Mistakes must not haunt a young person's future

Northern Ireland's annual "marching season" has, thankfully, so far been a relatively peaceful one. In the past, this has been a time when some young people became involved in what is sometimes, and wrongly, described as "recreational rioting". Unfortunately, it is anything but recreational and young people who were involved in the past are learning that the repercussions can last a lifetime.

To be clear, I don't condone children or young people becoming involved in such behaviour. But I am worried by the fact that they can be put at risk by adults who should be protecting them. The reality is that some young people have now, as a result, come into contact with the criminal justice system by receiving a "diversionary disposal" in the form of a warning or caution from police. This can have a damaging effect on future education, training, employment and travel opportunities.

Fast forward a few years when they are applying for jobs, visas or training and they find out that their mistake - of getting caught up in the moment, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and their lack of appropriate guidance as a child - is dictating the direction of their lives. It is acting as a barrier to opportunities because an entry is showing up when checks are made on their record.

The only way to stop offending behaviour is through training, education and employment. How can this happen if an action taken as a child continues to prevent access to these opportunities?

A 2011 review of the youth justice system in Northern Ireland made a recommendation to allow young people to apply for a clean slate at 18. This has not been accepted by the Department of Justice over here. The United Nations guidance on juvenile justice policies is clear: it says it must be considered that "youthful behaviour", including some behaviour that could lead young people into the justice system, is "often part of the growth process" and tends to disappear in most individuals when they "transition to adulthood".

Clean slate policy

With this in mind, I want the Department of Justice to accept the "clean slate" recommendation of the youth justice review, while I recognise the discussions that still need to take place in relation to how this may impact on keeping other children and vulnerable people safe.

The minister for justice has introduced a filtering scheme that took effect in April. This will filter some old and minor disposals from criminal record checks that are carried out by employers and educational establishments.

While the concept is welcomed, how it will work in practice is yet to become clear. The list of things that won't be filtered from a person's record, including records held from childhood, is so long that it seems it will not help young people who even make the most minor mistakes.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland can also decide to include information about convictions or cautions that have been filtered, but which it considers "might be relevant and ought to be disclosed". I will continue to engage with the Department of Justice to monitor the implementation of the scheme.

We must protect young people from becoming involved in the criminal justice system, for their safety but also to protect their future opportunities. While there are individuals and organisations that do this daily, we need the support of government and child rights-based legislation and policies.

We need this to make sure that the best interests of those young people who made mistakes or lacked guidance are taken into consideration so that they feel valued, are engaged and are fully supported to become active citizens.

They must be afforded every opportunity to contribute to society through employment, training, volunteering and education without their past coming back to haunt them.

Patricia Lewsley-Mooney is the children’s commissioner for Northern Ireland