COMMITTEE ON POLICE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE FOR REHABILITATED EX-OFFENDERS INAUGURATED
By Nicholas Kigondu
Efforts to have rehabilitated ex-offenders acquire police clearance certificates received a boost Thursday with the inauguration of a committee to look into the possibility of having ex-offenders acquire the important document.
Speaking as she inaugurated the committee on police clearance certificate for rehabilitated ex-offenders, Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome Beacco said it was important that the committee examines existing gaps that have derailed the quest for reformed ex-offenders to get clearance.
And with the government’s agenda of generating employment for the unemployed through export of labor, the PS said if recommendations of the committee will succeed in having records of reformed offenders sealed, it would allow them seek police clearance certificates which will help them in securing jobs.
According to the PS, the department has instituted a host of reforms within the correctional system meant to equip offenders with requisite skills, including formal and informal education, to ensure they are fully rehabilitated and reformed in preparation for their re-integration back into the society.
Members of the committee will be expected to review global good practices, current legal frameworks and challenges and deliberate on key considerations for issuing nil certificates for submission to the National Council on the Administration of Justice ahead of its next meeting scheduled for 18th of February 2025.
The committee, tasked with making recommendations to the National Council on the Administration of Justice for consideration, draws representation from the State Department for Correctional Services, power of mercy advisory committee, directorate of criminal investigations, Attorney General’s office and the National Council on the Administration of Justice.