Call to wipe criminal records of 18-35 year olds

The National Freedom Party Youth Movement wants criminal records of convicts aged between 18 to 35 removed after the completion of their sentences.

In a statement, the movement "pleaded" with the state and the Department of Justice to consider removing the names of "young people convicted for minor offences from the system to allow them to start afresh".

The movement's secretary general Maria Tshabalala said criminal records reflected badly on CVS and made young South Africans unemployable.

"We have young people who are currently having criminals for petty crimes such as stealing sweets or participating in an illegal protest march in institutions of higher learning.

"South Africa is faced with a huge challenge of unemployment and young people are facing the brunt of this crises and criminal records also contribute to them being unemployable as many companies do not trust people with criminal records and we feel it's really not fair that such small offences can be allowed to ruin a person's life."

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