please help

[jferdes]

My sister was in court for shoplifting in January. She pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge for 12 months, which ends in January 2012. She was also ordered to pay £85

I would like to know if she needs to declare this in any job application after January 2012.
Does she need to declare it top insurance companies for home or car insurance?
She may have to give evidence in court as a witness, hopefully after the 12 months are up, will this conditional discharge still come up then?
When applying for a visa dose this need to be declared after the 12 months?

Many thanks for any advice.

[Buenchico]

Convictions resulting in a conditional discharge become 'spent' (other than as below) after 12 months or at the end of the discharge period, whichever is the longer. So, in this case (since the periods are the same anyway) your sister's conviction will be 'spent' in January 2012.

So your sister won't haver to declare her conviction when applying for employment UNLESS that employment is exempted from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. (e.g. for posts working with, or alongside, children or vulnerable adults, or for work within the criminal justice system). When applying for such employment (or for voluntary work, such as with the Girl Guides or other youth groups) no conviction is EVER regarded as spent.

The position with regard to insurance applications is more clear cut. The conviction will be regarded as spent and she won't have to declare it.

Other than in very exceptional circumstance, the criminal record of court witnesses may not be disclosed to the magistrates (or to the jury in a Crown Court). Those circumstances are unrelated to whether a conviction is spent or not.

Assuming that your sister holds a UK passport, she won't need a visa to travel to any EU country. Many other countries either offer visa-free travel to British tourists, or never enquire about criminal convictions. However where such questions do form part of the visa application process overseas authorities don't recognise the UK's Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, so convictions are NEVER regarded as 'spent, and must always be declared.

In particular, the USA's Immigration and Nationality Act places a life-long ban on anyone ever convicted of an offence of 'moral turpitude' from entering their country. (There are limited exceptions but they won't apply to your sister). Theft constitutes 'moral turpitude' so, in the first instance, the US Embassy would be obliged to refuse your sister a visa. However the application could then be forwarded to Washington as an application for a 'waiver of permanent ineligibility'; if that was granted then the US Embassy could re-consider the application. It should be noted that the process (for those with convictions of 'moral turpitude') is extremely lengthy; it typically takes at least 5 months, with delays of up to 15 months being reported by others on this website. So, if your sister is planning to travel to the USA, she needs to apply for her visa WELL in advance of booking any travel.

Chris

[jferdes]

Thank you for the very helpful answer. I have one more point that I did not clarify in the initial question:
My sister works for the civil service and so occasionally -may be once in a few years, may need to give evidence in court over a fraud of some kind that has been committed by a member of the public (eg. fradulent ID or passport when making an application). I am concerned that if and when she goes to court as a witness she may be found out.

Thanks again for your help.

[Buenchico]

Thanks for your reply.

The conviction won't be mentioned in court but, if your sister's employer carries out periodic CRB checks on staff (on the grounds that they're involved in the 'administration of justice'), the conviction will always show up on any such check.

Chris