We find that in the United States of America, this would appear to be an incredibly lawless nation, because so many Americans are locked up or have been locked up, or are on probation, or on parole. Perhaps this is a good thing, strictly enforcing "law and order" and keeping the state's good citizens safe and secure. Yet, it needs to be understood that there are all sorts of crimes that are either victimless in the sense that the possession of certain illicit drugs affects only that person who possesses and uses such, and therefore there is no victim; as well as prostitution being a crime even when it is between two consenting adults, and then there are those crimes such as disorderly conduct and loitering, basically structured to get off of the streets those that annoy law enforcement as well as to provide inventory for our prison facilities.
All of the above are the types of crimes, that should seriously be available to be expunged off of people's records, after a relatively short period of time, because when it comes to employment, there are those uncomfortable questions, about having been arrested, let alone convicted of a crime, which clearly are detrimental to securing good employment opportunities, which is the proximate reason why those that have been convicted of victimless as well as other minor crimes, typically labeled as misdemeanors, should be able to avail themselves of having that conviction be expunged from their record, thereby providing them with a pathway in which they can honestly answer the employment question by stating that they have not been, because that conviction is no longer accessible to employers and the general public, for it has been expunged.
Additionally, even those who have been convicted of felonies should have avenues available to them for expungement that may require a more careful look at the circumstances and the charges they were convicted of, and that would permit them, after a reasonable period of time, to have their conviction expunged from their record. While it is true that certain people are absolutely incorrigible, it has to also be recognized that people are subject to change for the better, especially as they mature and age out of their most vulnerable years, which should permit them to extricate themselves from having to wear essentially a "scarlet letter" for life, which thus reduces their opportunities and a fair chance to make good on their lives.
Of course, when it comes to expungement there are going to be plenty of people that are totally against it, because they are firm believers in the necessity to punish those that have committed crimes, but this type of mindset is far too simplistic for our modern-day civilizations, and should be seen as a throwback to a different age and time, in which the point of essentially making certain people to be labeled as "outcasts" was to assert the prime authority of the powers that be, to serve as a visible warning to the commoners, that they ought to know their place and if not obedient, to suffer the opprobrium of that which itself, didn't so much represent the law fairly applied, but to a large extent, represented those that were considered to be above the law, which is why until the law is equally applied to all, without exception or excuse, there needs to be far more expungement.