While he faces losing his livelihood and home, it’s the thought of wrongly being considered a hardened criminal that causes Craig London to break down.
“Ashamed. People have got thinking this is me,” he told 7NEWS.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Logan truckie lumped with criminal record that is not his.
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“I’ve never been in trouble my whole life.”
Seven months ago, the Logan man and career truck driver applied for a job that required a criminal history check.
It is a standard requirement in his industry, and London had no qualms about meeting it.
That was until the results of the check were returned.
The rap sheet includes offences dating back 36 years, indicating a pattern of violent thievery with armed robbery, assault and firearm offences convictions in 2022, 2011, 1999, 1989 and 1988 in NSW.
The 25 offences in 2011 stem from a two-week crime spree, including armed robberies and violent break and enters.
“It comes back that I’m worse than Ned Kelly,” London said.
That criminal history has been attached to London’s identity, meaning other prospective employers carrying out a background check are given the same information.
He has been unemployed since.
7NEWS has confirmed with the NSW courts system via the state’s Department of Communities and Justice that London had “zero” criminal history in the state.
The NSW Police criminal records unit also found “no disclosable court outcomes” relating to London.
He has signed character references from a previous workplace covering the period the record claimed he was in prison.
But the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), which performs the checks, has declined to correct its findings and would not comment on London’s situation, citing privacy concerns.
In a statement, it said its National Police Checking Service results “may contain errors” due to the “manual nature of some matching decisions”.
That’s little comfort for London, who fears he’s about to lose “everything” due to being unable to find work since, with avenues including the NSW Ombudsman proving fruitless.
London doesn’t care who takes responsibility for the mistake, he just wants the record corrected so he can move on and return to work and a normal life.
“I’ve never been arrested, never handcuffed, never taken into questioning,” he said.
“I’ve been a truckie all my life, had some good jobs, now I’ve been prevented doing what I love.
“I’m about to lose everything I own. Everything. Where I live, my wife, everything.
“No one wants to listen … everyone’s scared to go near it.
“I’m just over having doors shut all the time. I just want someone to help.”
After London’s story was first broadcast by 7NEWS, ACIC announced a change in its process where criminal history check results will not be shared with a prospective employer if the results are being disputed.
“All police checks, whether submitted through police agencies or ACIC accredited bodies are processed by the ACIC. Both the police and ACIC accredited bodies provide an avenue to dispute check results,” ACIC said in a statement.
“From July 1, 2024, the process for disputes will be strengthened further to ensure that applicants are provided with the opportunity to dispute the information contained on their police check (if it is incorrect or does not belong to them) directly with the accredited body that submitted their check prior to the results being released to an authorised third party.”
The saga has taken a severe toll on London’s health and he says he has been close to giving up the fight.
“At that stage, everything for me was finished … (it was) over,” he said.
“But where would that get me? Where would that get the people who love me?”