Category: News & Media

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:

Max – Don’t let the fact that an employer is asking for a DBS check put you off applying for a job

Nick – Be really clear about your criminal record before you start applying for work as you may disclose something you don’t need to

Paul – Don’t underestimate the benefits of volunteering as a way of getting back into paid work

Unlock welcomes Nick Hardwick as its new Patron

Unlock is extremely fortunate in enjoying the support of some incredible Patrons, so when our President Lord Ramsbotham suggested Nick Hardwick would be a valuable addition having stepped down as Chief Inspector of HM Prisons earlier this year, well, we were only too pleased to take his advice and invite Nick to join us. We were even more pleased when Nick accepted our invitation to become a Patron.

Whilst in post at the Inspectorate, Nick was notoriously outspoken in his criticism of the prison system, which didn’t always go down well with some government officials. Impervious to any interference in carrying out his duties, he railed against disgusting conditions, the shocking level of violence and suicide, and the dysfunction of YOIs. Perhaps it is little wonder then that after six years of witnessing such a system that stubbornly refused to change, he wasn’t sad to leave the job.

On doing so, he is reported as saying “I’m surprised by how much I don’t like being in prison. Although I have keys and can get out at any time, and I regard myself as pretty resilient, it’s the noise, the echo, the clanging, the claustrophobia, the sense that even if you’ve got keys you’re shut in, and the unhappiness.”

“I didn’t understand the degree to which, once you lock someone up, even in the best prisons for a short period of time; that is a very severe punishment indeed. It’s as bad as you could possibly imagine and possibly more so, and don’t think a little flat-screen television in the corner is going to alleviate it, because it doesn’t.”

Unlock’s helpline is contacted daily by people with convictions who struggle to move on in their lives – some have been to prison, others not. It’s the conviction that causes problems not the sentence, though undoubtedly imprisonment brings its own barriers to overcome. One of the problems of prisons, pronounces Nick, is that they don’t prepare you to return to society. “What a good prison does is teach you to be a good prisoner, so it teaches you to be compliant, not to use your initiative, to do what you’re told, to rein in your emotions, and that isn’t necessarily what you need to do to be a good citizen, or a good parent.”

Now Chair of the Parole Board, and part-time Professor in Criminal Justice at the School of Law, Royal Holloway University of London, Nick brings to Unlock a wealth of experience and knowledge, not only of prisons but also of his years in working for the voluntary sector beforehand.

He declares, “I am really pleased to have this opportunity to support Unlock whose work I have admired for a long time. We all sometimes need a chance to make a new start – and this is particularly true of former prisoners. It is in no-one’s interest to put unnecessary obstacles in the way of building a new productive and law-abiding life – it harms not just former prisoners themselves but their families and the communities of which they are part. Unlock has won praise for the work they have done to help prisoners make the transition through the prison gates and I am pleased to be able to support them.”

Welcome on-board Nick.

Julie Harmsworth, Co-director

December 2016

Justice Committee hears first-hand experiences of people with convictions

Today we took a small group of people with convictions to a private session with the Justice Committee as part of their short inquiry into the disclosure of youth criminal records.

We’re grateful to everybody who took part, and we have no doubt it will have helped committee members better understand the issues as they look into this issue and make recommendations in 2017.

Court makes it clear – spent convictions shouldn’t be taken into account for housing applications

Youth justice review recommends reformed criminal records system for children

“A reformed criminal records system for children”

That’s the recommendation of Charlie Taylor, whose review into youth justice was published today.

In a wide-ranging review, there’s a specific section on criminal records (pages 25 and 26).

He proposes that the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office should:

“Develop a distinct approach to how childhood offending is treated by the criminal records system. (Paragraph 85)
This should include:

consideration of distinguishing between under-15s and 15-17 year olds in terms of the retention and disclosure implications of offending; (Paragraph 86)
further reductions in the periods before which childhood convictions become spent; (Paragraph 87)
all childhood offending (with the exception of the most serious offences)
becoming non-disclosable after a period of time; (Paragraph 88) and
the circumstances in which police intelligence on childhood conduct can be disclosed being further restricted. The Home Office should consider the introduction of a presumption that police intelligence dating from childhood should not be disclosed except in exceptional circumstances. (Paragraph 89)”

In its response, the government said:

“We recognise that criminal records in childhood can impact on future life chances. However, there are a number of cases before the courts in relation to disclosure policy as it currently stands. We also look forward to the findings of the current inquiry being carried out by the Justice Select Committee in this area. We intend to work with the Home Office to consider these and the Taylor Review’s recommendations more fully following the Court’s judgement.”

Christopher Stacey, Co-director of Unlock, said:

“We very much welcome the proposals for reform to childhood criminal records that Charlie Taylor has set out in his report. We encourage the government to undertake proactive work in making these recommendations a reality. The ongoing legal cases challenge a narrow aspect of the system and could be settled if the government withdrew its appeal against the January 2016 ruling in the High Court. Regardless of this, there is a pressing need for work to be undertaken in the meantime, ready for when the Court of Appeal makes it judgement in 2017, and we stand ready to work positively with government on this important issue.”

Useful links

We submitted evidence to the review in May 2016
The review, alongside the government’s response, can be downloaded from Gov.uk.

Our evidence to the Justice Committee inquiry into Youth Criminal Records published

Our written evidence to the Justice Committee’s inquiry into the disclosure of youth criminal records has been published on the Parliament website.

Alongside a number of recommendations, we’ve included five anonymous personal experiences. Next week, we’re taking a small group of people to Westminster to share their personal stories with MP’s on the Committee.

The specific details of the inquiry are here

There are more general details about the work of the Justice Committee here

Monthly update – November 2016

We’ve just published our update for November 2016.

This months update includes:

Some new information on becoming a police officer
A personal view on volunteering for Unlock whilst in prison
A link to discussions which have been taking place on our online forum around the ‘Google-effect’
Details of a briefing document that we’ve published on the changes to the Charities Act 2016, likely to be implemented in late 2017.

The full update provides a summary of:

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

Read the November 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.

Delay to introduction of rules on charity staff and trustees with criminal convictions

Today Civil Society has published a piece on the extensions to rules disqualifying trustees and senior managers as a result of criminal convictions.

A Charity Commission spokesperson is quoted in the article, stating that:

“these changes will have significant impact on some individuals and we have always been clear that charities and affected individuals must have enough time to prepare for these changes properly. In order to do so fully, we are working with the Office for Civil Society to set a commencement date later in 2017.

“We consider that this should not before September and are hopeful that this will be agreed. We continue to work with a number of umbrella bodies and rehabilitation charities as we further develop these plans to ensure that charities, trustees and senior staff members have all the relevant information and enough time to take the appropriate steps.”

The original plan of government was to introduce these changes in April 2017.

We are pleased that the government and Charity Commission have listened to the concerns that we’ve raised by delaying implementation. We continue to have principled objections to a number of aspects of the new legislation, in particular the extension of the framework to senior managers and the inclusion of certain spent convictions and people on the sex offenders register. These changes are unnecessary and will be an ineffective way of protecting charities.

A delay to implementation will enable the government to carry out the proper impact assessment of these proposed changes that it has committed to do, so that this can be considered as part of the implementation process. It will also give the commission the time it needs to produce clear guidance on the new framework and establish a sensible waiver process. The retrospective impact of these changes means that the commission needs time to support both charities and individuals affected and ensure that individuals are able to obtain waivers ahead of these changes coming into force.

We understand that the commission remain committed to raising awareness and publishing guidance at least 6 months in advance of any changes coming into force. We’ll be keeping our policy section updated as this progresses.

Unlock winner of the Longford Prize 2016

Unlock, the leading independent charity for people with convictions, was last night awarded the prestigious Longford Prize 2016 for its work in countering the sometimes life-long disadvantage that can result from having a criminal record.

The Longford Prize is an annual award from the Longford Trust which ‘recognises the contribution of an individual, group or organisation working in the area of penal or social reform in showing outstanding qualities of humanity, courage, persistence, originality and commitment to diversity’. The award was presented by the late Lord Longford’s daughter, Rachel Billington, as part of the 15^th Longford Lecture, held in the Assembly Hall at Church House, Westminster. Unlock was joint-winner alongside The Shakespeare Trilogy and Juliet Lyon received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to those on the margins of society. This year’s lecture was given by Michael Gove MP, former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.

In reaching its decision to award the prize to Unlock, the judging panel stated:

“This charity, founded in 1999, is run by people with convictions for the estimated 10.5 million people living with convictions in the UK. It has the invaluable aim of countering the sometimes life-long disadvantage that can result from having a criminal record. From persuading employers to adopt fairer recruitment practices to challenging the insurance industry to reduce inflated premiums for those with convictions, Unlock’s sustained, practical and highly effective work means that those it supports can successfully navigate the many obstacles on the path to rehabilitation and positive re-engagement with society.”

The award was presented to the charity’s co-directors, Julie Harmsworth and Christopher Stacey. Commenting on the award, Julie and Christopher said:

“In the last few years, we’ve seen a huge rise in the number of people that we help. Every day, we learn more and more about the barriers that people face because of their past criminal record. There remains significant stigma and discrimination towards people with convictions. Unlock has established itself as a respected, independent voice that speaks up and makes the case for change. Our success in changing people’s lives and the way they are treated by others, comes from steady determination and just getting on with the job of continually pushing at doors until they open. Winning the Longford Prize tells us we must be doing it right.”

– Ends –

Notes to editors

Unlock is an independent, award-winning charity for people with convictions which exists for two simple reasons. Firstly, Unlock assists people to move on positively with their lives by empowering them with information, advice and support to overcome the stigma of their previous convictions. Secondly, Unlock seeks to promote a fairer and more inclusive society by challenging discriminatory practices and promoting socially just alternatives.
There are over 10.5 million people in the UK that have a criminal record.
Unlock’s website is unlock.devchd.com.
The Longford Prize is an award which recognises the contribution of an individual, group or organisation working in the area of penal or social reform in showing outstanding qualities of humanity, courage, persistence, originality and commitment to diversity’
Details about the Longford Prize can be found at http://www.longfordtrust.org/longford_prize.php
A video of the award ceremony is available here (the awards starts at about 6 minutes in)
Read Co-director, Julie Harmsworth’s blog about the event.

The Longford Prize 2016

What a night!

Attending the annual Longford Lecture at Church House, Westminster last night, it was a huge privilege to receive the Longford Prize 2016 on behalf of Unlock together with my Co-director Christopher Stacey.

The Longford Prize ‘recognises the contribution of an individual, group or organisation working in the area of penal or social reform in showing outstanding qualities of humanity, courage, persistence, originality and commitment to diversity’. Unlock was joint winner with The Shakespeare Trilogy.

Presenting the award Lord Longford’s daughter Rachel Billington was joined on stage by Kevin McGrath of the McGrath Charitable Trust who generously donated prize money of £5,000, shared between the winners. The award itself had been commissioned by the Trust from one of is former Longford Scholars, Ben Levings, now forging a successful career as a carver and stonemason, who designed the award. Rachel commented, “Made of stainless steel, glass and Yew, the detail on the statuette represents the lock indicator found on UK prison doors. The award represents, Ben says, the door unlocked, transparency and reflection – some of the things that he felt are celebrated by the Longford Prize and the work of those who receive it.”

It has pride of place in our office today.

What further added to the joy of the occasion was the first person to come and offer his congratulations. None other than Bob Turney, who was one of Unlock’s founders back in 1999 and a patron of the Longford Trust. Bob beamed as he shook our hands saying “I am so proud! It’s fantastic to see Unlock win this prize. You’re doing a brilliant job!” Having re-established contact with him he’s keen to be kept up-to-date with our work.

A good friend to Unlock over the years, former Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon was also honoured when she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to those on the margins of society. A well-deserved recognition.

PRT’s new Director, Peter Dawson, too offered his congratulations saying that one of the things he really admired about Unlock was that we were willing to do “the boring stuff” – “stuff that nobody else wants to do but what is SO important”. He summed it up pretty well!

By Julie Harmsworth, Co-director