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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Migrated From: The Record - Posts

When is enough, enough?

Builder

From the age of twenty, I trained with The National Trust specialising in the repair of old buildings following which, I began my own building business. At the same time, I sang both at amateur level and professionally as a tenor in various local operatic companies.

In 2003 I started a restoration company restoring old buildings and also completing some new work. As I grew up on a council estate; my mum was a cleaner and my father a labourer on building sites, I really started with nothing, but by the time 2005 came I was employing nearly twenty people and had built myself a property portfolio of three houses. I was working day and night, as do many others.

In 2007 the recession came along and I was threatened with losing everything. I tried desperately to keep my business afloat and my employees jobs safe but, after trying all I could to keep things going I ended up borrowing money from loan sharks. Eventually through the bullying and pressure from them on me and my family, I was bullied into talking two investors in to investing money into my business; the outcome of this was that I was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment.

When I was released from prison in 2010 my family was on its last legs. My wife and children were living with my mother and father in their two bedroom bungalow which was due to be repossessed.

I went to the job centre and was offered £6.00 a week due to the fact that one of the houses I owned was not yet sold and they deemed it an asset. So I went home, filled a ruck sack full of my father’s DIY tools and walked the streets looking for work. Eventually, I got some work hanging fire-doors five miles from my house which I walked to every day carrying my tools. My family was in such a bad financial situation that most days I didn’t eat all day.

After 6 months I was making arrangements with everyone I owed money to, my nan and grandad (now passed on), managed to get together £450 for me to buy a car. Never having any driving offences or convictions, much to my surprise, I could not get insured and had to have ex-offenders insurance which cost me £3300 for a £450 car.

Onward and upwards, I carried on and paid back in total nearly £240,000 working day and night. By the time we arrived in 2015 I had paid as much as I could, had sorted out my parents’ financial situation, and moved with my family into a rented property where we are extremely happy after years of all living in one room. I now employ two people and have an apprentice who qualifies later this year, even though I cannot get the government funding for him, as having a past criminal conviction, I still can’t obtain any employers liability insurance that costs less than I would receive in funding.

In March last year I volunteered myself and my men to help on a television programme. The production team were so impressed with what I did that I was offered a job as Build Manager for another programme; a job which I threw myself into. Through my hard work I was then offered a contract on the show for a whole year which I was delighted to accept. There was even mention of contracts for other shows too.

I was away filming for two weeks and on returning home one night, was greeted on the doorstep by reporters from various newspapers. Apparently, a local newspaper had received a tip off about my previous conviction and had printed a story about me in the paper. This article fairly quickly led to my contracts with the television show being cancelled, despite huge protests from the many volunteers I had worked with. In the end, these protests counted for nothing and I was dropped like a stone.

A close customer of mine was so upset by my treatment that they wrote to the Princes’ Trust explaining my story. They referred me to Unlock.

I just want to ask when is enough, enough? Having gone through the prison system, I know that they sew a safety net under you right up until the day you are released. At that point it’s immediately taken back so somebody else can use it and you’re left with no promised support from anyone at all.

I’ve applied to many other business organisations and have met the same brick wall every time. Even now, after repairing my credit I still cannot get any financial help anywhere. How does anyone else who does not have my amount of grit, determination and tenacity, get back on track in this life following a situation like mine? There must be so many people with so much talent and skill out there in similar situations that are just left at the bottom of those same brick walls that I have been.

What is anyone in our great United Kingdom doing about this?

 

By Alex (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 self-employment and reporting of criminal records in the media for people with convictions on our information hub.
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to employment from people with convictions on our online forum.

Five years in the life of a person with conviction

Old Life new life image

I’d like to share with you my journey since I received my conviction over 5 years ago. In 2010, I received a conviction – the first time ever I’d had a run in with the criminal justice system.

Shortly after sentencing

Shortly after I was sentenced, I fell into a really bad rut. I lost my job and along with it, my future due to the chain reaction this caused. I disappeared off the grid for a year, closing up and only staying in contact with close family and a few very close friends. During this time I’d continued to play the ‘what if game’, the same one I did when I was awaiting sentencing. Believe me this isn’t constructive, it’s unhealthy and can make things that are completely out of your control seem a lot worse.

I considered myself unemployable due to the horror stories that I’d read online and so I signed on with the job centre. Deep down, I knew I couldn’t face years of not working, just surviving on benefits.

Coming to terms

I had difficulty coming to terms with what had happened. I kept harping back to where I was, prior to being arrested and sentenced to where I was after my arrest. All the stress I went through meant that I was a changed person and to an extent I still am. I view life completely differently now.

Prior to my arrest I worked in the City for a big financial organisation. I was building a career for myself and was looking to move abroad with my partner. There was no way I was going to be able to get back into that position and it was that sole fact that I had to deal with and come to terms with very quickly.

The fall from grace was long and hard but hitting rock bottom was the worst. I went through some of the lowest points of my life – depression, worthlessness, even suicidal thoughts. It was a really dark time but I managed to pull myself out of it.

How did I do it?  With a lot of help – close friends and family that I’d kept in touch with and believe it or not, it was also with the help of my probation officer. I also used Unlock’s forum –  I’d sit for hours and read what people had written, taking their advice and finding some solace knowing I wasn’t alone in what I was going through. After a while, I decided to become a member myself and started to contribute.

In and out of employment

After 12 months I accepted the fact that earning £30k a year was in the past and I’d have to work my way back up the ladder of trust and responsibility. It’s a game changer but once you accept it you can start to move on and rebuild yourself. It’s a lot healthier – applying for the same job that I did before sentencing wasn’t the way forward.

So there I was earning £6 an hour labouring on a building site. It was a culture shock but one I adapted to quickly and actually leant to enjoy. Finally earning money after 12 months out of work meant that I was able to get out and start meeting new people. It did me the world of good.

However, the joy wasn’t to last long. I’ve always been open and honest so when the agency I worked for asked me about unspent convictions I thought ‘no problem – I’ll tell them’. Needless to say, I was released from their employment straight away.

This happened a few times before I learned my lesson. Yes, it dragged me back towards depression and worthlessness, but knowing I’d got employment once fuelled me on. I turned to the Unlock forum again for advice and one member in particular told me:-

Apply for jobs that don’t require a criminal record check. As soon as you know a checks going to be done leave and seek employment elsewhere.

As dishonest as this may sound, believe me, this is the only way that I’ve managed to remain in employment for the past 5 years. Yes the jobs have been hard graft and in some cases damn right dirty, a far cry from crisp shirts and clean suits but it paid the bills

I’ve mainly worked in construction – labourer, handyman, tradesman’s mate and in all fairness on some of these jobs I’ve disclosed and kept my job. It’s a matter of weighing people up, knowing who to tell and who not to tell.

I’ve learnt a lot of new skills through my experience – DIY, management and most importantly life skills. I’ve met a new partner and new friends none of which I would have done were it not for my conviction.

Returning to the social circle

12 months after my conviction an old mate saw me in a pub and convinced me that I needed to get out of the social rut I was in. Being out of contact with friends for a year makes it difficult to return to – the thought of all those questions made me anxious about seeing old mates again.

I found that dealing with questions from friends is the same as employment, you don’t have to tell everyone you know about your conviction. In my case I put it down to losing my job and splitting up with my partner that had made me isolate myself and it was only my new job that enabled me to return to the social scene.

Slowly and surely with the support of my family and mates I started to regain some normality and move on from the past. My attitude to meeting new people changed, I got my confidence back and entered into a new relationship. I decided to be up front and honest with my new partner about my conviction quite early on. I felt so much better for doing so and I think it has helped her to understand me a lot better.

A steep learning curve

4 years into my sentence, changes were made to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 which I considered to be the best news ever. My conviction was spent, I applied for a job with a large company and was successful. No more manual jobs for me and a huge step towards going back to where I was before sentencing. I’d never seen this coming – didn’t dream it could happen.

All was going really well. I’d settled in fine and was finally earning a decent wage. I’d applied for my basic criminal record check and was really looking forward to handing over my clean certificate. But, once again, my world was hit with a sledge hammer. The certificate came back displaying my conviction clear as day. I researched frantically, challenged the check and sought legal advice.

Eventually I contacted Unlock and although I appreciated the time and effort they put in to researching my situation, what they told me was so disheartening. My ancillary order prolonged my rehabilitation – my conviction wasn’t spent after all. I had to wait until my order came to an end. So back to the agency I went and continued to work through them until my order finished.

As soon as the order ended, I began to apply for more jobs and was invited to 3 interviews with 3 reputable firms, all of whom offered me jobs and asked me to provide a basic disclosure certificate. I accepted a job with one of the companies and not a moment too soon, I was able to hand over my blank basic disclosure certificate.

Looking back

As you can see, over the past 5 years I’ve been through a lot. I’ve lost friends, jobs and a piece of myself. I have a more serious outlook on life now but I also have a wealth of knowledge gained from my experiences. So what would I do differently:-

Education/degree/trade

I would definitely have immediately applied to the Open University to study for a degree. Looking back, I could have used my time to learn and rebuild myself and at the end of my five years I might have had a degree or some sort of qualification. I’m still planning on studying for a degree or learning a trade so that I keep my future options open should there be any changes that impact on my current job role.

Social circles

It can be hard to socialise when you’re in that dark place with all the negativity generated by the criminal justice process. I isolated myself from many friends for about a year which really wasn’t a good move either mentally or emotionally. It also bought about anxiety when meeting new people which really didn’t help when I was seeking a new job.

Employment

The biggest challenge facing anybody with a conviction is employment and the advice I’d give anybody is:-

  • Come to terms with your fall from grace. Whatever your job role was prior to sentencing you’ll need to accept that was then and this is now. It’s hard but the sooner you do it the easier it will be to find work.
  • Many employers ask for five years of solid employment history and are cautious at taking anyone on who doesn’t have a good reason for not having this. The quicker you get into employment whether it be construction, warehouse work or driving, the quicker you begin to remove a barrier that will still be there once your conviction becomes spent. The money may not be great but challenge yourself – see how quickly you can move up that ladder. It could be the start of a great new career. Try and stay with the same company for as long as you can as this will look much better on your CV.

Today

Well, that’s my story. It hasn’t been easy for me or my partner but I’ve fought hard and I’m now moving on with my life.  Today, I’m still working for the same company, I love the industry I work in even though I would never previously have considered taking this career path (every cloud has a silver lining though).

I’ve started travelling abroad and I’m saving for a deposit for a house. In some strange way, I believe I am a better person and in a better place.

 

By Jack (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 the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act for people with convictions on our information hub.
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to success stories from people with convictions on our online forum.

From brothel to boardroom

ClothesI would generally describe myself as a clever woman. I’ve had a good education. I’ve had some really good, well paid jobs. I’ve travelled the world. My social skills are fine and I’ve got a wide circle of friends.

However, I’m not the smart a**e you might think I am. I have an achilles heel – men. Yes that’s right, I’m an absolutely lousy judge of men.

I married young and had two beautiful children. My husband worked in construction taking control of major building projects all over the world. For many years, the four of us lived in the Middle East, the lifestyle was fantastic and the tax free salary meant we were able to have the best of everything. Yet all was not as it seemed. Behind closed doors, my husband was an abusive monster. It started verbally, just nasty words and put downs but quickly escalated into physical violence. Living overseas meant that I was isolated from family and I had nobody to turn to. In the end, I just accepted it, doing everything I could to ensure that neither me nor the children did anything to annoy ‘hubbie’.  We moved back to the UK just as the children started secondary school but sadly my domestic situation didn’t really change.

Tragically, when he was 19, my son died in a car accident. Nothing can prepare you for the death of a child and for at least 6 months I could barely bring myself to get out of bed. The only ‘good’ thing to come out of it was that I eventually gained the courage to leave my husband and seek a divorce.

My divorce settlement enabled me to buy a lovely little cottage and I found myself an admin job in a local office. Life was good – happy and safe.

I had a great social life with lots of friends both male and female. I wasn’t looking for love but one night when I was in a local bar I was introduced to Liam. He was 20 years younger than me but witty, intelligent and a local businessman. He had it all. In all honesty, I guess I was flattered that somebody like him would be interested in somebody like me.

I won’t bore you with the details but after about a year, Liam and I bought a house and moved in together. Liam was an entrepreneur in every sense of the word, always looking for new ways to make money – and he was very successful. I wasn’t unduly worried therefore when he told me that he wanted to set up a ‘Gentleman’s Club’ and thought I’d be the ideal person to manage it.

I quickly realised that ‘Gentleman’s Club’ = ‘brothel’. I can’t explain why I didn’t walk away as soon as I found out. I knew what I was doing wasn’t legal but there was a part of me that believed Liam when he told me that we were ‘providing a service to the local community’. Not only that, several of our clients were serving policemen and I guess I felt this offered us some protection.

I should have listened to that little voice in my head which had told me to ‘get out’. All too soon, we were raided by the police and both Liam and I ended up in court. We both received significant prison sentences along with significant compensation orders. I lost absolutely everything.

Prison wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be.  I made some wonderful friends and used my time constructively signing up for every course that I could.

I was always worried though about how I was going to be able to support myself when I left prison. Having a conviction which would never be spent, I’d assumed that getting paid work would be difficult – not sure too many employers would want ‘Madam Shirl’ working for them or at least not the sort of employers I wanted to work for!! I started to consider self-employment. I’d always been interested in fashion and would often customise clothes that I’d bought from High Street stores. I knew this was something I was good at but I wasn’t sure whether I could make a business out of it.

A couple of weeks before I left prison, my personal officer arranged for me to meet somebody who worked for Women in Prison. I ran my ideas past her and she gave me some fantastic feedback and advice. She suggested I start small – sell items on eBay to see whether there was a market for my goods. She also gave me a link to somebody who was able to help ex-offenders set up websites and a list of potential funders.

So, I left prison, got my website set up, it looked great and with a £50 loan from a friend, I scoured the local charity shops for clothes. On that first day I returned home with a huge bag and spent a week, working 15 hours a day customising my loot. Adding new buttons, lace, cutting, stitching, you name it, I did it. I took photographs of the items from every angle and uploaded them to Ebay and my website. At the end of the first month, I’d earned a £500 profit and immediately paid back the £50.

Ebay and my website went from strength to strength and just before Christmas a year ago I was in a position to rent a ‘pop up shop’, initially for two months. My shop is now the ‘place to go’ if you’re looking for something original and quirky. I now buy a lot of my stock in but still make sure they’re different and one-off pieces and I’ll always give something the ‘Shirley’ touch if I’m asked.

It’s been the hardest work I’ve ever done. I spend all day in the shop and then go home and work in the evening. However, I think I’ve just got to the point where I’m ready to take on a part-time person to help me out. Without a doubt I’ll be looking to give an opportunity to somebody with a criminal record.

And what about my achilles heel – well there is a new man in my life. He’s charming and well groomed, weighs about 200lb and drools quite a lot. He absolutely adores me and all he wants in return is a big bowl of dinner and a long walk every day – he’s my St Bernard, Henry.

By Shirley (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 self-employment for people with convictions on our information hub.
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to self-employment from people with convictions on our online forum.

Functioning on a daily basis with a sexual offences order

I hear so many stories about the difficulties that people encounter trying to live with Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPO’s) or Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPO’s). If you’ve just been given a SOPO/SHPO and are struggling to see how you’re ever going to be able to live a normal life again, then here are some of my own experiences and opinions.

As you can probably tell from the above, I was convicted of a sexual offence and as part of my sentence, I was given a SOPO (as they were known then). It was ridiculously wordy and repetitive and I’m pretty sure it had some unlawful elements too. But, here’s how I dealt with it.

Employment

My employment background has been heavily tech based (Cisco networking, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and within senior management. Whilst I was on licence, following my release from prison, my Probation Officer forced me to disclose my conviction to any potential employer prior to accepting a position with them (even when they’d never asked me about my criminal record). I was offered two senior positions but immediately I disclosed well, – go figure – offer revoked. It was a really difficult time.

I came off licence about a month ago and guess what, I start a senior position this week. I haven’t disclosed by conviction, because as per both employment law and disclosure law, if you aren’t asked, you don’t need to tell. Many employers I’ve come across haven’t asked me the question but I know that many do. Remember if you’re asked about your unspent convictions then you must disclose. If your employer does find out then you’ll probably going to be instantly dismissed with no comeback.

I’m not sure whether I’ve just been lucky but my Public Protection Unit Officer has been great (I know other’s experiences are very different). He didn’t agree with my Probation Officer’s view about forced disclosure as he didn’t believe that my conviction was relevant to my work. He also made the point to me that gainful employment is a factor in reducing the risk of re-offending.

The Google Effect

The best advice I can give is to change your name. I believe there’s every chance that people will ‘Google’ you, if only out of curiosity. I changed my name to coincide with the end of my Licence. Anybody can do it and there’s no cost involved if you do your own Deed Poll (its much easier than it sounds). Of course, you’ll have to inform the Police (as part of the Sex Offenders Notification scheme) within three days and remember to also change the name on your bank account/utility bills/driving licence – the works.

SOPO/SHPO conditions 

One of the conditions of my SOPO was ‘not to delete internet history and make it available to the police’. This really didn’t bother me at all. At the end of the day, if you aren’t doing anything wrong then you’ve nothing to worry about. The police told me that they will only wish to have a look at my computer if they had good cause to do so. Well, my history is completely clean. I’ve been out of prison for 22 months now and no one has every asked to see my history.

Travel

If you’re not on licence and have no travel banning orders then you can go anywhere you want, for as long as you want – well except those countries that require you to have visa’s (the USA for example). Remember to notify the police of when you’re going and where.

The police may choose to notify border control of your travel plans and you may get ‘questioned’ by border control but that’s life I’m afraid. Just go and enjoy yourself.

New relationships

I was told that disclosure only applied to me if the lady I was involved with had children or may have children staying or visiting her. Lets be clear though. If you hide a relationship with somebody who has children/grandchildren, even if they’re just visiting, then you’ll be in serious bother.

If you explain all the facts to your new partner then its not a foregone conclusion that they will run a mile (although they might!!). You should be mindful that the police/social services may wish to conduct a risk assessment as to your risk and also your partner’s ability to protect their children from harm.

Many people simply avoid getting into a new relationship until they come off the Sex Offender Register even if it’s for 3, 5 or 7 years – that’s a decision only you can make.

Friends

You may have to start completely from scratch on this one. You may have friends who’ll stick by you, who are understanding and supportive. However, they may have friends who take a completely different view. If your friends have kids then spending an afternoon and evening at a barbeque can be difficult when you have to notify the police if you’re spending 12 hours in the home where there is an under-18 present.

Don’t be worried about making new friends – how and where you meet them will depend on your age and interests. Just remember to choose your friends carefully.

Things won’t always be plain sailing and can often be quite daunting but the future is achievable. Maybe not the kind you’re used to nor ideally what you want but it’s there.

Don’t let 1% of your life define the remaining 99%.

By Alex (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 convictions for sexual offences on our information hub.

Going straight and loving it

I spent about 20 years of my life abusing drugs and grafting to pay for them (you name it, shoplifting, card fraud, car crime etc). I didn’t consider doing anything else, it was just a way of life for me.

Well, as you can no doubt imagine, the day came when my luck ran out – arrested, charged and convicted. A 6 year custodial sentence for drug dealing. It was probably the shock I needed although I didn’t quite see it that way at the time. When the judge handed down the sentence, it was hard to see any sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

I quickly realised there was no point in feeling sorry for myself. Nothing to be gained by sitting in a cell smoking, drinking coffee and watching television. I began to realise that I wasn’t getting any younger and ‘ducking and diving’ wasn’t for me anymore. I needed to go straight, give up my old ways. Only one problem – what would I do? What could I do?

I began signing up for courses which would give me new skills or knowledge and I really used my time constructively. When my release date arrived, I’d already got myself a job lined up with a company that gives ex-offenders a second chance.

I enjoyed the work and stayed for about 18 months. Since then, I’ve signed up with several agencies and I’ve been working in warehouse/production type jobs. I’m not afraid of hard work and I bring home about £450 per week.

I always disclose my convictions – I don’t want the hassle of my boss finding out and being sacked – its just not worth it. So far, disclosure hasn’t caused me too many problems. I think agencies and employers value my honesty. I’m realistic about what and where I can work and I know my limitations, but I’m working and doing OK. One of the agencies I’d signed on with gave me a temporary placement at a huge production company. I’ve worked really hard since I’ve been there, keen to let my current work do the talking, not my past. I’ve been with the company about a year now and it looks as though I’m about to be taken on by them directly. This will obviously give me a lot more security but will also open a lot more doors for me – a pension, promotion ………

Getting work these days is hard – even without a criminal record. All I can say is, stick with it and good luck.

By Michael (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 to employers and support getting into work for people with convictions on our information hub.
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to getting into work from people with convictions on our online forum

Ever been to prison? What support did you get applying for benefits, finding work and returning to a 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 deadline for consultation is 15th July 2016.

Find out how to have your say on our information site.

From prisoner to Case Manager – Karen’s story

The article below was originally published on the Prisoners Education Trust website and we thought it would be of interest to people with convictions who are considering employment options available to them. Thanks to PET for giving up permission to re-post here. 

 

In 2012, Karen received an 18-month prison sentence. She spent four and a half months in custody, only to re-enter prison the day after she was released to mentor female prisoners. She now works as a case manager and also specialist employment broker in a prison in the south of England.  Here’s her story.

Before my case went to trial, everyone assured me that I wouldn’t be sent to prison. I was a single mother without a criminal record, being tried for a non-violent offence – I was told there was very little chance I would receive a custodial sentence. So when I was sentenced to 18 months in jail I hadn’t prepared myself at all. I’d left my daughter, who was eight, in Kent with a friend, just assuming that I’d be back that day – but obviously I wasn’t.

My sister had a break down when I told her – nothing like this had ever happened in my family. One day I was an independent person with a career and a child, the next moment it all fell apart – it was a complete nightmare.

Of course, my main worry was for my daughter. I hadn’t had the chance to explain to her what had happened, or to arrange who she would stay with. I spent a few days not knowing what would happen until eventually I was able to make a phone call and found out that she’d be able to stay with my brother. I was so relieved that she was in safe hands and would be able to go to school.

What turned everything around for me was beginning to act as a peer worker to other female prisoners. I helped with resettlement, training and education, and used my background in housing recruitment to develop relationships with local employers and get the women involved in voluntary work. I got so much from helping to empower women. A lot had never worked, were uneducated and lacked self-confidence. I met many who had come from abusive relationships and had been forced to work as prostitutes or sell drugs. For some, coming to prison was the first time they didn’t have men controlling them and were able to really think about what they wanted to do with their lives. Teaching someone to read and write is very empowering, and securing an interview or even a job made a huge difference to women, and gave them hope for their future after release.

Although it has now been recognised that there is a direct link between poor education and offending and better provision has been made in the prisons, I still get the feeling that it is very much about targets and ‘box ticking’. We need a much more bespoke service, where the individual needs of women are identified and met. Women need to be empowered; many have come from abusive relationships and they need the tools to have the courage and confidence to rebuild their lives, for themselves and their children. Not every woman wants to learn how to become a beautician or a hairdresser! There also needs to be a much broader, more relevant range of courses offered in female establishments, such as the distance-learning qualifications offered by Prisoners’ Education Trust. Education should be linked to skill shortages, such as plumbing and driving large goods vehicles.

Prisons need to recognise that we live in a world where women are as capable as men, in all areas of work and have the same desire and right to learn a skill that will facilitate a real chance of sustainable employment.

As my sentence was coming to an end and I was preparing to be released on licence, the regional head of employment, skills and learning asked if I would consider returning to the prison after my release to continue to mentor the women. This had never happened before in the history of the prison – when I told the other women they thought I was joking! When I first arrived back – the day after I was released – no one knew what to do with me, and initially I had to work off-site. But three years later I’m still working at the same prison – I’m a case manager commissioned by Women in Prison; also specialist employment broker commissioned by CXK, a charity which supports children, young people, adults and families. I’ve got my own keys and am a full member of staff, but I stay emotionally very close to the women, and I think this makes a huge difference when working with them.

I believe very strongly that a woman’s experience or prison life is very different and, in many ways much more complex than a man’s. We are in many ways stripped of what makes us female; away from our children and families.

The most painful thing for most women in prison is being unable to protect their children. As a mother myself, being separated from my daughter was agonising and made the sentence much harder to bear. There has to be other ways of sentencing female offenders; the current system (run primarily, I have to say, by men) is cruel and barbaric. How many women who are imprisoned actually pose a risk to society? We need to be better at looking at different ways of punishing women within the community. We also need to recognise that people don’t simply wake up one day thinking ‘I think I’ll commit a crime’, it’s linked to circumstances – abuse; domestic violence; poverty. We need to become better at supporting women and allowing them to make clear choices. A few months’ prison sentence doesn’t do anything apart from separate a woman from her children and put her at risk of losing her home and source of income.

That said; I believe everything happens for a reason. As a result of going to prison I’m stronger and I’m doing work that I’m really passionate about. Eventually, I was able to sit my daughter down and explain everything. I think it’s made our relationship stronger. She’s dealt with it very well, and she’s very proud of the work I’m doing empowering other women.

By Karen

 

This content originated from: Prisoners Education Trust website
Available at http://www.prisonerseducation.org.uk/stories/from-prisoner-to-case-worker-karens-story (last accessed May 2016)

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Help us to scrap ‘disqualification by association’: The government are consulting on changes to the childcare disqualification arrangements

Ever since ‘disqualification by association’ (DbA) hit the headlines about 18 months ago, we have been working to try and scrap the regulations that have had a significant and unnecessary impact on the partners of those with a criminal record.

Earlier this month, the Department for Education (DfE) published a consultation with proposals for change. The deadline for responses to the consultation is 1st July 2016.

Find out more about the consultation, details of what we’re doing and how you can help on our information site.

 

 

University study is possible – but you’ll have to fight for it

Access to education and training is essential for those with criminal convictions who want to move on with their lives. However, gaining an academic place on any course when you have unspent criminal convictions – especially ones of a sexual nature – makes it virtually impossible. I found this out the hard way when I applied to do a course and was twice refused a place. I did eventually manage to overturn their decision and here’s what I’ve learnt along the way.

My criminal record destroyed my professional life and reputation. I had to resign from all my jobs, move away from the area and effectively start again. Warehouse and retail work paid the bills but I needed to plan for the future and to focus on a new career direction. But doing what? A Probation Officer had recommended that I consider a career in antiquing as, he claimed, ‘a lot of sex offenders I know open up antique shops’ – I couldn’t think of anything worse.

So, last September, I applied for a place on a Human Resource and Management course at a local university. It had a good syllabus and offered some interesting modules. I met all the academic requirements too. It looked perfect. I filled in the form, ticked the box to say I had unspent criminal convictions and made a full disclosure as requested. It did not take long for me to receive a forty five word email refusing me entry. I appealed but I was refused entry again. At this point, it would have been easy to walk away. Nobody would blame me. However, I decided it was worth one last effort. So, here’s what I did.

Research

The reasons given for declining me a place seemed inconsistent and confusing. All academic institutions must have clear policies on admissions which must be easily accessible. It was easy to get hold of the relevant documents and I soon discovered that the two refusals I’d received were based on the wrong criteria. The University should have carried out a detailed risk assessment and only refuse me entry if I posed ‘an unacceptable risk’.

I also used Unlock’s information hub and advice from others on their forum. It’s always good to know that you’re not alone and other people have been through similar experiences.

Write

The next step was to put together an appeal. I have a background in law, so being able to put together a document was not a problem. For anybody who struggles with this here are a few key pointers:-

  1. Write a factual, evidence based document that shows you are not a risk of future offending/recidivism.
  2. Adopt a professional, objective tone. Don’t write in a whining, ‘it’s not fair, I’ve been treated so harshly’ tone – they don’t care!
  3. Provide evidence that you have taken responsibility for your choices and have sought to address your offending behaviour. What have you done to ensure it never happens again? Give context and where your offending behaviour sits on the sliding scale as defined by sentencing guidelines used by both magistrates and judges. Was it out of character? Were there other victims? Has there been similar offending in the past? Are you genuinely remorseful? Use reports and insight from external sources to corroborate this

Wait

From making my original application to actually receiving an offer of a place took six months. Be patient and don’t be surprised if it all takes much longer than you had hoped.

A month ago, all my hard work paid off when that letter came through the letter box overturning the original decision to keep me out and offering me a place on the course. I even did a little victory jig.

We all deserve a second chance, whatever we have done, but be prepared to fight for it – it certainly won’t be handed to you on a plate.

By Luke (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 applying to university.
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to applying to university from people with convictions on our online forum.

Why can’t my childhood mistakes be left in the past?

Like may teenagers, I suffered at the hands of the school bully and like many teenagers, the day came when I finally decided that enough was enough and retaliated. The result was a fight in the school playground when I was 15 years old.

The police were called and I was taken to the local police station. The police officer dealing with my case listened to my side of the story and seemed genuinely concerned about me. He suggested that the best thing would be for me to accept a warning for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He told me that if I did, I’d be able to go home quickly, wouldn’t have the hassle of going to court and in any case, it would be wiped from my record when I was 18. It seemed the best option at the time. The year was 2003 and I’d never been in any trouble before and I’ve not been in any trouble since.

I put the whole thing out of my mind and started to concentrate on my future.

My troubles only really started in 2010 when I decided that I wanted to work in healthcare. I’d received an offer from one of the top universities in the country but, once the university received copy of my CRB (now a DBS) certificate, they revoked the offer.

Desperate to get work, I looked to go into the security industry but found it really, really hard to get my SIA badge. Initially I was rejected but, a very supportive employer wrote a fantastic letter of support and I eventually got my badge. I went on to work at some very high profile events.

As a caring individual, I knew I couldn’t give up on my ambition to be a nurse and decided to go through the university’s appeals process. This was the first of many times that I’d have to write out a disclosure statement explaining to an interview or risk assessment panel how I’d ended up with this warning on my record. Disclosure has never gotten any easier for me – each time as traumatic as the first because it takes me back to a really bad time in my life that people just won’t let me move on from . Thinking back to what was going on in my life back then reduces me to tears.

I worked really hard, finished my nursing course and started applying for jobs. I always disclosed my warning on application forms and there were many times when I never heard anything back from an employer. I’ll never know whether it was because of the warning or because there were other more suitable candidates.

Eventually, I received a job offer. I had to write another disclosure statement which was read by so many people – people that I would potentially have to work with!! I had to have a further telephone interview with my manager where I had to explain the warning all over again. I think the process took about five months in all but eventually I thought I had things settled.

Sadly this was not to be the case. As well as my main job, I wanted to apply to join the hospital’s ‘bank list’ which would have enabled me to do overtime shifts around the hospital. Yet another application form asked me to disclose details of my criminal record which I was asked to complete and leave in my new manager’s mail tray (on her desk) ready for her to sign off. I was extremely worried about who would potentially see this form and concerned that my personal information was not being more carefully protected.

After yet another discussion about the warning, my manager refused to sign off my application form stating that she ‘didn’t think I was ready for this’. However, I knew that several of my co-workers (who had considerably less experience than me), had been signed up really quickly and were already doing overtime shifts.

Over time, I’ve noticed how differently I’ve been treated from my co-workers and how my manager rarely makes eye contact with me. Sometimes I’d like to shout out

Just because I’ve got assault on my record, doesn’t mean I’m dangerous

Recently I applied for a job with another nursing agency and as usual, disclosed my warning on the application form. However, once the agency had reviewed my references and my DBS certificate, the job offer was rescinded.

I’m now at the point where I feel employers and agencies only offer me interviews to stop them being accused of discrimination. However, once they see details of my record in black and white, my CV/job offer goes in the bin.

The Government talks about rehabilitation but never stops to consider why re-offending rates are so high. I’ve really struggled to move on with my life because something I did as a child is always hanging over my head. It’s been over 12 years since that stupid fight in the playground but, because my offence is a violent one, it will never be filtered from DBS certificates and will stay with me for life.

 

By Helen (name changed to protect identity)

 

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