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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Author: Debbie Sadler

Monthly summary – February 2017

Welcome to our monthly summary for February 2017.

This provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you just stumbled across this? You can receive these updates direct to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’)


Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to the theInformationHub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people with convictions. 

Criminal record checks for employment

  • Eligibility for an enhanced DBS check if you work as a contractor in a school or care home – We’ve produced an advice post which sets out the definition of regulated activity and the criteria which needs to be met to enable an employer to do an enhanced DBS check with a check of the children’s and/or adult barred list.
  • Disclosure of police intelligence on enhanced checks – We’ve updated this page to make it easier to navigate and added some additional links to other parts of the site.

Housing

  • Getting a mortgage – We’ve updated this information to better reflect the problems faced in getting a mortgage if you have an unspent conviction.

Specific offences

  • Removing historical convictions and cautions for consensual gay sex from criminal records – We’ve written an advice post to reflect the decision by the Government to posthumously pardon gay and bisexual offences which have now been decriminalised.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to from the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Success – Officer G – a prison officer in a million – ‘I’ve been watching the news over the past couple of weeks which has shown some disturbing images of prison riots. Prison officers being interviewed in the press say that cuts in staffing mean they don’t have time to deal with individual prisoner’s requests and issues  ….’

Struggles and stigma – Just because an employer doesn’t ask about criminal convictions don’t assume they won’t find out – especially if you’re under MAPPA – ‘I’d like to bring to everyone’s attention the issues you may encounter if you’re not entirely clear about the types of restrictions or conditions that exist on your licence or the input that other agencies may have which you might not have been made aware of. This is my story ….’

Success – There are people in the caring profession that care about people with criminal convictions: Getting a job in a care home – ‘As a youngster growing up my life was extremely chaotic. A mixture of getting in with the wrong crowd and being mentally unwell meant that I picked up a series of convictions ….’

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts to our online forum. If you’d like to join in the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

Whats the chances of success when you apply to come off the register? – CC has responded to the information we posted about the police forces who are most likely to approve requests to come off the SOR and the ones least likely. He’s also provided some ideas for how the length of time somebody spends on the register could be better determined by an individual’s success in rehabilitation. Let us know what you think.

Travelling to the USA – JohnL  has posted a question asking whether anybody has successfully applied for an ESTA and travelled to the USA ‘trouble free’ after coming off the register. He’s going to be travelling to the US for a conference with his boss and is obviously quite nervous about this. Has anybody got any experience of this. 

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

Unlock responds to Law Commission review of DBS filtering system

At the beginning of the month, the Law Commission recommended a wider review of the criminal record disclosure system. Download the full report and read Christopher Stacey’s reponse here.

Unlock welcomes new official open recruitment employer guide

The Department for Work and Pensions in partnership with Business in the Community have just published a guide, ‘Strengthening your workforce with talent from disadvantaged groups’, which provides a step by step guide to helping employers achieve open recruitment. It contains a specific section on people with criminal records.

Unlocking the potential of UK’s ex-offenders

A recent article published by NatWest suggests that one remedy to fill the UK’s skills gap could be to hire more ex-offenders and discusses what is the best way to go about it. Read the full article here.

Piece in The Economist – “In Britain, criminal records dog offenders for decades”

Unlock has contributed to an article in The Economist making the point that “the long memory of the law may limit the chance of rehabilitation”.

Government “exploring” incentives for businesses that take on ex-offenders

The Work and Pensions Committee has published the Government’s response to its report on the support for ex-offenders leaving prison. This indicates that the Government has accepted the case made for many of the Committee’s recommendations and is looking for ways to take them forward. Download the Government’s response here.

 

Monthly update – February 2017

We’ve just published our update for February 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This months update includes:

  1. Some updated information on getting a mortgage if you have an unspent conviction
  2. An advice post setting out the eligibility for an enhanced DBS check if you work as a contractor in a school or care home
  3. A personal view on successfully securing a job in a care home with a criminal record
  4. A link to a discussion about police forces who are most likely to approve requests to come off the Sex Offenders Register and ones least likely to
  5. Christopher Stacey’s views on the Law Commission’s recommendations that there needs to be a wider review of the criminal record disclosure system.

 

The full update provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to individuals with a criminal record

 

Read the February 2017 update in full

 

Best wishes,

Unlock

 

Notes

  • All previous updates can be found in full in the ‘Latest updates‘ section of our Information Hub
  • For more self-help information, please visit unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/
  • If you have any questions about this information, please contact our helpline
  • If you’ve been forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive these updates directly by clicking here and selecting to receive ‘News/updates for people with convictions’
  • If you have found this information useful, please leave us your feedback and/or consider making a donation.

 

Is it always necessary to have an enhanced DBS check if you’re working as a contractor in a school or care home?

Our helpline often receives calls from individuals who, as part of their work, are required to go into schools or care homes (for example plumbers and electricians). Many employers will insist that you have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with a check of the barred list because of the type of establishment that you will be working in. But, are employers always entitled to do this level of check?

The DBS offer three levels of criminal record check:

  1. Standard
  2. Enhanced
  3. Enhanced with a check of the children’s barred list, the adults barred list or both

An employer is only entitled to do an enhanced check with a check of the barred list if an individual will be engaging in regulated activity.

The DBS have confirmed that in order to be in regulated activity for children, your role would need to meet the following criteria:

  • Take place in a specified establishment (e.g. a school)
  • The work must be carried out for the purpose of the school
  • The work must be unsupervised
  • The work must involve the opportunity to have contact with children (i.e. there must be children present on the premises at the time the work is carried out).

Therefore if you’re a plumber working in the boiler room of a school and supervised at all times by the school caretaker, then an employer would not be able to do an enhanced check with barring.

However, they may still be able to request an enhanced check without barring. This is because ‘infrequent’ work within a school can entitle eligibility as long as there is the opportunity for contact with children. So, if you’re a plumber who would be working unsupervised in different parts of the school and may come into contact with children, then an employer could ask you to have an enhanced check without barring.

If you’re working in an adult care home, an enhanced check without barring could be carried out providing you were working in the care home once a week or more, four or more times in a 30 day period or overnight and there would be the opportunity for you to come into contact with vulnerable adults.

The DBS have recently launched their eligibility tool which may help you to establish what type of check an employer can do for a job you’re applying for.

If you believe that an employer could be carrying out an ineligible check then you can challenge this through the DBS.

For more information

  1. For practical self-help information – More information is available on our criminal record checks for employment section
  2. Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact theHelpline
  3. Employment Project – Find out more information about our Fair Access to Employment project

‘Turings Law’ takes effect to posthumously pardon thousands of gay and bisexual men

We were pleased to hear the Justice Secretary, Sam Gyimah, announce yesterday that thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted of sexual offences which have now been abolished (decriminalised) have been posthumously pardoned.

This pardoning has become known as ‘Turings Law’ after Alan Turing, a World-War Two code breaker often referred to as ‘the father of modern computing’. In 1952 Alan went on trial and was convicted after police learned of his sexual relationship with a young man.  He committed suicide in 1954 but in 2013 was pardoned for his ‘crime’.

The Policing and Crime Bill sets out in law pardons for those convicted of consensual same-sex relationships before the laws changed.

Crucially for people with convictions, the Act also applies to those still alive who have successfully applied through the Home Office disregard process to have historic offences removed, although we know that the numbers of people that apply through this process is very low and often acts as an unnecessary obstacle.

That said, the news yesterday will mean that people who successfully get their conviction ‘disregarded’ with also receive a pardon.

Note: The law does not apply to non-consensual sexual acts or those involving people under the age of consent.

For more information

  1. For more practical self-help information – Removing historical convictions and cautions for consensual gay sex from criminal records
  2. Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.

 

Monthly summary – January 2017

Welcome to our monthly summary for January 2017.

This provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you just stumbled across this? You can receive these updates direct to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’)


Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to the theInformationHub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people with convictions. 

Work and volunteering

  • Working in the criminal justice sector and prison vetting – We’ve produced some new information which looks at the types of vetting you might have to go through if your job involves going into a prison, and how your criminal record may impact on your chances of successfully getting security clearance.
  • Financial services sector – We’ve updated this page and added some new links from the FCA website on what information individuals have to disclose about their criminal record.

Criminal record checks for employment

  • Eligibility for standard and enhanced checks – We’ve updated this page to make it easier to navigate and we’ve also included a link to the DBS eligibility tool which may assist you in establishing whether a role you’re applying for would be eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check.

Insurance

  • List of insurance brokers – We’ve just updated our list and added a further two brokers who can assist people with convictions to get insurance.

Information on the internet

  • The Google effect – We’ve updated our information to include a section on what you can do if Google refuse to remove a link and the Information Commissioners Office agree with them.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to from the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Struggles and stigma – The ongoing impact of my husband’s offence – being disqualified by association – ‘When I was 39 weeks pregnant, I was told by my employer (a school) that, as a result of my husband’s criminal record I was disqualified by association and would be suspended from my job as a teacher until such time as I was granted a waiver ….’

Success – Job centre advisors make sure you understand the problems facing ex offenders – ‘In October 2015 I found myself sitting in front of a job centre advisor desperate for her to help me find a job so that I’d have some money to buy my kids some Christmas presents and to put that all important turkey on the table ….’

Success – Unlock – the beginning – by Bob Turney, Unlock’s co-founder – ‘Have you ever had a chance encounter with someone that has had a far reaching impact on people’s lives for the good? I have been fortunate enough to have had a few such meetings but this one was particularly memorable ….’

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts to our online forum. If you’d like to join in the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

Disclosing a conviction after you’ve been offered a job – Wotsit39 has asked for some disclosure advice. He’s just been offered a new job and been told that his new employers will be doing a basic criminal record check once he starts work. He has an unspent conviction which he hasn’t disclosed and so far he hasn’t handed in his notice to his current employers. What would you do?  Post your comments here.

Eligibility for an enhanced DBS check – Frances has just been offered a job as a gardener in a school and her employers want to do a DBS check. As she’s not going to be working with the children she wants to know whether they can do this. Let us have your thoughts. 

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

Winter 2016/17 Activities Newsletter

We’ve published our winter 2016/17 newsletter which provides an update of the news at Unlock in the last three months.

Disqualified from being a trustee or senior manager

Christopher Stacey has written an article for Third Sector in which he expresses his concerns about the automatic disqualification rules which will be introduced later this year which will prevent some people with criminal convictions from being charity trustees and senior managers.

Monthly update – January 2017

We’ve just published our update for January 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This months update includes:

  1. Some new information on working in the criminal justice sector and prison vetting
  2. A personal view on working with job centre advisors who don’t always understand the problems ex-offenders face when seeking employment
  3. Unlock’s co-founder, Bob Turney’s story of how Unlock begun
  4. A link to a discussion about the eligibility for an enhanced DBS check for a gardener working in a school
  5. Christopher Stacey’s views on the automatic disqualification rule due to be introduced later this year preventing some people from being charity trustees and senior managers.

 

The full update provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to individuals with a criminal record

 

Read the January 2017 update in full

 

Best wishes,

Unlock

 

Notes

  • All previous updates can be found in full in the ‘Latest updates‘ section of our Information Hub
  • For more self-help information, please visit unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/
  • If you have any questions about this information, please contact our helpline
  • If you’ve been forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive these updates directly by clicking here and selecting to receive ‘News/updates for people with convictions’
  • If you have found this information useful, please leave us your feedback and/or consider making a donation.

 

Don’t assume that a criminal record will automatically stop you from working in prisons

Finding an open-minded employer who is keen to give you a job when you have a criminal record is never easy.

For many people, the answer to this is to try and work for an organisation involved in the criminal justice system. Many believe that their past will be looked upon more positively, whilst others feel that their own personal experience makes them want to ‘give something back’.

We’ve just published some new information on working in the criminal justice sector and prison vetting which looks at the type of vetting you might have to go through if your job involves going into a prison, and how your criminal record may impact on your chances of successfully getting security clearance.

Don’t assume that having a criminal record will stop you from doing this type of work. Your own experience together with your skills and knowledge mean that you’ll bring additional qualities to the role and make you an asset to any employer.

For more information

  1. Our new information – Working in the criminal justice sector and prison vetting
  2. For more practical self-help information – Find out more information on criminal record checks for employment
  3. To discuss this issue with others – Read and share your experiences on our online forum – What does security vetting involve
  4. Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.

What affect does a driving endorsement have on when a motoring conviction becomes spent?

Our helpline often receives calls from people who have received driving convictions and are confused about when this will become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Some of the more serious driving offences could result in your licence being revoked (i.e. you are banned from driving) and even a prison sentence. However, in addition to these specific disposals, your driving licence is usually endorsed.

In the days of paper licences, it was easy to see that your licence had been endorsed. Following a court hearing, you’d normally be instructed to send off your licence to the DVLA and it would be returned to you with a code added to it. For example SP30 (if you’ve been found guilty of speeding on a public road) or DR10 (for a drink driving conviction).

Now that we no longer have paper licences, endorsements are kept electronically by the DVLA.

In terms of when the conviction becomes spent, it’s important to look at the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Basically, depending what sentence/disposal is received, it takes the relevant ‘rehabilitation period’ to become spent. If you receive more than one sentence/disposal, it’s the longest rehabilitation period that applies.

For example, if Mr Motor is banned from driving for three years but also receivs a fine which, on its own, takes one year to become spent, the rehabilitation period would be 3 years as it would be based on the disposal with the longest rehabilitation period.

However, Mr Motor was also given an endorsement. Endorsements for road traffic offences have their own rehabilitation period of 5 years (2.5 years if you’re under 18 at the time). A list of endorsement codes can be found here.

So, Mr Motor’s conviction would not actually become spent for 5 years due to the addition of the endorsement to his licence.

If you’re in any doubt about whether you’ve got an endorsement, you can check your own driving licence at the DVLA Shared Driving Licence Scheme. You could also do a Subject Access Request, as this is the information that is used to process basic disclosures.

Once you’re clear about what’s on your criminal record, you can then work out when your conviction becomes spent. Try using our disclosure calculator to do it for you. If you think something is spent, you can always double-check by applying for your own basic disclosure.

For more information

  1. For more practical self-help information – Find out more information on motoring convictions and the ROA.
  2. Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.

Monthly summary – December 2016

Welcome to our monthly summary for December 2016.

This provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you just stumbled across this? You can receive these updates direct to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’)


Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to the theInformationHub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people with convictions. 

Sexual offences

  • Relationships, children and dealing with social services – We’ve produced some new information which looks at what you may need to consider if you’ve been convicted of a sexual offence and are looking to start a new relationship. It also deals with how social services may become involved in any new or existing relationship where there are children involved.
  • General information about sexual offences and sex offence notification requirements – We’ve updated both of these pages to make them easier to navigate and added links to other relevant parts of our site.

Barring

  • Barring (Children’s Barred List and Adult’s Barred List) – We’ve updated our information on barring to include details of how the DBS may consider adding you to a barred list if you’ve been cautioned or convicted of an automatic inclusion offence (irrespective of when it was) and are applying for an enhanced DBS check.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to from the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Success – My world’s just got bigger – disclosing my conviction to a new partner and travelling to Canada – ‘I’d been seeing Michael for a couple of months and enjoyed his company. We liked the same things – going for walks, nice meals, dancing. It wasn’t love at first sight but I’m 67 so not surprising really …..’

Success – What I wish I’d known 8 years ago – moving on with a spent conviction – ‘Recently I applied for a volunteering job at Unlock. I filled in my application form, had an interview and was invited along to do a couple of ‘taster-days’. The purpose of these are for Unlock to understand your skills but more importantly for you to decide whether the role is right for you …..’

 

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts to our online forum. If you’d like to join in the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

Completing a Canadian ETA – Effiew has raised a query around applying for an ETA to travel to Canada. If you’ve been through the process, share your experiences here.

Employers and DBS checks – bd7771 has commented on the number of employers that carry out criminal record checks. Post your comments here.

 

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

Unlock’s evidence to the Justice Committee inquiry into Youth Criminal Records

Our evidence to the Justice Committee’s inquiry into the disclosure of Youth Criminal Records has now been published on the Parliament website. As part of the inquiry, we also took a small group of people with convictions to a private session with the Justice Committee. Find out more about this work here.

Unlock welcomes Nick Hardwick as a new Patron

Nick Hardwick, the former Chief Inspector of HM Prisons has been appointed a Patron of Unlock. Find out what Nick says about joining the Unlock team.

Some examples of people we’ve helped

We’ve produced some case studies showing how people with convictions have been able to overcome some of the barriers they’ve faced as a result of their criminal record.

Government should consider a statutory “ban the box” for all employers and improve the support to people released from prison

The Work and Pensions Committee have published a report calling on the government to drastically improve the support provided to people released from prison and to do more to encourage employers to recruit people with convictions. Read Christopher Stacey’s comments here.

Looking back at some key moments in 2016

Read Christopher Stacey’s blog in which he reflects on our work month-by-month during 2016.

Monthly update – December 2016

We’ve just published our update for December 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This months update includes:

  1. Some new information on relationships, children and dealing with social services if you have been convicted of a sexual offence
  2. A personal view on disclosing a conviction to a new partner and travelling together to Canada
  3. A link to discussions about the number of employers that now carry out criminal record checks
  4. Details of the work that we’ve been doing with the Justice Committee inquiry into the disclosure of Youth Criminal Records
  5. Some examples of people we’ve helped over the past three months.

 

The full update provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to individuals with a criminal record

 

Read the December 2016 update in full

 

Best wishes,

Unlock

 

Notes

  • All previous updates can be found in full in the ‘Latest updates‘ section of our Information Hub
  • For more self-help information, please visit unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/
  • If you have any questions about this information, please contact our helpline
  • If you’ve been forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive these updates directly by clicking here and selecting to receive ‘News/updates for people with convictions’
  • If you have found this information useful, please leave us your feedback and/or consider making a donation.

 

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