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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

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Struggling to find work with a life licence

Despite his conviction being almost 20 years ago, Ed explains how employers still judge him on the person he was then and not the person he is now.

 

 

In 1999 I was tried and convicted of murder. I had never been in trouble before and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I will never re-offend. A moment of complete and utter madness led me to doing something that I never thought possible.

In prison I put my time to good use and completed many offending behaviour and vocational training courses which I thought would help me to gain employment on my release from prison. How wrong was I?

It’s been 3 years now since I was released and apart from some badly paid agency work, I’ve still not been able to secure full time employment. Yet all I heard in prison was how I’d done my time, gained new skills and knowledge and how prisoners were given second chances – well I’m still waiting for mine.

I know that many people will struggle to understand why I did what I did. At the end of the day there is no worse offence than taking a person’s life even if you did it to protect your family. But I’ve served a considerable prison sentence and all I want now is to move on.

I don’t want to be a burden on the state. I want to work and pay my bills just like everybody else. But I can’t because people still judge me on the person that I was almost 20 years ago – is that right? I may be on a life licence but there are no restrictions on what job I can do or where I can work, so I’m pretty flexible. I’m fit and active and prepared to work hard, i just need that one person to give me a break.

I’ve got a great fiancee who’s fully supported me since we’ve been together and I’m incredibly lucky to have her in my life. She encourages and motivates me and we’d love to get married but because of the work situation it’s impossible right now.

I’m a strong person and try to keep positive but some days are harder than others. Although I have no intention of re-offending (I’ve spent too long in prison), I can understand why people do. If you’re not allowed to fully engage in society, then for many the only option is to rebel against it.

The courses I did in prison certainly helped me get my head in the right place and prepare me for release but what do they matter if you can’t get a job at the end of it? I heard somebody say that this was the equivalent of training a football team for the World Cup and then turning up to find there’s no football.

Well I’ve no intention of retiring from the game yet, I’m just looking for a great manager to give me a trial.

By Ed (name changed to protect identity)

 

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Getting permission from probation to return overseas to my husband and family

We’re always encouraging people to try and build good relationships with their probation officer, however difficult this can sometimes be. Rosie explains the assistance she was given by her probation officer and the benefits of seeking peer advice, in this case from the Unlock forum.

To say that I’ve had the year from hell is an understatement. At the beginning of the year I was convicted of a white collar crime and given a suspended sentence and 300 hours of unpaid work. Up until the time I was arrested (May 2016) I’d been living with my husband 5,000 miles away from the UK but whilst awaiting my court appearance and sentencing I hadn’t been allowed to leave the UK.

As he sentenced me, the judge said he hoped that after completing my unpaid work requirements I would be allowed to return home to my family. It took me just 6 weeks to complete the 300 hours (I worked six days a week, 8 hours a day) and I sold my house to ‘we-buy-any-house.com’ at a greatly reduced price in order to raise the funds quickly to return to my country of residence.

As I was finishing my last day at the charity shop where I worked and saying goodbye to all my new friends, I received a call from my probation officer telling me that there was no way I would be allowed to return home until my suspended prison sentence was completed; 22.5 months away. I was absolutely devastated. I was homeless, had no job, no savings, a crucified reputation, the lot. I couldn’t understand the purpose of keeping me in the UK. I was classed as low risk and my probation officer had already told me that she would no longer need to see me.

I contacted loads of solicitors and other specialists but nobody could help. I was told again and again to keep my head down and wait out the end of my sentence. But I’d lost everything and there was no way that I was going to lose my marriage as well. So, as I sat on a friends’ settee one evening surfing the internet, I came across the Unlock forum and added a post asking if anybody had been in a similar situation to me and what advice they could offer.

It wasn’t long before I got a response from somebody who’d been through something similar and offered me some help. He gave me some fantastic advice about my legal standing with probation and suggested I research information around the right to family life etc. I’d built up a good relationship with my probation officer and I could tell that she was as frustrated with my situation as I was. Every piece of useful information that I found which I thought might help me get home I sent to her, bombarding her with details of other similar cases that I’d found online. I had nothing to lose and nothing else to do.

The solicitor who’d dealt with my original case was pretty useless. I truly have lost a lot of respect for the legal system, it seems all they’re interested in is money. I can honestly say that I got a lot more help from the Unlock forum than my legal team.

I’m not sure whether it was the information I sent to probation or the fact that they were just sick of my tenacity but a couple of weeks ago my wonderful probation officer called me to say that she’d taken my case to the Deputy Director of Probation and that I should book my flight, pack my case and return home. I was free to go.

So here I am 5,000 miles away with our rescue animals (8 so far). My husband is the happiest man on the planet and I’ve already received a job offer. Life is good. I’m determined to stay in touch with the guy that helped me on the Unlock forum. I really hope that one day I’ll be able to help him as much as he helped me.

If I can give any advice as far as my dealings with probation go, it would be to be polite and honest, do exactly as they tell you and give them no reason to dislike you. I know that having my probation officer on my side really helped me. Not only was she able to present my case to the Deputy Director but, as I’d always been very upfront with her, she was confident in supporting my application to move overseas.

I’m keen to put the last couple of years behind me and start to live my new life overseas.

By Rosie (name changed to protect identity)

 

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Banking on a new start – advice on opening a bank account with a criminal record

Having recently opened a basic bank account, Eric sets out some tips to guide others through the process.

 

 

 

For anybody that’s ever been to prison, you’ll know that all the time you’re there you lose all sense of personal identity and become a number for the duration of your stay. In many ways this dehumanisation is part of the punishment where you end up feeling sub-human, a category a number of steps below a normal human being who has the normal freedoms to come and go as they please and do what they please within the restrictions of acceptable normal behaviour. A prisoner does not have these freedoms in the normal course of events and exists on an inferior level to his peers on the outside world regardless of his former social status.

Once I’d come to terms with the mental block that I had when I came out of prison I decided that the time had come to try and open a bank account so that I could start to move on with my life. I thought it would be a good idea to approach the bank that already knew my family and where my grown up daughter had a good banking relationship.

I realised that the best policy was to be totally honest with the bank and explain the problems that I’d had over the previous few years, and so I explained my situation to a young man on the telephone at my local branch and threw myself on his mercy! He was pretty positive and suggested that the best option was for me to make an appointment to go and see him with all my documentation and that he would process the account application on my behalf. I explained that I’d be happy with any type of account, even the most basic so that I could rebuild my banking history over a number of years. He agreed that could be the best bet.

And so the process began. I made the appointment and about ten days later presented myself at the bank with all the required documentation. The forms were duly completed and about a week later I received a call from the bank. Apparently a personal reference from a respected professional within the community would be of enormous help in convincing the bank that I deserved another chance. Fortunately, I’ve always had a good relationship with my doctor, so I made an appointment to see him and explained what I needed. It is to his eternal credit that having known me and my family for nearly 20 years he agreed to write the appropriate letter required by the bank.

Within a week the bank confirmed that they would be willing to offer me a basic bank account. Success! In spite of all my reservations and doubts at the beginning, I had by the power of positive thinking found a way to get a new bank account and a fresh start. My advice to all of you out there reading this is:

  • Be positive
  • Look for a bank that already has a relationship with a member of your immediate family
  • Look for support from any respected professional who has known you for a long time
  • Be completely honest and up front when you approach the bank about your recent history.

Everyone makes mistakes in life, some more than others and everyone deserves a second chance – the important thing is not to give up at the first hurdle. If you are determined to rebuild your life and put your past mistakes behind you, then you’ll find a way to overcome these problems and take the first steps back into life as a honest and hardworking member of your community.

By Eric (name changed to protect identity)

 

Comment from Unlock

We’ve done a lot of work to set up access to basic bank accounts for people in prison on release. Unfortunately, it’s still the case that people are released from prison without a bank account, so we have guidance on opening a bank account in the community. Although Eric was asked to provide a reference, this isn’t usually required, and we would suggest people follow Eric’s footsteps in opening a basic bank account – it’s the easiest one to open as it doesn’t come with any credit.

 

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • Information – We have practical self-help information on banking
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to disclosure on our online forum.

Life after receiving a conviction for a sexual offence

We’ve previously published stories which have demonstrated some of the positive ways in which people have moved on after receiving a conviction for a sexual offence, in particular ‘Functioning on a daily basis with a sexual offences order’ and ‘For better or worse – my relationship with a sex offender’. Greg’s story shows a very different experience.

 

I was convicted of possessing a small number (not that numbers are important) of indecent images of children in 2016, following a search of my flat in 2014. The 22 months in between were indescribable. When my case eventually reached court, I was relieved that I wasn’t given a custodial sentence but my life had pretty much ended anyway. You can’t be accused of such a crime, much less convicted, without it haunting you for the rest of your life.

At a snap I lost my job, my home, the majority of my friends, access to children in my family, any self-respect or self-esteem that I might have had and any respect that anyone had ever had for me.

I had 15 years experience of working with young people in paid and voluntary roles (the pictures relating to my conviction had nothing to do with any young person I worked with) without any allegations or inappropriate behaviour, because no such behaviour took place. I was passionate about working hard and doing the best job I could do.

Obviously that line of work – virtually all I had ever done – is closed to me forever now. I have so little experience in any other work that with the conviction, the lack of recent employment history and severe depression, anxiety and insomnia, I can’t see how I will ever work again.

Because I don’t work I have no permanent home, I stay in spare rooms with relatives. I don’t socialise – well maybe once every six months, but all that happens is that after a few drinks my situation comes up and my friends tell me to get over it and get a job.

I know 100% that I will never get involved in a relationship for the rest of my life because I have no intention of putting anyone through the process of finding out about me and I’m not about to volunteer myself for the subsequent constant rejection.

I had two main ambitions in life, which were to write a novel (or several), and to be more involved in politics, even though I had been active for most of my life in one way or another. Obviously, politics is another closed door for me now and if I wrote a novel and sent it to publishers even on the off-chance they accepted it, they would do background checks and refuse, and if that didn’t happen someone who knew me when all of this began would ring some newspaper or other and it would be hell.

So there is nothing left. I struggle to wake up, I carry out the basic things a human needs to do to exist and I drink and go to bed. This is all apart from the myriad appointments I have with probation, the job centre, mental health services, substance abuse etc.

I know there are positive stories on theRecord about living with a sexual offence and some people cope really well. I just have to say that there is another side to this too and when those pictures were found on my computer, I ceased to exist in almost every way.

The victims are of course the children in any kind of child abuse imagery – it can destroy their lives before they’ve even had a chance to live. So I post not for sympathy – I know none will be forthcoming anyway. I was 34 when all this began and have been passing time waiting to disappear ever since, knowing that I am no longer a part of society and never will be again.

By Greg (name changed to protect identity)

 

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • Information – We have practical self-help information on sexual offences
  • Personal stories – You can read more stories about this, under the tag sexual offences
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to disclosure on our online forum.

A long criminal record doesn’t have to stop you succeeding – My experience of working with young and vulnerable adults

Many people assume that once they’ve got a criminal record, they’ll never be able to work with children or vulnerable adults. As Danny’s story shows, this is not always the case. 

 

 

What can I say about my childhood – it wasn’t great to be honest. I was the middle of three kids, all born within 4 years of each other and my mum was a typical wonderfully caring woman whilst my dad was a real disciplinarian (probably due to his having served in the army for many years).

When he left the services my family settled in the South of England and one of my earliest childhood memories was the bitter arguing and fighting between my mum and dad. My dad moved out for a while but came back pretty quickly and the fighting and arguing just continued as before.

I started a fantastic junior school in the 70’s but because I was made to wear jumble sale clothes and my dad shaved my hair into a skinhead cut (just like I was in the army) I was bullied a lot. This wasn’t the worst thing though because at about the same time my dad started abusing myself and my sister. In my case, the abuse carried on for many years, right up until I started secondary school when it stopped suddenly. However, he continued to abuse my sister who told nobody about her experiences.

My father’s abuse affected many parts of my life, not least my education. I was continually disruptive in school but when the head teacher called my parents in, my dad would punish me further by beating me until I was black and blue.

By the time I was 12, I’d started getting into trouble with the police – silly stuff like shoplifting and other petty crimes but eventually I was sent to a detention centre in Kent for 4 months. This is going to sound crazy but I was the happiest I’d ever been. There were no beatings, no abuse, no fights, no arguing.

After years and years of abuse, my sister eventually found the courage to confide in her boyfriend about our father and encouraged by him, she went to the police. My father was arrested, charged and sentenced to many years in prison and we all moved back to the North of England. I continued to get into trouble and served another 4 sentences in detention centres and prison – offending was now part of my life and I couldn’t see any way out of it.

Then I met the person who was to change my life and would become my wife. Having somebody in my life that I loved and who loved me made all the difference and I was determined to change my life for the better. So I started working in a variety of jobs, mostly in factories, until I got a start in retail. I loved the work and within a few years I’d been made a department manager in a large high street store. I got married and my wife gave birth to our beautiful daughter who was (and still is) the apple of my eye. Every decision I made from then on was based on my ability to provide for and spend time with my family. I wanted to make sure their lives were different to mine.

Having started to do OK for myself both personally and professionally, in 2009 I decided to spend some of my spare time volunteering with the Barnardos Heartbeat Project. I was working alongside a guy called Bob delivering sessions to hard to reach young people which looked at the causes of their offending and provided them with strategies they could use to overcome their cycle of offending. I’d been volunteering for about 6 months when I was asked by one of my managers to apply for a paid job with them as a project worker in my local area. To cut a long story short, the interview went well and I was offered the job – what followed was one of the most rewarding times of my entire working life.

Whilst working at Barnardos I gained a number of qualifications including Level 3 NVQ’s in Advice and Guidance and Counselling and a PTTLS teaching qualification. I gained an ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) delivery qualification and started delivering employability training to young people studying vocational courses at a local college. I still work in the same type of job now but with people with special needs as well as young people. My own experience has shown what you can achieve if somebody believes in you and my job allows me to help others to see a future for themselves. It’s immensely rewarding and I look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work.

My relationship with my mum remains good and in 2012 she nominated me to be an Olympic torchbearer in my local town. An amazing day that I’ll never forget.

I’ve tried hard to understand why my dad did what he did and I’d started to see him on a regular basis. On one of my recent weekly visits, despite ringing the doorbell and hammering on the door for what seemed an age, I couldn’t get any answer from him and, after looking through the keyhole and seeing his keys and phone on the hall table I began to get really worried. I phoned the police who broke into his flat where we found my father dead on the floor.

Finding my dad like that was so hard. There was still so much I wanted to talk to him about and I never got a chance to do that. At his funeral, I talked about forgiveness and how important it is to forgive others because life is too short.

My real message to anybody with a criminal record who feels that society has given up on them is this: Please believe in yourself and let others see how determined you are to succeed. I left school with no qualifications, no prospects and a criminal record as long as your arm. I wanted to work with young people but I was worried about rejection. However, I had nothing to fear – there are organisations that are looking for people just like you who have lived real life experiences and can relate to them.

By Danny (name changed to protect identity)

 

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Could you help somebody cope with prison life? Paid work opportunity – deadline 30th June

The Samaritans are looking to recruit some extraordinary people to run workshops in two London prisons. Have you got what it takes? Find out more below. But be quick – deadline 30th June 2017. 

Many people go into prison not knowing what to expect. That’s why the Samaritans and HMPPS are running a six-month pilot project in two London prisons.

They are recruiting ex-prisoners to run workshops for people who are new to prison. The two-hour workshops will focus on how to stay emotionally well and cope during a prison sentence. Samaritans are recruiting up to 15 people to run the sessions and Group Leaders will be paid (£120 per session). They’ll receive full training and support too.

Here’s what one person who has benefited from being a Samaritan had to say:

“I’ll never forget my first night in prison. I felt vulnerable and unsafe. My family, my friends, the people I loved, seemed a million miles away.

I didn’t think I was going to get through it. Who could I trust? How should I behave? And what, if anything, was going to be waiting for me at the end of my time in jail? I had blown my chances and it looked as if my life was going to be all downhill from here.

I would never have admitted it though – I was a tough guy starting a five-year sentence, and didn’t want to show any sign of weakness. I needed a mask to hide behind, and I made sure it stayed in place, I felt my life depended on it.

I kept my head down over the next few weeks but felt as low as I’d ever been. Prison is very noisy and every time you think you might fall asleep something wakes you up. And then you remember where you are.

The turning point came when one of the prison officers talked to me about the Samaritans Prison Listener scheme. He said I’d be good for it. I was sceptical, I didn’t know what it was but he said it could help me, as well as giving me a chance to help other people. A Listener came to see me later that day, and he talked to me about what was involved, how he had found the training, and how he helped other prisoners. It was the first proper conversation I had in prison.

Becoming a Listener and learning new skills really helped me. Not just inside, but in my relationships with my friends and family, as well as helping other prisoners find a way through their problems. I have learned no-one is invincible and we all put on an act of being tough. Dropping the mask was a relief for me in the end, and my training has helped me see the beginning of a different life ahead.”

If you have been in prison and especially if you have been a Listener, you can find out more about this paid opportunity here.

The deadline for applications is 30th June 2017.

Timpson’s gave me the key to unlock my future

Knowing that you’ve got a job to go to on leaving prison can relieve a lot of worry and anxiety. Michaela’s story sets out her experience of securing employment with Timpson’s whilst she was in prison and then upon release. 

 

My name is Michaela and I’m an ex-offender.

When I was 21 years old I was convicted of a drunken violent offence, which happened while I was still a teenager. In a second, a mindless act changed so many lives. My actions were out of character however I knew I had caused another person serious harm and for that I was sorry and I knew I had to be punished. I was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Unsure of the prison system I felt like my life was in the complete control of other people. I knew I had a long journey ahead of me, I kept my head down, made a few friends and got on with what was now my life. In prison.

The prison experience for me wasn’t all bad. Of course, there were times I found myself in tears. Hours, days and even weeks were spent thinking and wishing things were different but nothing could ever change the situation I was in. I found strength from regular contact with my family and the close friends I had made on the inside and I spent a lot of time reading and writing. Any course the prison had on offer to further my education and skills, I jumped at. I completed various IT qualifications and also gained my Level 2 Certificate in gym-based exercise and physical activity as well as studying for a Stonebridge distance learning diploma in Personal Development Coaching.

A little over a year into my sentence I was finally given Cat D status and this meant I could now start to do unpaid voluntary work outside of the prison during the day and return back to the prison after work. I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to get out of there for the day. My first voluntary job role was in a charity shop.

I heard on the grapevine that a company call Timpson were coming into the prison to interview potential employees to give them the opportunity of paid work, training and a chance of employment on release. I spoke to the officer in charge of the outwork scheme and got myself a place on the meet and greet list. A few weeks later the Foundation Ambassador for Timpson, Darren Phillips, came into the prison and interviewed about 12 women. I think they had about 6 vacancies so we were all nervous and feeling fiercely competitive. Well I was anyway. After a brief chat about the company and their quest to find untapped talent in prisons it was time for the one to one interviews and I was up first. My interview went well and I was listed for a second interview two weeks later with the area manager.

My second interview went well and I was offered a paid job. I would be working full time, 40 hours a week and I would get paid. From my wages I had to pay for my own travel to and from work and 40% of my salary was taken out to contribute towards the victim support fund. That was fine by me, I couldn’t wait to get started. Things were looking up for me. The job involved a 16 week training programme – luckily I only had 20 weeks left on my sentence.

My training in store was going great, I passed the relevant skills test and I enjoyed the environment I was in. It wasn’t long before I would be going home and I was keen to ensure that I had a job when I returned to my home town. I contacted the area manager who covered the town I would be going back to and once again I was asked to head to a new store for another interview. I took with me glowing references from my existing manager who spoke highly of me and my work ethic and I was offered another 16 week training period to start the day after I was released from prison. 16 weeks later I was offered a permanent full time position in the store closest to my home, I was over the moon.

I’ve now been a store manager for just over 6 months and I am looking for other great opportunities like the one offered to me by Timpson, to gain more skills and knowledge in different areas. If I can make it this far, why stop now? I have a fantastic work ethic and my ambition is driving me to search for other roles, open up different doors and a new chapter of my life.

I always believed it was easier to find a job when you already had one – I have dedicated a significant amount of time to writing CV’s and applying online for various jobs and registered with different recruitment agencies and here is where I have found a problem. On every single registration form and application form, the dreaded box to tick – ‘Do you have any unspent criminal convictions?’

I find this extremely worrying, as a potential employer will already know I have a conviction before they’ve even met me. Regardless if the conviction in no way effects my ability to work in said position and regardless of how long ago my conviction was, with no other offences in the last 7 years.

This will in no way stop my journey, if anything it has just motivated me even more to make something of myself. I have been in touch with a recruitment agency that is dedicated to helping ex-offenders make it back into employment. I have also contacted a number of charities for any help and advice they can offer me on disclosing my convictions.

My name is Michaela, I’m a dreamer, a mother, a provider, a young woman with passion, ambition and a strong resilience to not let a mistake as a teenager define the rest of my life.

By Michaela

This post originally appeared in the May edition of Inside Time with the title ‘Who I am’ and is reproduced with permission and thanks.

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Writing competition open to former prisoners

The Prison Reform Trust have just launched their 2017 writing competition.

The competition is open to prisoners, prisoners’ families and friends, and to former prisoners. There are three categories:

  1. A comment piece
  2. A short story
  3. A lyric/rap.

With the prison and probation service at a crossroads, this year’s topic for the comment prize will be:

All in it together: fixing the prison community!

Download the competition leaflet which has more information on the categories, rules and guidelines.

Entries close on Monday 7th August.

Good luck.

Historic convictions – I’m letting them stop me from working because I’m too ashamed to disclose them

 

Disclosing details of your criminal record is never easy but some people find it more difficult than others. Monica’s story shows what steps she’s taken to avoid having to disclose to an employer and, although we totally understand her reasons for doing so, sometimes you just have to have the courage to speak up. 

 

 

I don’t want to tell you what you already know, but young people do stupid things. You know what they say;

“Your convictions will follow you around

You’ll never get a good job

You’ll look over your shoulder all the time”

All these statements are true, but for me, I got away with it – sort of.

I didn’t have a great start in life. There was limited guidance in my life, I was in care from the age of 2 and didn’t go to a great school, leaving with no qualifications. I made my way through life doing basically what I wanted to do. Fighting was part of my language, so I used violence to settle disputes and disagreements. This worked for me amongst my peers, but not when I used the same strategy outside in the real world. People immediately called the police and I ended up with a conviction.

I managed to find employment in the public sector.  Don’t ask me how but my professional body wasn’t informed of my conviction. The years passed and I became more and more successful. I’d learned to slow down my speech, was careful not to swear and tried to learn not to use my eyes to challenge people.

For 30 years I worked hard and did well for myself until the rules for employment changed and people in the public sector jobs that I was doing were required to have a criminal record check every three years. I handed in my notice and effectively retired, I couldn’t run the risk of being found out.

I set up my own company and was immediately employed doing the same sort of work as before. As I was self-employed I didn’t have to be checked and so my past never come to light. However, after about 7 years I found that the rules were changing again and when I started to tender for contracts, I’d often be told that I’d need a criminal record check.

That’s when I turned to Unlock. I’d never spoken to anyone about my conviction but I wanted to get back into the profession that I loved, so I was prepared to talk about the past to get the advice I needed to help me. I looked at their website, I looked at the background of the people employed by them and took the plunge and contacted them. It was strange to be open about my conviction, to be able to ask anything I wanted and to not be judged. The advice was good and relevant but not what I wanted to hear. If I wanted to go back into a paid role in the profession I loved, I would have to be honest and open about my past, legally it would then be up to each organisation to decide if they thought a past mistake, 35 years before, was relevant today.

I couldn’t do it, I wasn’t confident to disclose my conviction, I felt cornered. The decision was made for me, I left the world of work, a move I would never have made on my own. I would have worked until I dropped, work defined me but I’m just not brave enough to put myself in a position where I have to be judged again.

Although I’m now effectively retired, I did get away with not disclosing my conviction…I’m just paying for it now.

By Monica (name changed to protect identity)

 

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • Information – We have practical self-help information on disclosing criminal records to employers
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to disclosure on our online forum.

From prisoner to probation officer – securing a job as a probation officer with a criminal record

Back in 2005 when I was about 16 years old my mum made the brave decision to move me and my younger brother from London to Wales. Although I’d never got into any serious trouble, I’d been hanging around with the ‘wrong-crowd’ and had started to get more and more involved in the whole gang scene. My mum could see that I was becoming more drawn in and was terrified that I’d either end up dead or in prison. When she was given the opportunity to relocate with her job, she grabbed it with both hands.

Although I worked hard at my new school and got 10 GCSE’s I still had that ‘gang mentality’ and was a magnet for local Welsh gangs who looked upon me as a ‘proper London gangster’. I’d started to study for my ‘A’ levels but when I wasn’t at college, I’d be selling drugs for my new Welsh ‘friends’.

In 2007, just after my 18th birthday, the inevitable happened and I was arrested and charged with possession with intent to supply. I wasn’t really surprised when the judge sentenced me to a 2 year 10 month sentence and took my punishment like a man. But I fell apart like a baby when I looked over to my mum and saw the tears and look of disappointment in her eyes. I knew immediately that I had to change, I had to make my mum proud of me, whatever happened.

Prison is prison and the worst part of it is the boredom. The prison education department arranged for me to sit my ‘A’ levels. There begun my interest in learning and gaining more knowledge and I was lucky enough to be able to study for a couple of Open University modules.

The prison education department were great. I think they could see how desperate I was to change my life around and they gave me all the help they could. As I started to think about release, I decided that what I wanted more than anything was to continue my education and study for a degree and with this in mind I started applying to different universities. After being rejected by several as a result of my criminal record, I was invited to attend an interview upon my release at a university in Wales. The interview couldn’t have gone better. I didn’t feel as though I was being judged I just got the impression that they wanted to offer me a place and wanted me to succeed.

In September 2009 I started a degree in sociology. A lot of the course was geared around human behaviours which totally fascinated me. I loved learning and was extremely motivated to do well. As well as studying I also started doing voluntary work with an organisation who worked with youth groups and in particular, those who were at risk of getting involved with gangs. Disclosing my conviction was no problem, if anything I used it as a positive rather than a negative and the organisation viewed it in the same way.

After 3 years of study I got a 2:1 in sociology. I’m not saying that I wasn’t happy with my result but I quickly realised that when I applied for jobs I’d be up against other graduates with a similar degree but lacking a criminal record. I knew I needed more and so weeks after leaving university I applied to study for a Masters in Criminology and I was accepted. I also started to look at other volunteering opportunities and came across a vacancy with my local probation service as a mentor. With my background, I didn’t think I stood much of a chance but I also took the view that I had nothing to lose and lo and behold I was invited to an interview and offered a voluntary mentoring role.

On completion of my Masters, I saw a Probation Officers job advertised at the Probation Trust where I volunteered. I’d formed a great working relationship with all the staff in the office and several of them encouraged me to apply for the job. I don’t know whether I’ve just been lucky but I’ve always been very upfront about my past and on the whole, this has served me well. I’ve tried to use my past in a positive way and in light of the type of work I’m doing I guess its been a bit easier.

Prison and education were my saviours and I’m not sure that I would have done one without the other. If I hadn’t been arrested and sent to prison when I was, I would have continued offending – I may well have ended up dead but more likely I’d have got a really long prison sentence. Prison gave me the time and motivation to learn and the rest, as they say, is history.

By Richard (name changed to protect identity)

 

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