The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) means that most convictions can become spent after a period of years. Changes implemented in 2014 (through focused mainly on reducing rehabilitation periods. However, the current law means more than 8000 people every year receive sentences that mean they can never be legally rehabilitated and will have to declare them for the rest of their life – on job applications, for housing or insurance.
A never spent conviction is a lifelong barrier to moving on. We think this should change and that’s we we’re campaigning for ROA reform. As part of our campaign, we use case studies to show why reform is necessary to help law abiding people with convictions move on.
What we need from you
If you have a conviction that can never become spent (i.e. a prison sentence of over 4 years), please contact us at policy@unlock.org.uk using the subject header ‘Call for evidence: ROA reform’. Please include:
Your name
Your date of birth
Contact details (email and/or telephone) and how you’d like us to contact you
The details of all your cautions/convictions including dates and a DBS certificate if you have one
The difficulties you’ve faced, recently or in the past, as a result of your criminal record not becoming spent
If you would be willing to contribute to any media coverage on this issue in future (this is for our reference, we won’t share your details without consent)
Any information you provide will be kept in line with our confidentiality policy. Any personal information provided to us will not be shared externally without your consent.
As part of our fair access to employment project, we are gathering evidence of employers’ approaches to people with criminal records. We work with employers to develop fair policies and practices and highlight good practice. Ban the box is a key part of helping people with convictions get back into the workplace, and we have called on government to place it on a statutory footing. We know this is only part of the answer though – employers need to have embedded fair recruitment practices to make ban the box effective.
We’re gathering evidence on how ban the box works in practice.
Did it encourage you to apply for a job you might not have otherwise?
Did you feel you were treated fairly?
Or maybe the employer claimed to support ban the box but had a blanket ban on unspent convictions?
Maybe it made no difference at all.
Whatever your experience, we want to hear about it.
What we need from you
If you have experience of applying to a ‘ban the box’ employer, contact us at policy@unlock.org.uk using the subject header ‘Call for evidence: ban the box’. Please include:
Your name
Contact details (email and telephone) and how you’d like us to contact you
Details of your experience (please include the name of the employer and of any staff you spoke to, include emails/screenshots etc if possible)
What you think should change
Whether you would be willing to take part in media coverage on this issue (this is for our reference, we won’t share your details with others).
Any information you provide will be kept in line with our confidentiality policy. Any personal information provided to us will not be shared externally without your consent.
Blog – Join the #FairChecks movement to help get a fresh start for the criminal records system
In the 1960s, when Richard was 16, he was found in possession of a small amount of cannabis. He was prosecuted for possession and given a one-year conditional discharge. As a student a few years later, Richard got into trouble again and was convicted of taking an item of food from a warehouse where he worked stacking shelves. He was given a one-year conditional discharge and put the mistake behind him.
After fifty years of good behaviour, a productive career and many positions of responsibility, Richard believed his record was clear. He was approaching seventy when his son wanted to join a choir and as a dad, Richard needed an enhanced DBS check. He suddenly discovered that the police were still listing his youthful mistakes as criminal convictions. Richard feels he is being punished for things that happened decades ago.
“When you look at this record, it looks dreadful. But I was never really the drug taking thief that it suggests – I was a young person who made a couple of silly mistakes. But it’s harder than you would ever believe to correct the impression this record creates, even though no-one apart from me knows or should care about what happened over forty years ago.”
Because of this “new” old record, Richard had to go through the shame and embarrassment of disclosing a criminal record that was older than some of the panel considering his case. He feels unable to apply for third sector work he would like to do. He believes he is being prevented from contributing to society in a way the justice system never intended.
“I thought that conditional discharges were invented to help people get back on track – but since the invention of the CRB/DBS, people like me are shackled with old records they cannot get deleted. This creates a problem that never goes away. We have lost faith in the capacity of people to learn from their mistakes and to change for the better.”
Around one in six people in England & Wales have a criminal record. Whether it resulted in a prison sentence or a fine, a criminal record can be disclosed on a standard or enhanced criminal record check for the rest of their life. Even a minor criminal history produces lifelong barriers that can block reintegration and participation in society. The vast majority of people won’t have been to prison, and many don’t even realise they still have a criminal record until they apply for a new job or volunteer role that involves a standard or enhanced criminal record check.
People like Richard must declare their convictions if they want to be a traffic warden or taxi driver aged 50. A person can change quickly, particularly when they are young, but their criminal record remains.
Our current criminal records disclosure regime prevents people from achieving their full potential. It can be particularly crippling for employment, with 75% of employers discriminating against applicants because of a criminal record, and 50% of employers saying they would not recruit offenders or ex-offenders. The stigma attached means that if a conviction or caution is revealed, people often don’t get the chance to explain how they have turned their life around.
An increasing number of employers require DBS checks, and we know that many convictions and cautions that are revealed on these checks can be from many years, sometimes decades, ago. For example, research published by Unlock in 2018 showed that in the previous 5 years, over 1 million criminal records that related to offences from more than 30 years ago (when the person involved was between the ages of 10-25) were disclosed on standard or enhanced criminal record checks.
This happens without any good evidence that shows disclosing criminal records makes society safer. What the evidence does show is that time-passed is a key indicator – research from the US academic Karl Hanson shows that after 10 years offence-free (5 years for children), the risk presented by most individuals with a criminal record is not meaningfully different from that of the general population This begs the question why so many convictions from so many years ago keep on being disclosed on DBS checks.
In January 2019, the Supreme Court gave its judgment in an important case that Unlock intervened in. The case focused on the rules that determine what gets disclosed on standard and enhanced DBS checks. The Supreme Court ruled that two aspects of the rules are disproportionate and in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The government has yet to properly respond to this ruling.
The inclusion of old and minor offences on DBS checks carried out for employment and volunteering opportunities remains the single biggest issue that people contact Unlock about. This ultimately comes down to the rules (known as ‘filtering’ rules) that determine what gets revealed and what comes off a standard or enhanced check. Working to change the rules has been one of our priority areas for a number of years.
That’s why, together with Transform Justice, Unlock has set up the #FairChecks movement. The #FairChecks movement has been launched to advocate for reform of our outdated criminal records regime. We would like the government to reduce the length of time a record is revealed and remove out of date information from DBS checks. And we are asking MPs to get the government to work out how to do this by launching a major review of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records. If you are interested in reforming the criminal records system so that everybody can fulfil their potential, visit fairchecks.org.uk where you can join the movement and write to your local MP.
Launch of #FairChecks – A fresh start for the criminal records system
Together with the charity Transform Justice, Unlock has launched the #FairChecks movement to help push for a fresh start for the criminal records system.
Our outdated criminal records regime is holding hundreds of thousands of people back from participating fully in society. Even a minor criminal history can produce lifelong barriers to employment, volunteering, housing and even travelling abroad, many years after people have moved on from their past. The system needs to change.
The #FairChecks movement is calling for the government to launch a major review of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records to reduce the length of time a record is revealed.
Commenting on the site, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said:
“People who have made mistakes in the past find themselves locked out of jobs and opportunities, unable to fully contribute to society or to achieve their potential because of a criminal record that is effectively a life sentence. Helping people to secure employment, support their families and contribute to the economy is one of the best ways of making communities safer. Yet the law as it stands means people are forced to reveal criminal records to employers and others for many years – sometimes for the rest of their lives.
“Unlock is delighted to be partnering with Transform Justice to launch the #FairChecks movement to help push for a major review of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records. Everyone should have the opportunity to unleash their potential and make a positive contribution to society. Everyone should have the opportunity of a fresh start. The #FairChecks site is a crucial way for people to show their MP that they support reform of the criminal record disclosure system.”
“People want to move on from their past but our criminal records disclosure system is a barrier. Transform Justice is pleased to be partnering with Unlock to launch a movement for reform of the system. We know that everybody who has been in trouble with the law should have the opportunity of a fresh start”
How can you help?
Use the #FairChecks site to get the support of your local MP. Because it is the government that has to make changes to the law, we need the support of MPs. You can help by getting the support of your local MP. The first step is to use the #FairChecks website to send them a letter letting them know that a fair criminal records system is important to you.
Share the #FairChecks site on social media. Please tweet a link to the site using the hashtag #FairChecks, share it on Facebook and LinkedIn and highlight it with your networks, directing people to the website www.fairchecks.org.uk.
Support it as an organisation. Alongside encouraging individuals to use #FairChecks to write to their MP, we are keen for organisations to be part of this too. We want to encourage organisations to show their public support for #FairChecks through Twitter, other social media and blogs, and please do get in touch with us if your organisation is interested in showing its support in other ways.
Request for participants (now closed) – Understanding the influence of an early life criminal record on adult life courses
Update – The request for participants is now closed. See the message below from Nicola, the researcher:
“Thank you to everyone who has been in contact with me with their generous offer to take part in my PhD research. I have been overwhelmed with responses and now have enough participants that fit the criteria, so the call for participants is now closed. This closure is based entirely on my capacity as a postgraduate researcher working alone on this project. I would like to thank everyone who has responded so positively and I will be working with Unlock to provide updates on the research as it progresses.”
Original request for participants
Unlock is pleased to be supporting the following research.
Nicola Collett, a PhD student at Keele University, is currently researching the potential influence of a criminal record acquired between the ages of 10-25, later on in adulthood.
She would like to talk to people aged 25 and over, to see what they have to say about their experiences of living with a criminal record relating to one or more non-custodial sentence(s) or out-of-court disposals attained between the ages of 10-25. This may include, but is not limited to, cautions, conditional cautions, fines, behaviour orders and suspended sentences. Experiences may be positive or negative. For some, it may be experiences are neutral. There is no upper age limit for this research.
Do you fit the following criteria?
Aged 25 or over
Received one or more non-custodial sentence(s) or out-of-court disposals, aged 25 or younger
Currently living in the Midlands or North West England
If you choose to take part, you will be interviewed by Nicola twice, for approximately 60 minutes each time. For your convenience, interviews will be conducted in your local area.
Participants will be offered a £10 voucher at the end of the second interview to thank you for your time, and for sharing your experiences with Nicola.
Please help us unlock funding so that we can help more people
In the last year, our Information Hub website was used over 1.3 million times and we received feedback saying:
“Totally anonymous way of accessing important information in relation to a spent conviction and disclosure. Extremely helpful and reassuring. Sincere thanks.”
“Your site has made it clear to me what the law is… and how best to challenge it if I think it’s wrong… I am now in a position to know my rights and what to do.”
We are pleased that the website has been useful, but we think some people are missing vital, relevant information – especially because people don’t know what they don’t know so can’t possibly know what to look for!
We need £6500 to improve the way people find information on the website. We want to make it so that you can search for your situation (e.g living with an unspent conviction) and find all the information you need.
We are delighted to announce that independent funder J Leon Philanthropy has guaranteed to provide half of what we need. Will you help fund the rest? Please, please donate what you can through our Big Give page and help us help more people to move on with their lives.
Other ways you can donate
Text UNLK25 with the amount you wish to donate (e.g. £10) to 70070.
You can send a cheque, payable to ‘Unlock’, to Unlock, MCSC, 39-48 Marsham Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1HH
Or you can set up a standing order – please contact debbie.young@unlock.org.uk for more details.
Huge thanks and very best wishes,
The Unlock team
Are you disqualified from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager?
The Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 means people with unspent convictions for specific offences, as well as those on the sex offenders register are automatically disqualified from acting as trustees or senior managers.
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 seeks to recruit trustees and leaders who themselves have convictions, we are concerned about the impact of this. Ultimately, we think that the changes brought in by the 2016 Act are disproportionate and an ineffective way of protecting charities.
You are likely to be affected if you:
have unspent convictions for dishonesty-related offences, deception-related offences, money laundering or terrorism-related offences
or
are on the sex offenders register.
We’re gathering evidence from people who are impacted by the disqualification rules.
What we need from you
If you have are automatically disqualified from acting as a trustee or senior manager because of your criminal record and have been (or will be) affected by the rules in some way, contact us at policy@unlock.org.uk using the subject header ‘Call for evidence: CC disqualification’.
Please include:
Your name
Contact details (email and telephone) and how you’d like us to contact you
Details of your criminal record
Information on how the disqualification rules have affected you – did you have to give up a position you were already in? Have you applied for a position but been turned down by the charity?
Have you applied to the Charity Commission for a waiver – and were you successful?
What you think should change
Whetther you would be willing to take part in publicising this issue (this is for our reference, we won’t share your details with others)
Any information you provide will be kept in line with our confidentiality policy. Any personal information provided to us will not be shared externally without your consent.
Justice Committee inquiry into youth criminal records – have your say!
We’re pleased that, after joint efforts by Unlock and the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ), the Justice Committee has launched a short inquiry into the system governing the disclosure of criminal records in relation to offences committed by people when under 18 years old. Given the Committee’s recent inquiry into young adults in the criminal justice system, the Committee also welcomes views on whether the regime governing disclosure of such criminal records should be extended to apply to records of offences committed by older people, for example up to the ages of 21 or 25.
The inquiry is an opportunity to build on the work we’ve been doing with the SCYJ as part of the ‘Growing up, moving on’ campaign, which was launched in April 2016.
It’s also a good opportunity to explain the disproportionate impact that criminal records have on people that obtain them in early adulthood, and to make the case for this to be reflected in the way disclosure laws operate.
In particular, the Committee welcomes written submissions on:
The appropriateness and effectiveness of the statutory framework applying to the disclosure to employers and others of criminal records relating to offences committed by people when under 18 years old
whether that framework and the way in which it is operated in practice strike an appropriate balance between protection of employers and the public, on the one hand, and the rehabilitation of people committing offences when young, on the other hand
the effects in respect of the disclosure of such records of changes made in 2013 to the filtering of offences from criminal records checks and in 2014 to rehabilitation periods.
The deadline is Friday 11th November 2016.
What can you do?
It’s important that as many individuals and organisations put forward their evidence, comments and experiences on the disclosure of youth criminal records. This is the best way to help the Committee to understand the extent of the issue.
In particular, we think it’s extremely important that the inquiry receives evidence from those people with personal experience of having a criminal record from when they were young. For those who find that it continues to hold them back, or created a significant barrier to them moving on, these personal stories can help MP’s on the Committee to understand the problem and identify what needs to change.
We’re in the process of putting together a response, so if you’re planning to submit evidence to the Committee, please let us know and send us copies of the evidence you submit. Email policy@unlock.org.uk.
Further information
Details about the Justice Committee inquiry are on the Parliament website.
Ever been to prison? What support did you get applying for benefits, finding work and returning to normal life?
The House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee have launched an inquiry into the benefits and employment support available to people with convictions when they leave prison.
They are interested in hearing from anybody who has had experience of the prison system.
The Centre for Entrepreneurs and Unlock are working together to better understand the role of entrepreneurship in supporting people with criminal records. We know that finding employment with a criminal record can be a struggle, and we are interested in exploring whether starting a business is a viable alternative.
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