About Unlock, in brief.
- Unlock is a charity founded by a group of former prisoners who wanted to use their experience so that people with convictions would have better opportunities to move on in their lives.
- We believe that everyone should be able to move on from their past and contribute fully to society.
- We believe people want to lead a positive life and when opportunity unleashes their potential they contribute great things.
- We believe the ultimate solutions to crime lay in social, not criminal justice. Desistance from crime is a by-product of a complex long-term process of identity change and the achievement of potential.
- We focus on the long-term disadvantage of criminal records, impacting on individuals and their families, organisations and communities, and society.
- We work in partnership, and with volunteers, to achieve outcomes at both the individual and systemic level.
Our vision
“A society where individuals are not permanently defined by past mistakes, and where growth, rehabilitation and change are recognised in practice. This vision is rooted in fairness, inclusion and the belief that people should be able to move forward into work, education, family life and civic participation”
Our mission
The organisation’s mission reflects a dual approach:
- Direct support through specialist advice and advocacy
- Systemic change through research, influencing and campaigning
Central to this mission is lived experience leadership. As a lived experience founded and led charity, people with criminal records and not positioned as passive recipients of support but as leaders, experts and decision-makers shaping Unlock’s work.
Our purpose
Unlock exists to address the enduring impact of criminal records, which continue to shape people’s lives long after a sentence has been served. The organisation recognises that current systems; particularly disclosure regimes, employer practices and public stigma, create ongoing barriers to opportunity, dignity and belonging.
Unlock is driven by a simple but urgent purpose:
“To improve life chances for people with criminal records and to change the system that hold them back.”
Read our strategic plan for 2026-31 to find out more about how we will achieve these objectives.
Why are we needed?
Criminal records affect a significant proportion of the UK population of over 12 million people. For many, the consequences extend far beyond the original sentence, impacting employment, housing, education, financial services, health and wellbeing and relationships.
These impacts are not incidental but are produced by systems that:
- Operate automatic disclosure processes
- Encourage risk-averse decision making
- Fail to recognise rehabilitation or context
- Are stigmatising and discriminatory
As a result, punishment is effectively extended beyond the court-imposed sentence.
The consequences are profound:
- Reduced employment opportunities and financial stability
- Housing insecurity
- Deterioration in mental health and wellbeing
- Loss of skills and talent from communities
- Civic and social isolation
Unlock’s role is critical because it sits at the intersection of:
- Frontline experience (through it’s advice and community outreach services_
- Policy and system reform
This unique positioning allows Unlock to identify systemic failures and develop practical solutions grounded in lived reality.
