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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Author: Debbie Sadler

Telling a partner, family member or friend about your criminal record

If you want to find the best way of disclosing your criminal record to an employer, then a quick internet search will give you pages of results. With your career and financial security potentially dependent on getting it right, it’s good that there’s so much information and advice available.

But if you’re trying to find out how to tell a partner, family member or friend then the picture will be very different and the information you’ll find will be limited.

That’s why we’ve put together some new information on telling a partner, family member or friend about your criminal record.

More information

 

Monthly summary – July 2020

Welcome to our monthly summary for July 2020.

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 stumbled across this? You can receive updates 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 to the information hub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information.

About criminal records

  • Single Justice Procedure Notice – We’ve produced some new information on the Single Justice Procedure process which highlights the importance of responding to a notice if you receive one.
  • Overseas convictions for sexual offences and the UK notification requirements – If you’ve been convicted of a sexual offence overseas you could potentially be made subject to notification requirements if you return to live in England or Wales. Our new advice post provides further information.
  • Retention and deletion of police cautions and convictions – We’ve updated this page to include a section on appealing a decision if the police refuse your request to delete a caution.

Other areas of life

  • Sources of legal advice – We’ve updated this page to include details of organisations that provide advocacy and some limited legal support to individuals.

theRecord posts

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

Success – No challenge, no change – from drug dealer to university student – “From a very early age I was ‘involved’ in crime. I lived with my family in South London where it was common practice for friends and family to ‘duck and dive’ to survive or make a bit of extra money. Aged 15 my father died and what little discipline I had vanished and I became more unruly and out of control …..”

Struggles and stigma – Probation, ‘borderline’ offenders and the need for boundaries – “The first meeting with my probation officer started off badly. She had read my case notes which said I was ‘high risk’ and made it clear that she had reservations about supervising me. I had Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and was known to struggle to manage my emotions …..”

Discussions on our online forum

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

When to disclose/Should I/Shouldn’t I? – arunH has been charged with drink driving and is awaiting his court hearing. He thinks it’s likely he’ll receive a 12 month ban and, although his job doesn’t involve driving, he wants to know whether he should disclose this to his employer. What advice would you give?

Open University – TheWeird1 is interested to know about people’s experiences of studying for a degree with the Open University. Can you help?

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.

Summer 2020 Newsletter – What we’ve been upto

We’ve published our summer 2020 newsletter which provides an update of the news at Unlock in the last three months.

Government responds to Supreme Court ruling with plans to change criminal records disclosure regime

Following the government’s announcement that they plan to change the criminal records disclosure regime to address the Supreme Court’s judgement from January 2019, Unlock’s co-director, Chris Stacey sets out what changes will be made and what they will mean to people with a criminal record. Read more here.

What is the rationale behind the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

We’ve published a paper written by Dr Andrew Henley (Assistant Professor of Criminology at the University of Nottingham) which sets out the original rationale for the ROA.

Prison philanthropist Edwina Grosvenor talks to Unlock’s co-director, Christopher Stacey

As part of her Justice podcast series, prison reformer Edwina Grosvenor spoke to Christopher Stacey about the stigma and obstacles faced by people as a result of their criminal record – long after they’ve served their sentence. Listen to the podcast here.

Reforming the criminal records disclosure regime – Have you a conviction that cannot become spent because it was over 4 years in prison?

We’ve published an updated briefing on reforming the criminal records disclosure regime and want to hear from you if you have a conviction that can never be spent. Find out more about how you can help.

Received a Single Justice Procedure Notice? What you need to know

In 2015 the Ministry of Justice introduced the Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) to speed up the processing of less serious offences such as rail fare avoidance and minor driving offences. We’ve produced some new information on the SJPN process.

While the process streamlines the court process at an administrative level there are some concerns about it’s fairness.

If you’ve received a SJPN then the worst thing you can do is to ignore it. If you’re in any doubt about how to plead or the implications of a guilty plea then we’d always advise that you get some legal advice.

More information

Changes to filtering rules – Will you still need to disclose your criminal record?

On the 30 January 2019, the Supreme Court directed the government to fix the broken Disclosure and Barring Service system.

The Supreme Court ruled that two aspects of the filtering regime – as it applied to multiple convictions and childhood cautions – was disproportionate and in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Unlock intervened in that case and we were pleased to hear last week the government announce that it intended to fully comply with the Supreme Court ruling on filtering.

The planned changes will remove the automatic disclosure of:

  • youth cautions, reprimands and warnings (an out of court disposal issued to young offenders that were replaced by youth cautions in 2013); and
  • all spent convictions where the individual has more than one conviction (except where disclosed under the other rules).

We believe that the changes are the first step towards achieving a fairer system that takes a more balanced approach towards disclosing criminal records.

You can read our response to the governments plans, and find out more about the impact these changes will have on you; there’s also a brief guide available to download.

We will be updating this page regularly so keep a look out for new information. Alternatively sign up to our mailing list to receive regular updates.

More information

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped.

We hope they give a good idea of how we help people.

However, more importantly than our role, we think that 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.

We’ve posted the examples below as case studies in the support section of our website:

 

Charles – Information and advice is great but Unlock also gave me encouragement and support

Mehmet – Unlock helped me take the steps necessary to achieve my ultimate goal

Sean – My employer tried to adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) but this just caused more confusion

 

 

 

 

Monthly summary – June 2020

Welcome to our monthly summary for June 2020.

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 stumbled across this? You can receive updates 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 to the information hub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update.

About criminal records

  • Were you given a compensation order in court? Remember to tell the DBS once it’s paid – We’ve written an advice post setting out the way compensation orders are dealt with by the DBS for the purposes of basic checks and highlighting when you’ll need to provide proof of payment to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Work and volunteering

  • Ban the Box employers – We’ve updated the list of ban the box employers to include details of new companies that have recently signed up to remove the box on application forms which asks about criminal records.

Insurance

  • List of insurance brokers – We’ve updated our list of brokers to include details of further companies that offer policies to people with a criminal record.

News from Unlock

  • Our support in numbers – We’ve put together an infographic setting out the details of the number of people we supported in 2019/20 through our helpline and online sites.

theRecord posts

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

Struggles and stigma – Why are insurance companies still discriminating against those with a criminal record? – “I was convicted of fraud in March 2017 and received a 5 year prison sentence. This was my first experience of the criminal justice system. I now fully appreciate the stigma and prejudice those with a criminal record suffer, particularly when trying to obtain insurance for their home or car …..”

Success – Gone but not forgotten – Understanding the meaning of a spent conviction – “At the beginning of May I reached another milestone in my criminal justice journey – my conviction became spent. Ten years from that day in court I am, according to the law, a fully rehabilitated individual. Awesome! But what does it mean? …..”

Success – Being brave isn’t easy but it’s key to moving forward – Standing by my husband following his conviction – “My husband Gary and I had been married for 12 years when he was convicted of a sexual offence. I had no idea that he’d been downloading and viewing indecent images of children and from the moment I found out, I went through a whole spectrum of emotions …..”

Discussions on our online forum

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

I’ve been barred from the housing register by my local housing department because of my conviction – Following the disclosure of his conviction to his local authority, Icy has been told that his request to stay/join the housing register has been suspended for at least 2 years. Has anybody else encountered similar problems with housing and if so, what did you do?

Restraining orders – procedure to follow for defendants during lead up to issuing of an order – Star is concerned that the process followed when he was issued with his restraining order was incorrect. Can anybody offer him any help or advice?

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.

Blog – Looking to the future: incentivising employment of people with convictions

At the start of the month, Unlock published a briefing paper calling on the government to use financial incentives to improve the employment prospects for people with convictions.

Criminal records webinar on 29th July – Booking now open

If you deal with criminal records in your work, for example helping people with convictions who are applying for jobs or working in recruitment/HR and making hiring decisions then you may be interested in our webinar on understanding the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and disclosure of criminal records.

Blog – Criminal justice, racial discrimination and criminal records

Unlock’s co-director, Christopher Stacey shares some thoughts on the current Black Lives Matter protests, the criminal justice system, racial discrimination and the impact of criminal records.

What’s your experience of ban the box?

As part of our fair access to employment project, we’re gathering evidence of employers’ approaches to people with criminal records. In particular, we’d like to learn more about your experience of applying to a ‘ban the box’ employer. Find out how you can help.

Monthly update – June 2020

We’ve just published our update for June 2020.

This months update includes:

  1. An infographic setting out details of the number of people we supported in 2019/20 through out helpline and online sites.
  2. An update to our list of ban the box employers to include details of companies that have recently signed up to remove the box on application forms which asks about criminal records.
  3. A personal story from an individual whose conviction has just become spent but wants more to be done to reform the criminal records disclosure regime.
  4. A link to a discussion on theForum from an individual who, after disclosing his conviction to his local authority has been told that he can’t join/stay on the housing register for at least 2 years. 
  5. Details of a briefing paper we’ve just published calling on the government to use financial incentives to improve the employment prospects for people with convictions.
  6. A call out to anybody who has any experience of applying to a ‘ban the box’ employer for a job.

 

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 June 2020 update in full.

Best wishes,

Unlock

Notes

Our support in numbers – 2019/20

As the UK went into lock-down in March 2020, Unlock came to the end of another financial year.

In the year April 2019 to March 2020, our helpline was contacted by 7,803 people, 87% of whom had a criminal record.

Our information hub was visited by 1,132,371 and 45,761 people used our disclosure calculator.

Have a look at the infographic below to find out more about the support we provided.

Helpline

Online

You can download a copy of the infographic here.

Were you given a compensation order in court? Remember to tell the DBS once it’s paid

Our helpline regularly receives contact from individuals concerned to find that a conviction they’d believed was spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is still showing on their basic DBS certificate.

There are many reasons why this might be the case, but one of the things that our helpline advisors will ask is whether the person received a compensation order as part of their sentence.

Compensation orders only become spent once they’re paid in full. So, if you’ve not paid it, your conviction will still show on your basic check.

But, even when you have paid it, your conviction may still show on your basic DBS certificate. This is because there is currently no system in place which allows a court to update the DBS that an order has been settled in full. In practice, the onus is on you to provide proof of payment to the DBS when you apply for your basic check. (you don’t have to do this every time, just once).

The only time the DBS will consider a compensation order spent under the ROA without having any proof of payment from you is when it:

  1. was for an amount of less than £100 or
  2. is over 6 years old.

Let the DBS know you’ve paid the compensation order?

You’ll need to get proof that your order has been paid in full from the court where you were sentenced. Depending on the court, this may be in the form of a receipt or a letter. There isn’t usually a charge for this.

You should send a copy of this receipt/letter to the DBS either with your application or separately, in confidence, if your application is being submitted via a third party. Remember to quote your application barcode or reference number together with your name, address and date of birth in any correspondence.

Once they’ve received this, the DBS will be able to update their records and your conviction will no longer appear on your basic DBS certificate.

For more information

Monthly summary – May 2020

Welcome to our monthly summary for May 2020.

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 stumbled across this? You can receive these updates 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 to the information hub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update.

Work and volunteering

  • Applying for an anonymity order when bringing a claim against an employer – We’ve produced some new information on applying for an anonymity order which may enable you to keep your personal details anonymous when bringing a claim against an employer at an employment tribunal.
  • Applied to the NHS volunteer responder scheme and used your DBS check as identity? – We’ve written a new advice post to highlight an issue we’d been made aware of regarding the incorrect use of DBS certificates and the way in which the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) dealt with our concerns.

Coming to (and staying) in the UK

  • EU nationals coming to and staying in the UK – We’ve updated this page to include a link to a guide published by EU Representation in the UK entitled ‘Brexit – What you need to know as an EU Citizen living in the UK’.

About criminal records

  • Covid-19 – Key information for people with criminal records – This page has been updated to reflect the latest restrictions now that lock-down is gradually being eased as well as details of how the National Probation Service and CRC’s are dealing with supervision appointments.

theRecord posts

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

Success – My probation officer is never going to be my friend but I have a better understanding of her job now – “I’m under no illusion that many of you reading this will vehemently disagree with what I say. If I were reading it several years ago I would have too and, I think that’s the point I’m trying to make …..”

Success – Despite my criminal record, I’m a good Samaritan – “Just over two years ago I was convicted of an offence which means that I still have an unspent conviction. My arrest and conviction was just what I needed to make me take a long hard look at the life I was leading …..”

Views and reviews – “I didn’t think that my dad was at risk of dying when he was sent to prison” – The impact of coronavirus on people in prison – “Like most people in the UK, I totally support the government’s decision to introduce the lock-down measures as a way of reducing the spread of coronavirus. As I work in a hotel I can’t work from home but I’ve been furloughed and I’m currently getting 80% of my pay so, in many ways I’m one of the lucky ones. Except my life is being affected by coronavirus and I can’t tell anybody …..”

Discussions on our online forum

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

Moving abroad while on the SOR – Jameson202 has 3 years left on the register but would like to move abroad. Has anybody had any experience of this?

Has anyone successfully obtained a business bank account with a fraud conviction? – G.swarm is interested to know whether he’d be able to register as a sole trader with a CIFAS marker. Any thoughts on 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.

What is the impact of Covid-19 on people with criminal records?

Since the UK went into lock-down and social distancing measures were introduced, we’ve been looking at the emerging issues faced by people with criminal records. We’ve compiled a short survey to help us have a better understanding of these challenges so that we can raise the issues and call for solutions.

We want to make sure that our website is as helpful as possible.

Letting us know if you easily found what you were looking for or not enables us to continue to improve our service for you and others.

Was it easy to find what you were looking for?

Thank you for your feedback.

12.5 million people have criminal records in the UK. We need your help to help them.

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