Author: Unlock Admin

Reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act “will make a huge difference to thousands of people, but they don’t go far enough” says Unlock

On Monday 10th March, the UK Government will finally implement reforms to the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The charity Unlock has campaigned for changes for many years.

Christopher Stacey, Co-Director at Unlock, says:

“There are over 9 million people in England & Wales with a criminal record and more than 1.2 million people get convicted at court every single year. For the majority of these people, these changes mean that the length of time they’ll need to disclose their conviction for will be reduced – for example, more than 800,000 people a year receive a fine at court, and the rehabilitation period for this will reduce from 5 years to 1 year.“

“We know from our helpline that there are thousands of people who were convicted many years ago and have lived law-abiding lives ever since, yet they’ve struggled to find stable employment and pay their taxes because of a conviction that was previously never spent. For many of these people, the reforms will reduce the likelihood that they will face prejudice from employers when applying for most jobs. That’s why we’re publishing updated guidance on the changes so that people know where they stand, and we’ve also updated our free online tool, www.disclosurecalculator.org.uk, which helps people work out when their convictions become ‘spent’ under the Act.”

“Nevertheless, the reforms don’t go far enough. For example, because of the way that the Government has responded to concerns raised by the insurance industry, many people with minor motoring offences will still find themselves having to disclose a conviction to employers for 5 years, which is now longer than somebody who receives an 8 month prison sentence. The law will also continue to tell over 7,200 individuals ever year who are sentenced to over 4 years in prison that they can never be legally rehabilitated, no matter what they do to change their ways.”

“The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act has also been weakened over the years with an increasing number of exceptions to it. Over 4 million standard and enhanced criminal record checks are carried out every year, and these disclose spent convictions without any real assessment as to whether they’re relevant to the job role. We want to see the Government review this exceptions list, and look more closely at what is disclosed on these checks, so that only relevant spent convictions are disclosed.”

“The Government must also do more to clamp down on employers carrying out ineligible standard or enhanced checks. The changes on the 10th March focus specifically on when convictions become spent, and any employer is entitled to carry out a basic disclosure as part of their recruitment process. However, figures releases to us last week from the Disclosing and Barring Service shows that, between March 2012 and February 2014, the DBS stopped 1,385 applications from employers who were looking to carry out a level of criminal record check that they weren’t entitled to.”

“It is clear to us through the work we do with employers that many recruitment and HR managers do not understand this important area of the law and how this effects their recruitment process. It’s important to recognise that this legislation doesn’t deal with how employers should deal with unspent criminal convictions as part of their recruitment process. Part of our focus is in providing practical support to employers so that they’re able to develop safe and effective recruitment processes which enable them to find the best person for the job and not simply rule people out because they have a criminal conviction.”

END

Notes to editors
1. Press/media contact: Christopher Stacey, Co-Director, christopher.stacey@unlock.org.uk / 07557 676433
2. Unlock is an independent award-winning charity, providing trusted information, advice and support for people with criminal convictions. Our staff and volunteers combine professional training with personal experience to help others overcome the long-term problems that having a conviction can bring. Our knowledge and insight helps us to work with government, employers and others, to change policies and practices to create a fairer and more inclusive society so that people with convictions can move on in their lives. Our website is unlock.devchd.com.
3. More information about changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act can be found at unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice//changestotheroa
4. Unlock’s updated guidance on the Act will be available here from Monday 10th March 2014

Sexual offences and the changes to the ROA

Since we got the news about the changes to the ROA coming in on the 10th March 2014, our helpline has had lots of people contacting us wanting to be sure about how it effects them.

One of the common mistakes we’re seeing is that people with convictions for sexual offences think that this alters the time they are subject to the notification requirements.

Unfortunately, the Government made it clear when passing these changes that they didn’t have any plans to alter the notification periods under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

This means that it’s perfectly possible for you to have your conviction regarded as ‘spent’ under the ROA changes, but you still be subject to the notification requirements.

We’ve added some information to our page on sexual offences that hopefully helps to clarify this.

Sexual offences and the ROA

This update is taken from our Information Hub

Since we got the news about the changes to the ROA coming in on the 10th March 2014, our helpline has had lots of people contacting us wanting to be sure about how it effects them.

One of the common mistakes we’re seeing is that people with convictions for sexual offences think that this alters the time they are subject to the notification requirements.

Unfortunately, the Government made it clear when passing these changes that they didn’t have any plans to alter the notification periods under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

This means that it’s perfectly possible for you to have your conviction regarded as ‘spent’ under the ROA changes, but you still be subject to the notification requirements.

We’ve added some information to our page on sexual offences that hopefully helps to clarify this.

Finally, after 40 years, the laws on disclosing criminal records are changing for the better on the 10th March 2014

We’re delighted that, having campaigned for many years, the 10^th March 2014 will finally see reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 come into force. This means that many people will find that their conviction becomes ‘spent’ a lot sooner than it did previously. It only applies in England and Wales, but the changes are ‘retrospective’, which means it applies to people convicted before the March changes.

So, if you were sentenced in June 2013 to 1 year in prison, this would previously have taken 10 years to become ‘spent’. Under the changes, this will reduce to 4 years from the end of the full sentence (so June 2018). We continue to campaign for a system for people sentenced to over 4 years, but for many people it’s much better than what it was.

In practical terms, a ‘basic disclosure’ (which only reveals unspent convictions) will be available from Disclosure Scotland from the 10th March, and this will reflect the changes to the law in England and Wales. If your convictions are now spent, this should come back blank.

Sentences with a buffer period (sentence length includes time spent on licence)

Sentence		Time it takes to become spent
Sentence		Adult (18+) at conviction/disposal	Young person (U18) at conviction/disposal
Prison (including suspended prison sentences)	Over 4 years or a public protection sentence	Never spent	Never spent
	More than 30 months and less than (or equal to) 4 years	Sentence + 7 years	Sentence + 3 ½ years
	More than 6 months and less than (or equal to) 30 months	Sentence + 4 years	Sentence + 2 years
	Less than (or equal to) 6 months	Sentence + 2 years	Sentence + 18 months
Community Order / Youth Rehabilitation Order		Length of the order + 1 year	Length of the order + 6 months

What happens once it’s spent? Basically, it means you don’t have to disclose for most jobs, and insurance, and won’t be disclosed on a basic check. It doesn’t get deleted, and for jobs that involve standard or enhanced criminal record checks, it will continue to get disclosed in most cases.

We’re publishing a simple guide on the changes (once it’s ready, we can provide individual copies on request, and it’ll be available to download from our website). In the meantime, we have a brief guide on the changes.

We also know that staff and practitioners that provide employment support and careers advice will want to know more detail about the changes, so we’re holding ‘masterclasses’ on the changes. Details of these can be found here, or you contact us for further information.

There will be more information available in the coming weeks – we’ve set up a dedicated page on our Hub where we’ll bring together all of the latest developments.

Unlock welcomes the implementation of reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Christopher Stacey, Co-Director at Unlock, said “We are pleased that the Government has announced today that the long-overdue reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 will come into force on the 10th March 2014. For far too long, people who have served their sentence and changed their ways have been prevented from moving on in their lives. As a result of these changes, many people with convictions who have in the past have been languishing on benefits will now be able to go out and get work and contribute positively to society”.

“Since the law was passed in 2012, our helpline has been receiving calls on a daily basis from people who have been putting their lives and careers on hold, waiting for the changes to come in. It’s clear to us that these changes will make a huge difference to thousands of people whose convictions will now be spent under these changes, giving them a fresh start when applying for many jobs, education courses and insurance services.”

“However, we must not forget that these changes are far from perfect. It will remain the case that anybody who receives a prison sentence of over 4 years will have to continue to disclose their convictions for the rest of their lives whenever they are asked, and this remains a huge stumbling block for many people who are trying to change their lives for the better. If the Government wants to truly transform our criminal justice system, it must recognise that access to stable employment is the most important factor in people desisting from crime, and having a criminal record disclosure system that continues to punish people for the rest of their lives is not in anybody’s interest”.

-END-

Press/media

People with convictions as trustees – Consultation response by Unlock

Following our recent news about the proposed changes by the Charity Commission, we’ve now submitted our response

As a charity that exists to support the efforts of people with convictions in moving on positively with their lives, and as an organisation which itself has sought to recruit trustees who themselves have convictions, we are concerned about the potential impact of these proposals, as well as being concerned about how the current system operates.

There is a common theme that runs throughout our response – our aim is to ensure that the processes of the Charity Commission work in a way which allows charities the freedom to recruit people as trustees who have unspent convictions, where the charity believes that the individual can fulfil their obligations as a trustee and the charity can show it has taken reasonable steps to protect the interests of the charity.

In addition to drawing on our own experience as an organisation, and the individuals that we’ve worked with, we sought to raise awareness of this consultation amongst organisations that we know keen to have people with convictions involved at a management level within their organisations. In particular, we have worked with Clinks, which is a charity that supports voluntary organisations that work with offenders and their families.

As well as encouraging responses from other organisations, we have included in our response anonymous extracts from the responses that we received, in order to raise awareness of the concerns of other organisations.

Download our response here.

Unlock on Radio 4’s Money Box – Obtaining insurance with unspent convictions

Today, we took part in a discussion on Radio 4’s Money Box about obtaining insurance with unspent convictions. You can listen below or click here.

Next information session for people with convictions – 6th March 2014 – “Will it be spent now? Changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974”

Why?

We’ll be explaining about the changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Our Helpline Advisors will be on hand to answer any questions you might have
You’ll have the opportunity to book a free one-to-one session
If you’re still not convinced, there’ll also be free hot drinks and biscuits!

When? Thursday 6th March 2014, 5pm – 7pm

Where? Hall 1, Maidstone Community Support Centre, 39-48 Marsham St, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1HH

Interested? Just turn up on the evening. However, if you do plan to come along, it would be useful if you could let us know, so that we have a better idea of how many people to expect on the evening

Spread the word

If you work with people who have convictions and you think they may be interested in attending, please pass on this email to them.

Any questions?

Please contact our helpline; call 01634 247350 or email advice@unlock.org.uk.

We’re moving

We are moving offices, which means that our Helpline will be unable to respond to landline telephone enquiries on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th of January 2014.

On these days, if you are looking for advice, please call us using our Helpline mobile number (07824 113848). Alternatively, please email us at advice@unlock.org.uk or complete our online form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

‘Sarah’s Law’ sees 700 people identified

The BBC ran a story about figures they’d obtained about how the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (known as ‘Sarah’s Law) has worked during the pilot.

We contributed to this news piece. You can read the article here.