Government wants minor drug possession convictions removed from police conduct

Government wants convictions for minor drug possession to be removed from people's criminal records once they reform and will be holding a public consultation on the proposal.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and Reforms Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg met stakeholders and former prisoners on Monday to kick start this process. The proposal could be extended to other minor convictions in the future.

Attard said people convicted of certain crimes can already benefit from the right to be forgotten by asking that their names be removed from online records. He said this was intended to give them a second chance but added the next step beckoned to expunge minor crimes from their police conduct.

The minister condemned social media users who judge and find persons guilty before they appear in court. 

“Everyone is a human. Instead of judging, we should be understanding and helping people start over in life,” he said.

Buttigieg underscored that government will not be justifying any crime but rather offer a second chance to people who have reformed.

She said government is open for discussion on this “injustice” and as promised in the general election manifesto, a public consultation on the subject will take place in the coming months.

“We must change these outdated attitudes which are causing further injustices with these people,” she said.

Earlier, several people recalled how the criminal conduct continues to haunt people who have reformed themselves. Such people end up serving “a second sentence” for trying and failing to rebuild their lives, various panellists said.