PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia’s top prosecutor is making it easier for people to apply to have certain criminal charges removed from their records.
District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the policy shift Wednesday.
Going forward, his staff will not oppose expungement requests for acquittals, convictions on charges that don’t require a jury trial, charges where suspects completed pre-trial diversion programs and in a few other instances.
Prosecutors also will actively seek the erasure of charges that they believe to be unfounded.
The policy will not apply to accusations of domestic or sexual violence because arrest patterns in those cases can be helpful to investigators.
The office’s previous unwritten policy was to seek a court date for every request.
Krasner was a longtime civil rights attorney before winning election last fall.
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