People get discharges without convictions for offences far more serious than a little bit too much argy-bargy after a few too many with friends after closing time.

Source: Discharge without conviction numbers slump | Radio New Zealand News.
If an offences serious enough to jeopardise your job, an employer would sack you in any case because you are found guilty rather than the entry of a conviction. Allowing criminals to conceal their criminal convictions from future employers allows them to conceal their bad character. It puts law-abiding citizens at a disadvantage to criminals.
Nice members of the middle class are put off committing offences in the first place because of career concerns. In any case, the Spent Convictions Act allows a way out after 7 years.
A few years ago, the Court of Appeal tightened up the criteria to a conviction being all out of proportion of the offence. That means burglars, robbers, sex offenders and thugs got away with it still but less so in the past.
In the past, you just come to court and asked for discharge without conviction. Now you must produce a considerable amount of evidence of the undue career cost.
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