More than a third of men and almost one in 10 women in Scotland are likely to have at least one criminal conviction, according to a new report.
The figures were revealed in a research paper examining changes to the law governing when criminal convictions are considered spent.
In was produced in response to a Scottish Government consultation on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) to be launched this summer.
The act has been criticised for not achieving the right balance between protecting the public and allowing people to put their previous offending behaviour behind them and get back into employment.
Concerns have been raised that rehabilitation periods set out in law are too long and offenders face stigma while waiting for a criminal record to expire.
A significant portion of the population faces regular criminal record checks, researchers from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) found.
Scottish Government analysis of data from the Scottish Offenders Index showed that more than a third (38%) of men and almost one in 10 (9%) of women born in 1973 are known to have at least one criminal conviction.
“Extrapolating to the population as a whole, at least one third of the adult male population and nearly one in 10 of the adult female population is likely to have a criminal record,” it said.
Authors Fergus McNeill, Paul McGuinness and Sarah Armstrong suggest possible reforms to the system including modification of the waiting periods for convictions to become spent and issuing ex-offenders with a certificate of rehabilitation.