I have known Romford’s Member of Parliament, Andrew Rosindell, for countless years, having encountered him at events held in his Essex constituency, which happens to be where I was born and educated. Mr Rosindell, a politician with frontbench and backbench experience, has held a multitude of roles during his political career, including that of Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, and Opposition Whip. Since his election in 2001, the MP has become known for his waistcoat-wearing dog, for being a flag aficionado, and his strong views on Brexit. He is considered an influential figure in his party, and that is why, on this windy Friday, I have chosen to talk to him about the somewhat overlooked topic of criminal records and the rehabilitation of offenders.
There is not a universally agreed definition of the word ‘crime’, according to the Open University. The first known use of the word ‘crime’, which is derived from the Latin for ‘accusation’, occurred in the High Middle Ages. I ask Mr Rosindell whether he will attempt to provide a modern and current definition. ‘A criminal is, in my view, somebody who has broken the law of peace by harming another.’ I ask that he elaborates, and he willingly obliges. ‘They may have harmed another, taken something that is not theirs, or created misery at the expense of somebody else.’
‘There should be a pathway,’ he insists, ‘For anybody who has genuinely moved on from their one mistake, there should be a pathway to get back to normal life and to be treated as a normal person.’ I ask him if he thinks there are any exceptions to this idea, and he responds. ‘There are people who have committed heinous crimes, and it does depend on the level of crime and the type of people that have been affected by that crime. There are bad people in this world – lots of people with bad intentions – and no matter how hard you try with them, they have got traits which make them want to do bad things.’
The conversation continues onto the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, which, at the time of the interview, was being ‘looked at’ by the Justice Secretary, The Rt Hon Robert Buckland. Government reforms have since, as of September 2020, been revealed in a White Paper (which is, essentially, an official proposal), entitled ‘A Smarter Approach to Sentencing’, which speaks of enabling criminal sentences of over four years to become ‘spent’ (removed from a criminal record check), but excluding offences classified as ‘serious sexual, violent or terrorist’. Mr Rosindell says he has not studied the Act before, but tells me he believes that ‘human beings can change, evolve, learn and be affected by their surroundings.’ He recalls a number of former offenders who have come to him in the past, explaining that, ‘It’s not something that happens that often, but when it does I always help these people to get support, such as jobs and housing.’
In a number of countries and regions there are creative methods employed when it comes to the matter of criminal records. Christopher Stacey, the co-director of the charity Unlock, composed a report for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in 2014 which placed emphasis on the French concept of ‘judicial rehabilitation’. In many cases (4,156 in 2014), this results in the removal of a criminal conviction from a person’s record, with the further possibility of a ‘rehabilitation certificate’ being issued. ‘I think the certificate of rehabilitation is a great idea, and it sounds like the kind of thing we should consider in this country,’ Andrew Rosindell says. He is of the opinion that it gives people a ‘pathway’, thus making it ‘a good idea’. Nonetheless, he does not consider the concept to be fool proof. ‘The problem we have is that this panel could decide to issue a certificate, but that person could go off and break the law, which is a worry that nobody wants.’ There must be a ‘triple-lock’ he suggests, to ensure a correct process takes place. ‘It would be a way to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I am cautious to make sure it is done in a way that protects the public,’ the MP concludes.
Finally, I ask him if he feels the Conservative Party, which he has represented wholeheartedly since his election as a local councillor thirty years ago, has rehabilitation and the future of ex-offenders on the agenda. ‘It is about doing practical things that will work,’ he says, ‘and I think the Conservatives should be leading on this.’ But he says there are other ‘major issues’ that the party has been dealing with, and this particular issue has been ‘on the back burner’ in the meantime.
Elliot Tyler 