Welcome to our monthly update for October 2015.

This 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. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Information updates

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

About criminal records

• Basic Disclosures – We’ve provided an example of what a basic disclosure certificate looks like where an individual has convictions on record which are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
• Police records – If you’re unsure of the details of your criminal record, we often advise individuals to apply for a Subject Access Request via ACRO. We’ve added an image of the SAR application form and the results, which demonstrates the amount of information shown and the importance of the changes in the law in March 2015 making enforced subject access a criminal offence.

Travel

• Information contained on UK passports – There’s a lot of confusion about what’s disclosed when biometric passports are scanned. This new information aims to clarify how details of a criminal record might be revealed. For further information see here.
• Applying for leave to remain – This new information is designed to help individuals applying for leave to remain understand how their criminal record might affect them and provides links to Government guidelines setting out how applications disclosing criminal convictions may be treated.

Insurance

• List of insurance brokers – We’ve added a further company to our List of Insurance Brokers who are able to assist people with unspent convictions access insurance products. The latest downloadable list can be found here.

Self Employment

• We’ve updated our information on the New Enterprise Allowance, a scheme which offers business advice, funding support and business mentoring to anybody who is out of work and claiming certain qualifying benefits. Find out more about the scheme here.

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 – Building our dreams – ‘I’ve not had a great past in terms of childhood experiences, having been brought up in a family with strict values. I always felt that my choices in life were limited. Then in my late teens, something happened which would further blight my life. I landed myself a criminal conviction ….’

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.

New guidance for insurers on (not) using enforced subject access to get details of criminal records

The Association of British Insurers have produced guidance for insurers which clarifies the position for insurers after section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 came info force earlier this year. This guidance should help insurers make sure that they operate fairer practices when dealing with individuals that have criminal records. Find out more here.

New employer guide to creating a fair recruitment process, marking two years of Ban the Box

Its been two years since the launch of the Ban the Box campaign and Business in the Community (BITC), who lead the campaign, have marked the anniversary by launching a free step-by-step guide to creating a fair recruitment process in dealing with criminal records. The anniversary gives fresh impetus to the campaign which we’re promoting as part of our project to challenge employment discrimination. Read more about the guide and Unlocks’ project here

Autumn 2015 Newsletter

We’ve published an update of the news at Unlock in the last three months. Download a copy here.

Examples of people we’ve helped

We’ve published some examples of how we’ve helped people over the last three months. We think these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers that have been put in their way due to their criminal record.

Welcome to our monthly update for September 2015.

This 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. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Information updates

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

Filtering process brought in for Scotland

The Scottish Government announced details of a process of ‘filtering’ starting on 10th September 2015 that will apply to Standard and Enhanced criminal record checks issued by Disclosure Scotland. Although this doesn’t directly impact on people in England & Wales, we’ve posted an update with links to more information.

Insurance

Disclosing unspent convictions to existing insurers – If you have an unspent conviction, it’s important to consider what you need to do if you have an existing insurance policy. We’ve produced some new information which may be useful if you’ve just received a conviction or you failed to disclose your unspent conviction when you were asked when you took out the original policy.

How can insurers find out about my criminal record? – Our Helpline often receives queries from individuals concerned about how insurance companies can find out about criminal convictions. We have provided some further clarification which can be found here.

Travel to Asia

We have updated our information on travel to India and Japan.

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.

Successes – 59 convictions and only just going to prison!!! – I have a long criminal record (59 convictions under the Street Offences Act) and have experienced many barriers into employment. I was refused OFSTED registration due to my spent convictions when I wanted to become a child care practitioner and had to appeal OFSTED’s decision in a Care Standards Tribunal. I won the decision of the panel with no legal support whilst my opponents had a Treasury barrister at their disposal.

Successes – Volunteering – Helping me to live life at last – I wanted to write about my recent experience of volunteering. Although it was at Unlock, I think my experience is equally valuable to anybody who is looking for work and feeling despondent about the future. Volunteering was the start to a brighter phase of my new life.

Have you got a story or experience that could be posted on theRecord. Get in touch.

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.

Job Vacancy @ Unlock – Information and Case Officer

We’re currently looking for an outstanding individual who has a criminal record and is passionate about providing information, advice and support to people with convictions who are trying to overcome the effects of their criminal record. Closing date is the 12th October. For more information about the vacancy, see here.

Unlock joins the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group

We’re pleased to announce that Christopher Stacey has been invited to join the group known as RR3 which is effectively a partnership between the voluntary sector and the Ministry of Justice. Find out more about the group here.

Google Effect

In an interesting development to the issue of the ‘google-effect’ and spent convictions, the Guardian has reported that Google has been ordered by the Information Commissioner’s Office to remove nine links to current news stories about older reports which themselves were removed from search results under the ‘right to be forgotten’ ruling.

Welcome to our monthly update for August 2015.

This 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. other news and developments that might be of interest to individuals with a criminal record

Information updates

Below is a summary of the updates we’ve recently made to our information site.  There are links next to each update where you can find out more information, as well as links to discussions on our online forum where you can discuss these with other members of the forum.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act

Spent and unspent convictions and when you might have to disclose them – There are many ways in which convictions can come up in day-to-day life and we’ve put together some information on how the impact of a conviction may change depending on whether your conviction is spent or unspent.  Let us know about your experiences by posting something on the Unlock forum.

Probation

Supervision in the community (after release from prison and on probation or community order) – The Offender Rehabilitation Act came into force in February 2015. We’ve therefore produced some new information explaining the changes that took place and what impact they will have on people with convictions serving their sentence in the community.

Travel

Travel to Asia – Feedback from one of our forum members has led to some updated information on travel to Asia and in particular, looking at the questions on visa applications and landing cards which relate to criminal convictions. Take a look at the entire post on the Unlock forum.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord.  These often go hand-in-hand with the practical information we have on the Hub.

News – Proof that there’s a rehabilitation period for restraining orders with no duration or time specified! – We came across the following email from a client, which typifies the type of questions we often get asked.  This one relates to relevant orders which have ‘no specified end date’ and sets out the response received from Disclosure Scotland.

Successes – Success with dealing with the ‘Google effect’ – I would like to share with readers of theRecord how new rules allowing Google links to be removed (‘The right to be forgotten’) has turned my life around. I really do believe that it can be of use to people with convictions.

Have you got a story or experience that could be posted on theRecord.  Get in touch.

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 the Unlock website.

Changes to our monthly updates

This month we’ve made a few changes to how we do these updates. Previously, we’ve focused on details about the updates that we’ve made to our information site and although this will remain the focus of these updates, we’ve broadened it out slightly to try and respond to feedback we’ve received.  These monthly posts will now not only include practical links to information updates we’ve made, but also to new posts to theRecord, as well as other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record.

Principles of Fair Chance Hiring – Draft for Consultation

As part of our Challenging Employment Discrimination project, we’re promoting ‘Fair Chance Hiring’ policies in our approach to supporting employers.  We’ve developed a set of high-level principles for putting ‘Fair Chance Hiring’ into practice.  Download the draft and let us have your feedback.

Help us challenge discrimination through digital storytelling – Volunteering opportunity

Part of our policy and campaign work involves making the case for why people with convictions should be treated fairly.  An effective way of doing this is using real stories.  We are looking for volunteers to help us create some ‘digital stories’.  Find our more here.

Call for experience – Does a criminal record have an impact on social housing

We want to hear from anybody who believes that their criminal record has impacted on their housing situation with local authorities and social housing providers. To find out more about our policy work in this area see here.

Unlock’s response to the Scottish Government Consultation

We’ve submitted our written response to the Scottish Governments’ consultation on proposals to reform the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.  We broadly support the proposals, but urge the Scottish Government to go further, in the same way that we continue to urge the UK Government to build on the reforms that came into force in 2014.

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update on our Hub. 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 members of the forum.

Travel

• Travel to USA – We’ve updated the tables in the simple and detailed guides with some revised costs and timescales when applying for a visa, and included a link to additional information we produced recently on the ESTA form and moral turpitude.  Tell us about your experiences of applying for a visa for travel to the USA on the forum.
• Travel to the UK – Some new information has been added about the need for individuals looking to apply for a visa to come to the UK to provide an overseas criminal record certificate from any country they have lived in continuously for 12 months or more over the past 10 years. For further information, see here.

Insurance, Banking and Finance

• Benefits – We’ve developed some new information which outlines the main sources of financial help that are available which includes links to eligibility and how to claim.

Specific Occupations and Professions

• Becoming a solicitor – We know that a lot of people think that, with a criminal record, you can’t become a solicitor. We came across a Daily Mail article which featured the case of somebody with a conviction who, after being sentenced to a custodial sentence in 1993, went on to successfully qualify as a solicitor in 2005. We’ve added a link in our information on becoming a solicitor.

What does the Hub cover? Areas we provide information/advice on

• We’ve added some further information about the Hub which explains the areas that it covers. It also makes the distinction between subjects we can only provide information on (and not advice), and subjects that we simply don’t cover. For example:
  • We provide information/advice on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
  • We provide useful links (i.e. information) on prison issues, and points to others that can provide advice
  • We don’t provide information or advice on appealing a conviction.

Forum survey

• Many thanks to everybody that responded to our forum survey. The winner of the £25 Amazon voucher was randomly selected and has asked that the £25 goes to a charity of Unlock’s choosing.  The results have been extremely helpful with many responses being really positive about what is currently available. However, some members felt that the forum needed to be more user friendly, especially for people who are not so computer literate. This feedback will be hugely helpful to us as we continue to develop an improved forum.

General links

• We’ve added some new organisations to our list and updated the details of others. If you come across any organisation that you feel have been particularly helpful and who don’t appear on our list, please drop an email with their details advice@unlock.org.uk.

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update on our Hub. 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 members of the forum.

About Criminal Records

• Harassment Warning – We’ve developed some new information about Harassment Warnings which can be given by the police to anyone who’s had an allegation of harassment made against them.

Insurance, Banking and Finance

• Insurance Brokers – We’ve added a further three companies to our List of Brokers who are able to assist people with convictions access insurance products. The latest downloadable list can be found here.

Travelling Abroad

• Travelling to Canada – We’ve added a link on our ‘Travelling to Canada‘ information to the Collateral Consequences Resource Center website which recently posted an interesting article setting out how a criminal record could restrict travel to Canada. If you’ve travelled to Canada, let us know about your experience on the forum.

Specific occupations and professions

• Becoming a solicitor – If you’re considering going into the legal profession, this new information looks at the screening process for entry.

Other areas of life

• Executors of a will – After some questions we’ve had recently, we’ve added an FAQ which looks at whether a criminal conviction could disqualify somebody from acting as an Executor to a will.

New posts, stories and experiences on theRecord

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These often go hand-in-hand with the practical information we have on the Hub.

Successes – Dating someone with a serious criminal record –  I met Wes at my gym. We got talking and decided to go for a drink. Both in our 40’s, he wasn’t my usual type but there was something about him. Over the next three weeks we met numerous times. I was beginning to really like this.

Struggles and Stigma – From temp to permanent – learning the hard way, but still persevering – I had my disciplinary meeting the day before yesterday. At the end of the meeting I was offered the chance to resign rather than face dismissal and for the good of my “Permanent Record”, I took it.

News – Help Unlock challenge employment discrimination –  We wanted to post a piece to get readers of theRecord involved in a project that Unlock is running to challenge the employment discrimination faced by people with convictions. As part of this work, alongside supporting and challenging employers to develop good practice, we’re also looking for input.

News – Help us improve our online forum – Now that it’s 7 years old, we are working on giving our forum a bit of an update and we want to hear from people with convictions about what an updated forum would look like, and how it would work.

Have you got a story or experience that would work well posted on theRecord? Get in touch.