of another crime, or be unlawfully at large for a crime. He must not be detained or placed under police supervision under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, and he must not be subject to supervision or admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre or other centre for drug or inhalant abuse.
Secondly, the person must not be disqualified from having his record spent on any of the grounds in section 7C , which are that --
An electronic portal was launched by the Police to allow ex-offenders round-the-clock convenience to check whether their personal criminal records have been marked as spent.
The electronic portal may be accessed via the internet websites: http://www.spf.gov.sg or http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg , by using the NRIC number as the login ID and SingPass (Singapore Personal Access) as the authentication password. More information on SingPass can be found on the SingPass website at http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg/singpass/index.htm.
Persons who have no internet access or wish to clarify the contents of the information on the electronic portal may call the inquiry hotline at 6557 5700 during office hours, 9am – 5pm to make an appointment to meet the counter staff of the Police Records Office located at Police Cantonment Complex, in order for the Police to ascertain their identities and safeguard the confidential information.
Step 1
Access the electronic portal at
http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/spent_enquiry.html
Step 2
Click on ‘Check Spent Criminal Record’ button at the bottom of the screen.
Step 3
Enter your NRIC number at the SingPass login page and enter the password at the next page.
More information on SingPass can be found on the SingPass website at http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg/singpass/index.htm .
For enquiries or clarifications on the Spent Status, please contact our counter staff at Police Records Office at:
Tel : +65 - 6557 5700
Email : [email protected]
Fax : +65 – 6223 6793
Registration
of Criminals (Amendment) Bill 2005
What is the purpose of amending the Registration of
Criminals Act?
The amendments are to provide for the records kept in the Register
of Criminals or convictions for minor crimes to become spent, if
they do not re-offend. The purpose is to help such deserving
ex-offenders put their past behind them and re-integrate into the
society.
When will the Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Act
2005 come into operation?
The Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Act 2005 came into
operation on 17 Oct 2005.
What is the definition of criminal record?
The term “criminal record” means a conviction record kept in the
Register of Criminals.
What are the criteria for a person's criminal record to be
rendered spent?
Under the Registration of Criminals Act, conviction records of
minor crimes become spent once the person has satisfied a
crime-free period of not less than 5 consecutive years from:
(i) the date the sentence was passed, after the
sentence is no longer subject to appeal , in the case of a fine;
or
(ii) the date of release from legal custody, in the case of
incarceration.
During these 5 years, the person must not have been:
a. Convicted of a crime;
b. Unlawfully at large in
relation to any crime;
c. Detained or subject to
police supervision under section 30 of the Criminal Law (Temporary
Provisions) Act;
and
d. Subject to a supervision
order or admitted to a DRC under the Misuse of Drugs Act or under
the Intoxicating
Substances Act.
In order to
ensure that only an ex-offender of a minor crime can have his
record become spent, there are several conditions in
place.
A person will be disqualified from having his conviction record in
the register becoming spent if:
a. his conviction was for any crime
specified in the new Third Schedule, which consists of serious
offences;
b. the sentence imposed for that
conviction included:
i. a term of imprisonment exceeding 3 months (does not include a
default sentence for a fine); or
ii. a fine exceeding $2,000;
c. he had committed the crime for
which he was convicted within 5 years after he had been released
from a drug
rehabilitation centre;
d. he has been detained or subject
to police supervision under section 30 of the Criminal Law
(Temporary
Provisions)
Act before the conviction;
e. for the time being, he has a
warrant of arrest for any offence issued against him which remains
unexecuted;
f. he has records in the
register of more than one conviction, whether or not those
convictions arise from the
same
particular occasion; or
g. he has had any previous
record in the register of any of his convictions become spent and
has his convictions
spent
before.
A person was sentenced to a fine by the court. However, he was
imprisoned in default of the payment for the fine. Is this counted
as "term of imprisonment"?
Imprisonment in default is not regarded as a "term of
imprisonment", only the “fine” conviction is considered.
What are the registrable offences which, if a person is
charged with and convicted by the court, will give rise to criminal
records kept in the register by the Police?
Registrable offences are offences listed in the First and Second
Schedules of the Registration of Criminals Act. They are murder,
kidnapping, rape, theft, cheating, trespass, mischief, forgery,
counterfeiting, amongst others.
What are the offences specified in the Third
Schedule?
The Third Schedule lists out the offences for which a criminal
record cannot be spent, such as drug trafficking, rioting, culpable
homicide, causing grievous hurt, sexual offences, gang-robbery,
amongst others.
Is the record of an offence not found in the First and
Second Schedules of the Registration of Criminals Act considered as
a criminal record?
A record of an offence not included in the Schedules of the RCA
(i.e. a non-registrable offence) will not be considered a criminal
record. The term "criminal record" is defined as records of
convictions for offences registered under the Registration of
Criminals Act.
What is the effect of a spent record?
A person with a spent record is deemed to have no such record and
may lawfully not disclose the spent record for all purposes, except
in the case of:
i) any investigation by a person authorised under the law;
ii) any prosecution against the person for any offence;
iii) any proceedings before a court; and
iv) any appointment to an office or employment in a profession for
which the person may be disqualified under written law by reason of
that conviction.
If a person's criminal record is "spent", does it mean that
he can answer "no" when asked if he has a criminal record in an
employment application?
A person who has a criminal record that is rendered spent can say
"no" when asked if he has a criminal record in an employment
application.
If a person's criminal record is "spent", does it mean that
he can answer "no" when asked if he has ever been convicted in a
court of law in an employment application?
A person's criminal record that is rendered spent does not change
the fact that he had been convicted before. Hence the person has to
answer "yes" when asked if he has ever been convicted in a court of
law.
Does a person need to apply to the Police for his record to
be rendered spent? How would a person know whether his criminal
record has been rendered spent?
There is no need for a person to apply to the Police for his record
to be rendered spent. Those who qualify will automatically have
their criminal record rendered spent.
A person may use the electronic portal which was launched by the
Police to allow ex-offenders round-the-clock convenience to check
whether his personal criminal records have been marked as spent.
The electronic portal can be accessed via the internet websites:
http://www.spf.gov.sg or http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg , by using the
NRIC number as the login ID and SingPass (Singapore Personal
Access) as the authentication password. More information on
SingPass can be found on the SingPass website at
http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg/singpass/index.htm.
Alternatively, any person who has no internet access or wish to
clarify the contents of the information on the electronic portal
may call the inquiry hotline at 6557 5700 during office
hours.
What will happen to a person's registrable particulars such
as fingerprints, photographs and body samples records if his
criminal record is rendered spent?
A criminal record that has been rendered spent is not erased from
the Register of Criminals but is marked as spent. Thus, the
registrable particulars collected as part of that criminal record
will still remain in the Register of Criminals kept by the
Police.
Will pending cases against me during or after the 5-year
crime-free period affect my chances of my criminal record of a
previous conviction being rendered spent?
A criminal record becomes spent when a person satisfies a
crime-free period of 5 years. If, during the 5-year period, the
person is convicted in court of another registrable offence, or if
he is unlawfully at large in respect of a registrable offence, his
record will not become spent. In addition, if a person has an
outstanding warrant of arrest, he will be disqualified from having
his record spent as long as the warrant remains outstanding.
However, if the person has satisfied the crime-free period, his
record will become spent and any subsequent conviction or warrant
of arrest will not revive the earlier record.
Will a person who had previously been placed on probation
be eligible for his criminal record to be rendered
spent?
A probation is not considered a conviction and thus not a criminal
record.
Can a person's criminal record be rendered spent if he has
just missed the criteria by a few days or by a few hundred dollars?
Is there an appeal channel?
A person who is disqualified by the conditions stated in section 7C
of the Registration of Criminals Act can apply to the Commissioner
of Police for their criminal records to be rendered spent.
How would a person's spent criminal records affect his
ability to engage in activities overseas, for example, employment,
immigration, studies, adoption? Is it legal for the person to
declare that he has no criminal record to the foreign government
authorities, that is, will he be liable for committing an
offence?
The Registration of Criminals Act is a domestic law which applies
within Singapore. If a person is employed by an employer in
Singapore under Singapore law but posted overseas, the RCA applies,
and he may lawfully not disclose a spent record when asked about
his criminal record. However, if the matter is not governed by
Singapore law, then the answer will depend on the law in the
relevant foreign country.
What is the Home Team doing to educate the public and
employers on giving ex-offenders a second chance?
The Home Team will engage employers to encourage them to ask about
"criminal records" instead of "previous convictions" in their
employment questionnaires.
Will the public be in danger (compromise on public safety)
because ex-offenders are getting their records spent, for this may
mean that there is no prior knowledge of their criminal past and
hence little room for taking precautions against them re-offending
in future?
While the government is committed to giving ex-offenders a second
chance, public safety remains the key concern. This is why only
records of less serious crimes are allowed to be rendered spent.
These are very minor crimes such as shop theft where public safety
would not be compromised even with the implementation of the policy
to render these records spent. Criminal records of serious crimes
such as culpable homicide and drug trafficking will not qualify to
be rendered spent.
Why can't the government take a more liberal approach by
expunging the criminal record of minor offences?
There is a need to strike a balance between the interest of
ex-offenders and the interest of employers and the concerns of
society. As this is a new initiative, the government has decided to
adopt a more cautious approach by providing for records to be spent
instead of expunged. The scheme will be regularly reviewed and the
expunging of criminal records can be considered in the future.
hi,
thanks for the info, I've been reading that. But somehow, i can't see my previous case is under any schedule, unless i've overlooked.
For what i know is unless we have proof of documents for us to apply for the police clearance certificate. But it seems like we can't just check whether do we have records or not. :(
Not sure.
If you want to work in Australia, they may ask for police clearence from your country.
It could come from your home ministry. So, don't you think they got your imprisonment record?
anyone knows if we are able to have a check for our own backgrounds? Have read from aussie embassy, it just stated that sentence not more than 12months, no repeat crimes and so....
I just wanna know, if we are able to check on our own records??
Spent does not mean totally erased from the records.
Your records are still there. It's just been "covered".
For example, under an employment situation when asked whether you have a criminal record, you can answer NO if you qualify under the amendment.
However, if under an employment situation when asked whether you have ever been convicted by a court of law, you have to answer YES, eventhough u qualify under the amendment, does not change the fact that u have been convicted by the court.
You must remember that the amendment only cover Singapore's jurisdiction. If u were to be asked the same questions in Australia, you have to answer YES for both.