Non-public criminal record system for serious offences and utilisation of system in screening persons for positions of trust involving children

Question:

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) when SPF began maintaining a non-public record of persons convicted of serious offences under the Registration of Criminals Act; (b) how many active records relate to sex offenders; (c) how many individuals have been screened out of positions of trust involving children annually since the record's inception; and (d) how many times MOE has approached MHA to screen individuals with this record.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. The statutory basis for maintaining a record of persons convicted of registrable offences can be traced to the commencement of the Registration of Criminals Ordinance 1931. The Ordinance has been reviewed over the years, and is known today as the Registration of Criminals Act 1949.

2. Police share relevant criminal records with Government agencies, including the Ministry of Education, if they need to conduct pre-employment screening for positions of trust that involve access to children. The final employment decision is made by the respective Government agency.

3. Police do not actively track the number of records that relate to sexual offences, nor the number of times that they have been approached for such screening requests.