Will I have a criminal record after conviction?
You will have a criminal record if you are convicted of a criminal offence. A criminal defence lawyer is best placed to evaluate if there is a valid defence to the charges against you. Having obtained the relevant information from you, a criminal defence lawyer can send written submissions to the Attorney General’s Chambers to ask for your charges to be dropped or reduced. Alternatively, a criminal defence lawyer can claim trial for you to show to the judge that the elements required to make out a criminal charge against you are not present and that you should be acquitted of the criminal charges that you face.
Compounded offences
Compounding an offence means that the offence is settled between the accused and the victim without entering a conviction against the accused. This is usually done by the accused offering the victim both monetary compensation and an apology. If the offence is compounded, the accused will not have a criminal record. Only certain offences can be compounded. The offences that can be compounded are set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Probation
Probation is a community sentence considered for young offenders, which does not leave a criminal record. Under section 5 of the Probation of Offenders Act, you are generally eligible for probation if you are:
A first-time offender;
Older than 16 years of age and younger than 21 years of age;
Charged with an offence that does not carry a sentence fixed by law.
To avoid a criminal record, you should consult a criminal defence lawyer to assess the criminal offences that you have been charged with. If your finances are an obstacle to you hiring a criminal defence lawyer on your own, you should apply to the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS) to see if you qualify for legal aid. Unable to qualify for legal aid? You can try law firms that offer low bono, i.e. below market rate legal services, such as DMO Law Corporation.
