When Ruby’s son was arrested and charged with a criminal offence she was surprised by the lack of information that was available. Although her son’s solicitor was able to provide plenty of advice about the court case and the sentence he was likely to receive, he knew very little about the ongoing effects of a criminal record.
The family wanted to try and find some positives from the situation they found themselves in but, any information they did find was either extremely negative or raised more questions than it answered. Although the family were a great source of strength and comfort to each other, Ruby found this lack of information incredibly isolating.
Ruby was worried about asking the police any questions for fear that it may be taken out of context. However, it was a police officer that suggested Ruby and her son have a look at the Unlock InformationHub site.
Ruby said:
“When my son was charged, he was crushed, we all were. Having reliable and up to date information on how a criminal record can affect your future has been a true source of support. The InformationHub has been a source of hope for us and although things look dark now, I know we’ll get through this”.
Lessons
We know that people need different information during their journey through the criminal justice system and it’s often the case that they ‘don’t know what they need to know’. It was for this reason that we developed our 7 stages of a criminal record information which provides an overview of the areas of life that will be affected by your record and when.
Links
- Practical information: Seven stages of a criminal record
Notes about this case study
This case study relates to our information site.
Names and details have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.
