Category: News & Media

Looking back at 2020 – A month-by-month review of developments for people with criminal records

With Christmas nearly here and 2020 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the last 12 months and some of the key moments for people with criminal records.

It’s certainly been a year like no other, but once again it’s been an incredibly busy year for Unlock, with lots of positive news and progress that benefits people with cautions and convictions.

As you can see in the month-by-month developments below, there have been some major strides forwards in reforming the criminal records disclosure system. Changes introduced in November to which cautions and convictions show up on higher-level DBS checks will mean over 45,000 people a year will now have a clear DBS check and be free of the stigma of their past. And proposals by the Ministry of Justice to reduce some disclosure periods under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act are welcomed, although we are calling for the reforms to go further.

But it’s not all been positive either. There continue to be new and extended policies and practices that treat people with criminal records unfairly and punish people long after they’ve served their sentence. And at a time when many people have lost their jobs, now more than ever it’s vital that Unlock continues to work hard to provide support and a voice for people with criminal records, so the charity looks forward to yet another strong year in 2021 – please help Unlock to continue its vital work.

For the charity itself:

We’ve continued to see large numbers of people accessing our helpline and websites looking for information, advice and support. Our helpline has responded to around 8,000 enquiries this year and our information site has again had over a million visitors, with around 50,000 using our disclosure calculator to work out when their convictions become spent.
We were delighted to welcome some new members to our small team this year – Kathryn, our new fundraising manager – Sam, our new policy officer – and Ruth, our new digital and communications manager.
And we were over the moon to win the award for ‘Outstanding national organisation’ at the Criminal Justice Alliance awards last month.

On a personal note, it was announced earlier this month that after 12 years at Unlock I will be moving on from the charity in early February to take up the role of Director of Support and Development at Clinks. It’s going to feel bittersweet for me to move on from Unlock but I’m incredibly proud of my time at the charity and it has been an absolute privilege to have been co-director of such an amazing and unique charity for the last seven years. The trustee board have decided to take this opportunity to recruit a CEO to help the charity deliver on its next phase of work, so keep an eye out for more details on this.

On a practical note, our helpline will be closed for the Christmas holidays from 4pm today (Friday 18 December) and will reopen at 10am on Tuesday 5 January 2020. Our information site has details on what to do if you have questions over the festive period.

In the meantime, on behalf of everyone at Unlock, I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

All the best,

Christopher Stacey

Some key developments month-by-month

In January we launched, together with Transform Justice, the #FairChecks movement to help push for a fresh start for the criminal records system. We also launched a collaboration with the University of Nottingham with a funded PhD opportunity to carry out systematic and in-depth analysis of policy and practice around applicants with criminal records across UK universities. And a year after the UK’s highest court found current rules on criminal records checks breach human rights laws, Unlock, Liberty and Just for Kids Law denounced the Government for failing to fix this broken system.

In February we raised concerns as it was revealed that The Charity Commission has refused more than half of the applications it has received from people with criminal convictions who wish to serve as trustees or senior managers

In March the Department of Justice (DoJ) in Northern Ireland announced it was making changes to what is disclosed on standard and enhanced criminal record checks, in response to the Supreme Court ruling in January 2019.

In April we produced some new information which set out the latest information and advice on Covid-19 and how it impacts on those with a criminal record.

In May Nicola Collett, a PhD student at Keele University, wrote about how her research is progressing into the potential influence of a criminal record acquired between the ages of 10-25, later on in adulthood. (She also wrote another update in September)

In June co-director Christopher Stacey shared some thoughts on the current Black Lives Matter protests, the criminal justice system, racial discrimination and the impact of criminal records.

In July the government responded to Supreme Court ruling with plans to change criminal records disclosure regime. We also published a report that highlights potentially hundreds of unlawful criminal record checks by employers each year.

In August new guidance for taxi licensing authorities recommends exclusions for even minor convictions

In September we responded to Ministry of Justice plans to make reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. We also published a joint report with the Prison Reform Trust which found over half of employers would feel more confident hiring people with sexual convictions if they had access to management advice, or if they believed that the applicant wouldn’t reoffend.

In October we published new information on what you need to know if you are an EU citizen and have a criminal record

In November, after years of campaigning by Unlock, there was a momentous day for tens of thousands of people with old and minor criminal records. Changes to the law have come into effect, meaning many people will no longer have their old and minor cautions and convictions show up when they apply for jobs or voluntary roles that involve standard or enhanced DBS checks.

In December we published our full response to the government’s recent white paper proposing amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. We also put out a call for evidence as we want to hear from people who were prosecuted for historic gay offences and who have not yet applied for a pardon. Thousands of men still have to live with the fallout from a system which attacked them for their sexuality, and to escape that they are expected to apply to the same government which persecuted them. We are hoping to show that the process of disregards and pardons is unfair and discriminatory.

Unlock Annual Report 2019-20

We are delighted to publish the Unlock Annual Report 2019-20.

Compiling our report this year was quite a task as we had so much to say about our work and achievements – from developing our trustee board to supporting volunteers, and from providing direct support to individuals to fighting for system change and a society that lets people move on from their past.

It was a remarkable year with many successes despite the arrival of Covid-19. The impact of the pandemic was mitigated as far as possible and we quickly adapted to remote working and continued delivery of our work. Without doubt, people with criminal records now face additional challenges as jobs are lost and new ones hard to find when disclosing a conviction so often means rejection.

For some 45,000 people this will at least be made easier by the change to the ‘filtering rules’ on 28 November, meaning that for jobs and voluntary roles that involve a standard or enhanced criminal record check issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service, childhood cautions will no longer be disclosed, and a rule that meant someone with more than one conviction had all their convictions disclosed, regardless of offence or length of time, has been abolished.

For people who have been held back from employment and volunteering to help others because of mistakes they made years ago, the impact will be life changing.  Unlock along with others have long campaigned for this, fighting the government all the way to the Supreme Court. Many people have written to us to express what it means to them:

“I’ve spent the morning in tears because I’m so overjoyed… I will be forever grateful to Unlock and you for helping me. I cannot believe that from next week I will be able to apply for teaching jobs without the worry of dragging up my childhood traumas… Good luck with the continued fight for a better justice system.”

“I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone there for the life changing work that you all do. You may never fully know just what an impact your work has on peoples’ lives. I will be forever grateful to you and thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

There’s much more work to be done to further reform disclosure law along with the other vital work we carry out to enable people to live their best lives. 2020-21 promises to be another busy year ahead.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support, faith and generosity of our funders, donors and volunteers, to whom we extend our sincere gratitude.

Thank you for taking the time to read our 2019-20 annual report

Julie Harmsworth
Co-director

Co-director Chris to move on from Unlock and join Clinks

After 12 years at Unlock, and over seven years as co-director, Christopher Stacey will be leaving the charity at the end of January to take up the role of Director of Support and Development at Clinks.

Mark Rowe, Chair of the board of trustees, said:

“Chris has been a terrific colleague and asset to Unlock, and has made a real difference to the lives of people with a criminal record. We wish him well as he pursues the next opportunity in his career. The Board and Unlock’s co-director have agreed to take this opportunity to recruit a CEO to take forward Unlock’s work and further details of this will shortly be released.”

Chris said:

“It’s going to feel bittersweet for me to move on from Unlock after 12 years. I’m incredibly proud of my time at the charity, and it has been an absolute privilege to have been co-director of such an amazing and unique charity for the last seven years. For a small charity, Unlock has really packed a punch when it comes to impact, and put simply, it’s a fantastic organisation. It’s got a great reputation, it’s in a strong position and it’s had some amazing successes. I know that it will continue to go from strength to strength in the future. It represents a cause that I am deeply passionate about and I will continue to champion Unlock and its mission in any way that I can.“

Pardons for historic gay convictions: a call for evidence

It is quite rare for any government to admit to some historic wrongdoing, and even more so to take some concrete efforts to tackle it. When the government announced that it would be creating a process for gay and bisexual men to have their certain convictions removed from the record, this was a unique opportunity to right many historic wrongs.

However, the reality hasn’t lived up to the potential. To gain a pardon, people have to apply for one, which hugely limits the scheme’s reach. Many eligible people don’t know the pardons exist, and the vast majority of men who were persecuted for being gay or bi are not willing to trust the government to handle cases privately and sensitively.

We want to hear from people who were prosecuted for historic gay offences and who have not yet applied for a pardon.

Click here to share your story.

What is eligible?

Only convictions under sections 12 and 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 are eligible – “buggery” and “gross indecency” – and only if the charge would not be illegal under another law today. For example, charges for sexual activity in public cannot be pardoned because they would still be illegal, even though this kind of charge was historically used to persecute gay and bi men.

This means that there are only two types of convictions which can be pardoned. First; convictions which date from before 1967, and which were only brought because both partners were male. Second; convictions from after 1967 which occurred because the age of consent was different for gay and bi men. For both types, as long as both partners were over 16 at the time, and there was no other criminal behaviour, then you are eligible to apply first for a disregard and then a pardon.

“Disregards” were created in 2012, and allowed these two types of convictions to be removed from criminal record checks. Pardons were created in 2017, after Alan Turing was given a posthumous pardon for his homophobic convictions, and were then made available to all men with similar charges. The disregard has the real legal force and removes the conviction from public record, with a pardon more representing an apology from the British state.

Despite existing since 2012, only 483 people have successfully applied for a disregard, and even fewer for a pardon. The combination of strict eligibility criteria with the need to actively apply ensures that the numbers are much lower than the number of outstanding convictions.

It is difficult to know how many men with eligible convictions are still alive, but between 1967 and 2003 when the offences were abolished, there were 26,652 convictions for “Buggery” and 37,200 for “Gross Indecency”. About 30,000 of these convictions were prosecuted after 1980, so there are at least tens of thousands of men who could be pardoned who have not been.

Unlock are hoping to show that the process of disregards and pardons is unfair and discriminatory. While no more people can be prosecuted under the old laws, as long as the criminal records continue to exist, the old regime has not truly been abolished. Thousands of men still have to live with the fallout from a system which attacked them for their sexuality, and to escape that they are expected to apply to the same government which persecuted them.

About You

We want to hear from all men who could benefit from a disregard or a pardon, to hear about their challenges and experience of the criminal justice system. However, we are particularly keen to hear from men who have held off from seeking a pardon because of concerns about their privacy and their past being dredged up again.

You could be any age today, but are likely between 40 and 80.
You must have been convicted of an s.12 or s.13 offence before 2003.
You must be eligible for a disregard or pardon, so your conviction can only be for activity that is legal today and with a partner who was over 16 at the time.
You must have not yet applied for a disregard or pardon, because either you are afraid the process will involve your convictions becoming public, or because you are concerned the process will be insensitive and accusatory.

Update

The Government’s 2012 Disregards and Pardons Scheme was expanded in 2023 to include women and more former military personnel affected by the pre-2000 ban on LGBT+ and service members.

Since the expansion, 40 people have been given pardons, with the majority granted to former military personnel.

Get in touch

Click here to share your story. We want to hear about all experiences and points of view about pardons and disregards, both positive and negative. We understand that these kind of convictions can be difficult to talk about, but your input are critical to our efforts to improve the system and ensure as many people as possible benefit from it.

Your experiences will only be shared with your consent, and Unlock will never reveal your name or any other identifying details.

Unlock and Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service collaborate on resource for young people with convictions

We are pleased to publish a new resource we’ve created in collaboration with Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service. The booklet, produced for young people and the professionals supporting them, is designed to help a young person understand when they need to disclose their convictions, and how to do so.

Download the booklet

Christopher Stacey, Co-director of Unlock, said:

“We were delighted to partner with Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service to develop this resource. It’s crucial that organisations supporting individuals with a criminal record have good understanding on if, what, when and how their clients will need to tell employers and others about their criminal record. We have delivered our ‘Advising with Conviction’ training to a range of youth offending teams and we were pleased to follow this up by producing this information booklet for the young people that Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service work with.”

Laura Moore from Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service said:

“The fair disclosure of any criminal convictions is paramount to individuals in order for them to successfully move on from their past. The rules can be very confusing, and we have found that, particularly for young people they have little confidence in disclosing the right information or challenging unfair judgements. By working with Unlock we have been able to jointly produce a comprehensive and accurate booklet for young people to give them all the information they need. They can choose to use it now or refer to it the future. It has also proved very useful in encouraging employers and educational organisations to consider their polices around people with criminal records. Unlock have been a valued partner and source of training and support in this area of expertise.”

Find out more about Unlock’s training for professionals

Unlock responds to the Ministry of Justice sentencing white paper

Unlock have today published our full response to the government’s recent white paper proposing amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Read our full response here

After many years of campaigning for real reforms, the MoJ white paper is a frustrating read both for Unlock and for anyone who is concerned about criminal records.

The white paper does propose that disclosure periods should generally be reduced, and Unlock certainly support these measures. We also support the MoJ’s goal to improve employment prospects and reduce discrimination.

However, we believe that the proposed changes are fundamentally limited. They do not even apply to everyone who has served a custodial sentence, let alone the hundreds of thousands each year who are given a fine.

Most importantly, the proposals do not consider whether criminal records disclosure is actually a useful approach, or whether it offers any positive sides at all. The MoJ just assume that disclosure does something of value and only set out to make small adjustments without asking if a wholly different approach would deliver better results.

In 2012, the government of the day looked at criminal record disclosure and promised “radical” reforms in their “Breaking the cycle” white paper, but they did not make any structural changes and as a result the gains never materialized. Today’s MoJ are making the same mistakes; tweaking the numbers instead of looking at deeper issues.

Unlock does believe that the reductions to spending periods will be positive, but we also believe that this alone is not enough to make a real difference. As long as all people with criminal records are required to disclose their convictions once they have served their sentence, there will always be a substantial level of discrimination. Shortening the length of discrimination is positive, but all people who receive a criminal record will still suffer from it.

In our response, Unlock urge the MoJ to consider a more substantial package of reforms which will enable people with criminal records to live a normal life after they have served their sentence.

Unlock also encourage all of our supporters to contact their MP and the MoJ and put the case for more significant change. It is critical that this opportunity for change does not fall victim to a lack of vision and ambition. This may well be a once in a generation opportunity to make real change to the ROA, and it is critical that we push for as much change as possible.

Unlock want to hear from anyone that the MoJ have excluded from their changes – particularly those who’s convictions will still never become spent. Click here to tell us your story, and help us build the case for reform.

Read our other posts about the white paper

Monthly update – November 2020

We’ve just published our update for November 2020.

This months update includes:

New guidance explaining the rules on what is disclosed on (and removed from) standard and enhanced criminal record checks following changes to the filtering rules which came into effect on 28 November 2020.
A personal story from Roger describing his experience of volunteering at Unlock.
A link to a discussion on theForum from an individual wanting to find out whether his recent caution will affect his application for settled status.
Details of the award given to Unlock by the Criminal Justice Alliance for ‘Outstanding National Organisation’.

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 2020 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 use, please leave us your feedback and/or consider making a donation.

A momentous day for tens of thousands of people with old and minor criminal records

Today is a momentous day for tens of thousands of people with old and minor criminal records.

The stigma and embarrassment of a criminal record means many people simply don’t apply for jobs or voluntary roles that would require them to disclose their old and minor convictions or cautions. It’s a toxic form of punishment to keep punishing people forever and far too people many are unnecessarily anchored to their past as a result.

That’s why today is such a big day. Changes to the law have come into effect, meaning tens of thousands of people every year will no longer have their old and minor criminal records show up when they apply for jobs or voluntary roles that involve standard or enhanced DBS checks .

There are two main changes to what convictions and cautions are removed from standard and enhanced DBS checks. These are referred to as the filtering rules.

The first change is that childhood cautions will no longer be automatically disclosed. Up until now, about 25,000 childhood cautions were disclosed every year, so this change will help thousands of people move on from minor things they did when they were a child.

The second change is that a so-called ‘multiple conviction rule’ is being abolished. This arbitrary rule had meant that people with more than one conviction on their record had them all disclosed, no matter what the offences were, and no matter how long ago they were, simply because there was more than one. From the experience of Unlock’s helpline, we know this rule had meant that lots of people with minor convictions from decades ago were still finding them showing up on their check. According to Home Office data, these changes will mean around 45,000 people a year will now have a clear standard or enhanced DBS check. But this estimate is based on people that had previously applied for checks – and given we know many people are simply put off applying through fear and embarrassment, the number that will benefit from these changes will be even higher still.

How we got here

It’s been a long road to get to this point. I was part of an independent panel that was set up back in 2010 to advise the Home Secretary on this issue, and the system of filtering that was brought in in 2013 made a difference to a lot of people, but we could see that there were problems, which is why we set about advocating for further change. When it was clear the government were resisting that, it took a number of legal challenges to get them to listen.

And being honest, it is hard to give the government much credit for bringing forward these changes. They have contested the legal cases all the way up to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. Unlock supported those various legal challenges, and formally intervened in the Supreme Court for the first time in our history, because of the significance of the case. The result was a landmark ruling against the government. Even then, it’s taken the government nearly two years to get to this point of actually making the changes.

But we are where we are, and I’m genuinely delighted for the thousands of people that have been in contact with us over the years waiting for changes like this to happen. It’s difficult to do justice to the struggles, shame and stigma that they have felt. Finally, today is the day when that injustice ends and many thousands of people will be free of the stigma of their past. For every one of you that benefits from today’s changes, I want to thank you for all of the support you have given to Unlock’s work on this over the years.

Unlock’s guidance for individuals and employers

The changes being made today are actually quite simple, but the rules around what gets disclosed on checks are still quite complicated, so it’s important that you find out what these changes mean for you. We’ve been busy working on updating our guidance for individuals and employers, and that is all available from this page of our website. You can:

Read this brief guide that explains the changes in more detail
Use this infographic to find out which convictions/cautions will show up on which type of DBS check
If you have a criminal record, read our detailed guide for more information about the filtering system
If you are an employer, read an update about what you need to know on Recruit!, our website for employers

The need for further reform

But there’s still a lot more to do. Despite today’s changes, we are still left with a criminal records system where many people with old and minor criminal records are shut out of jobs that they are qualified to do because of a mistake they made years ago. For example, Unlock research found that over a five year period, 380,000 checks contained childhood convictions, with nearly 3,000 checks including convictions from children aged just ten. Many of these childhood convictions will continue to be disclosed forever, despite today’s changes.

At a time when we’re facing significant economic uncertainty, people with criminal records are finding it harder than ever to find work. The government must commit to a wider review of the criminal records disclosure system to ensure all law-abiding people with criminal records are able to move on into employment and contribute to our economic recovery.

That’s why Unlock is continuing to call for a root and branch review of the criminal records system to reduce the length of time a record is revealed. Everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their potential and make a positive contribution to society. Everyone deserves the chance to build a good life. The #FairChecks site is a crucial way for you to show your MP that you support reform of the criminal record disclosure system.

Unlock wins ‘outstanding national organisation’ at CJA Awards

Last night we were delighted to win the award for ‘Outstanding National Organisation’ at the Criminal Justice Alliance awards.

The online awards ceremony celebrated the amazing work of inspiring individuals and organisations working across the criminal justice system, in what has been a particularly challenging year. It was an honour for Unlock to even be nominated alongside such dedicated people doing incredible and essential work. You can find out about all the nominees in the awards brochure.

This award comes towards the end of what has been a big year at Unlock, and recognises some achievements we’re really proud of. These include hard won changes to the DBS ‘filtering’ system which take effect this weekend, the launch of the #FairChecks movement and 18 trailblazing universities signing up to our ‘Fair Chance for Students with Convictions’ pledge.

We’re really proud of our small but ambitious team of staff and volunteers who have risen to every challenge during the pandemic, and whose dedication and hard work has made these achievements possible.

A common theme across the speeches during the awards ceremony was giving power and a voice to those who are often unheard, which we will continue to strive to do. Accepting our award, Unlock Co-director Christopher Stacey said:

“I want to thank our amazing staff team, our volunteers, our trustees, our funders – but most importantly, the people with criminal records that help us do the work that we need to do, which is to fight for them and to remove the stigma that they face.”

The judges said:

“Unlock is doing fantastic work for the rehabilitation of offenders. Their work is clearly changing lives. It enables people to move on with their lives and reintegrate into society. The legal changes they have influenced will help so many people gain employment and will ultimately help to prevent reoffending.
“Unlock are a charity set up by people with lived experience of prisons. They have campaigned for many years for a fairer system of criminal record disclosure, aiming to give people a better chance to change their lives. Their careful and determined actions through legal and political avenues are now paying dividends. They have laid a path that is leading to a fairer deal for people with past criminal convictions.”

You can watch our award announcement below, and catch up on the whole ceremony on the CJA’s YouTube channel.

Government announces date when planned changes to criminal record disclosure rules will take effect

The government has today confirmed that planned changes to the rules on filtering will come into effect on Saturday 28 November. After years of campaigning for change, and after many months of holding the government to account on the implementation of the changes, the news was confirmed in a letter to Unlock from the Home Office yesterday.

The changes are simple; for jobs and voluntary roles that involve a standard or enhanced criminal record check issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service, childhood cautions will no longer be disclosed, and a rule that meant someone with more than one conviction had all their convictions disclosed, regardless of offence or length of time, has been abolished. For people who have been held back from employment and volunteering to help others because of mistakes they made years ago, the impact will be life changing.

According to Home Office data, these changes will mean around 45,000 people a year will now have a clear standard or enhanced DBS check. One in five people who under the old rules would have had their criminal records disclosed, will now have a clear certificate. Clearly this shows that we still have a long way to go; we hope to see further reforms that allow more people to leave their past behind.

These changes come as a result of a Supreme Court ruling in January 2019. Unlock intervened in that vital case because we know thousands of people are unnecessarily anchored to their past due to an arbitrary regime which forces the disclosure of old and irrelevant information. Until now, about 25,000 childhood cautions were disclosed in criminal record checks every year, most of which were for incidents that happened over five years ago. These changes will end the disclosure of childhood cautions.