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Criminal Convictions Policy and Procedure for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Admissions – July 2016
Criminal Convictions Policy and Procedure for Undergraduate
and Postgraduate Admissions
Definitions
Relevant criminal conviction
Relevant criminal convictions, as defined by UCAS, are convictions for:
Offences involving any kind of violence including (but not limited to) threatening behaviour,
the intention to harm or actual bodily harm
Offences listed in the Sex Offenders Act 2003
The unlawful supply of controlled drugs or substances where the conviction concerns
commercial drug dealing or trafficking
Offences involving firearms
Offences involving arson
Offences listed in the Terrorism Act 2006
Convictions that are ‘spent’ are not ‘relevant’
1
.
Spent convictions
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 as amended enables some criminal convictions to
become ‘spent’ after a ‘rehabilitation period’. The rehabilitation period varies depending on
the sentence imposed by the court. Custodial sentences of more than
four years can never
become ‘spent’.
Scope
1.
This policy applies to applications for all undergraduate and postgraduate provision at the
University (including Newcastle University London) with the exception of courses in teaching
and health and courses involving work with children or vulnerable adults. These courses have
particular requirements relating to the disclosure of warnings, reprimands, cautions and
criminal convictions which are dealt with on a course by course basis and require applicants to
agree to submit to criminal record checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service
2
.
2.
For the purposes of this policy, criminal convictions are only relevant criminal convictions as
defined above and, for the avoidance of doubt, do not include ‘spent’ convictions. There are
some programmes where Disclosure and Barring Service checks may not be required, but
where professional requirements demand disclosure of criminal offences which do not come
under the definition of ‘relevant criminal conviction’ above. Applicants for such programmes
1
The charity “Unlock” offers helpful guidance on when convictions are spent
( www.unlock.org.uk )2
The Disclosure and Barring Service is a Government organisation which carries out criminal record checks for specific
positions, professions and employment included in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
These include, for example, teaching, medicine, dentistry and other professions involving work with children or
vulnerable adults.