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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Migrated From: The Record - Posts

I disclosed, I was employed, then I was sacked?

I was convicted of assisting another person in claiming housing benefit.  I admitted the charge at the first opportunity and took full responsibility for my actions. I received a suspended prison sentence.

Although this resulted in a life changing turn of events, I have tried to stay positive. Up until my conviction, I’d always been a hard working, law abiding member of society. I was fully aware that gaining employment with a conviction would be difficult but I never gave up hope and chased every job I came across which I thought I might be suitable for.

Eventually, I applied for a part time customer services role. I was asked to send my CV and a week or so later, I received an email asking me to attend an interview. I prepared a disclosure letter and my Job Centre advisor had a look at it for me to make sure it was OK.

On the day of the interview, I was first taken to a room with a member of staff and asked to complete numerous forms one of which was an application form for a DBS check. It was explained to me that the DBS check would be an enhanced one, the certificate would be sent to my home and I would then be responsible for handing it over to the employer. I detailed my conviction on the form and handed over my disclosure letter at the same time.

The member of staff told me that all the completed forms would be placed in a sealed envelope and the only ones which would be opened would be the ones belonging to successful candidates. I asked her what my chances were of gaining employment and was told “it all depends on the person who opens the pack and whether they feel your offences are serious enough or not”. I was then taken into another room where I had my formal interview.

Two weeks passed and I received a phone call telling me that I’d been successful and that they would like to offer me a full time rather than a part time position. I was speechless. I had tried and tried for over a year to get a job and hadn’t even got as far as an interview. I felt my life had finally turned a corner and I could now move forward. Happy was an understatement to how I felt at that time. However, a few days before I was due to start work, I started to doubt the offer and I started to worry that my disclosure letter hadn’t been seen and that my new employers might not be aware of my conviction. I spoke to my friends and the Job Centre Advisor and they all told me that everything would be OK.

I spent the first three weeks training, getting to know systems and learning what was expected of me. I started to build up really good working relationships with my colleagues in my team and in the group as a whole. On my third week, I was made aware that there was a delay in DBS certificates being returned due to the large number of new recruits that the company were taking on. I was told that immediately I received my certificate I needed to take it in to HR so that I would be able to ‘go live on the phones’. Another two weeks passed and there was still no sign of my certificate and I was asked to track its progress online.

Every day I went into work I felt more uneasy and nervous especially as I’d never had any confirmation that my disclosure letter had been seen or been asked any questions by my employers about my conviction. I started to feel like a fraud around my work colleagues, I wanted to tell them about my convictions so they’d know the real me, but my friends advised me not to – they told me ‘its in the past, don’t let one mistake define you’. So I did nothing until the four remaining people who hadn’t received their DBS certificates were called in to see the Head of HR together with members of the senior management team. We were told that our contracts would be terminated immediately if it were found that we had been holding onto our DBS certificates, in the hope of getting a couple of extra weeks pay due to the non-disclosure of a criminal record. I felt sick to my stomach.

After the meeting I asked if I could speak to the HR Manager in private and I set out all my concerns and worries to her.  She told me that she would look into it and get back to me. I can’t describe my relief, finally I could relax and start enjoying my new job. A couple of days later one of the senior managers told me that the DBS were ‘rushing’ through my check and the company’s solicitor would then make a decision about whether I was able to continue in the role.

My DBS certificate eventually arrived on the door mat and I contacted my Line Manager to let her know that I’d received it. The next day I handed the certificate over and tried to find out how soon a decision would be made. As the day progressed, my emotions were getting the better of me and I approached my senior manager to ask if there was any news. Just before I left for the evening, she asked me if she could have a private ‘word’.

Once in the room, I was told that my contract was being terminated and that they would need to let me go immediately. I developed an overwhelming lump in my throat and couldn’t say a word, I just nodded as the manager asked me if I understood the reasons for their decision. I was asked to hand over my security pass and told that I would be escorted off the premises by a member of the security team. I have no memory of how I got home that day but as soon as I entered the house I broke down in disbelief.

Its been weeks now since this happened to me. I have slowly had time to process the whole ordeal. I really do think people should be made aware of how unfairly people with past convictions are treated. I was trying to rebuild my life and move forward, I was honest from the start but the outcome was I was made to feel as though I’d committed a further offence and being escorted off the premises by a security guard left me totally humiliated.

How is there any hope of gaining employment when this is the sort of treatment people with convictions face?

By Paula (name changed to protect identity)

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Dealing with my barriers and borders

This post comes from Carlotta, one of Unlock’s trustees who has recently travelled to Australia. She has agreed for it to be re-posted on theRecord from her original blog.

 

I guess it is only fitting that I have a painful reminder of the events that brought me to Australia, in a round about kind of way. As I was sat on the plane I was thinking about how flying long haul is a little bit like sharing a cell with people. Strangers are invading your personal space. I had to tell them if I needed the toilet. I had to squeeze past them, touch them and hear them snore. I could not help but talk to one of them. To my right was a nice Australian lady called Kate, she had been in London visiting her son, we had cups of tea in the darkness together, she gave me tips and ideas, brought me snacks and we talked films. To my left a quiet, young French man with the enviable ability to sleep most of the time. Towards the end of the flight some paperwork started coming round, forms to fill in. Here we go – ‘Have you been to Africa in the last three months?’ ‘Do you have one or more criminal convictions?’.

As we filed off the plane into Sydney airport my anxiety level was rising a little. I knew it would be fine, of course, I did, I did, I convinced myself. I had researched the visa situation extensively. With my position as a Trustee at Unlock, I was more aware than most of dealing with my record in an upfront way. I was prepared.  BUT STILL, as I queued I felt my temperature rising, my breath getting shallow, my head spinning with ‘what if’s’ – I was filtered out of the general population of travellers as I couldn’t use the e-portals, I was a special case, I had to queue at a special desk, say goodbye to Kate, I felt embarrassed as I did not feel like sharing it with her in my exhausted state.

I thought, ‘I’m going to just front this out, just say it as it is’ – so I approached the desk confidently and said

‘I need to declare some historic offences, that’s why I cannot use the machines’ – my bravado was false, my voice was breaking – raised eyebrows

‘Okay what exactly?’

‘I spent 8 months in prison for drug trafficking 18 years ago’ – blush, squirm, judged, humiliated ……..

‘This will have to go to my boss, one moment’

I am led away to the immigration office. I know it will be fine. IT WILL BE. But I am tired and vulnerable and I feel tears pricking my eyes. ‘Okay, can you just fill in this form about your full criminal history please. Can you tell me more about your trip to Australia?’ I was prepared, had my itinerary, my conference registration, support letters. I told the officer I had started a charity as a result of my own experiences and that had now brought me to Australia.

She took everything away, a back room, a stern boss. For 20 minutes I waited, sweating, playing out worse case scenarios in my head. It was fine. Of course it was fine, she came out smiling, said my work was really interesting, she would love to work in prisons – she really believes in redemption – she wished me luck as she sent me on my way.

 

By Carlotta

 

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • Information – We have practical self-help information on travelling to Australia on our Information Hub.
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to this from people with convictions on our online forum

Universities – please do your homework!

I got a conviction about 20 years ago when I was young and foolish. Since then my life has completely changed, I’ve had good jobs, got married and have a family. Generally, I can put this bad period in my life behind me but from time to time I’m reminded that you can never truly escape your past.

Earlier this year, I applied for a great job at a local university. It was a non-academic vacancy which basically involved marketing the university to sixth form students who were interested in pursuing a course there. This usually involved standing at the front of a lecture theatre and setting out both the academic and social side of life at the university.

I didn’t disclose my conviction – it was spent and from what I’d read and the advice I’d been given, the job would only be eligible for a basic criminal record check.

I was offered the job and started work. I’d just begun to find my feet when I was called into HR and told that my DBS certificate had come back and there were concerns about its content (my spent conviction). I was told that I was being suspended for failure to disclose and that a date would be set for a disciplinary hearing.

I sought out the help of my union rep who suggested that prior to the meeting I get hold of my probation records which I knew provided a lot of positive stuff about what I’d achieved during my dealings with my probation officer. I also contacted Unlock. They felt that this role was not eligible for an enhanced level check and therefore the university were basing a decision on information they were not entitled to have. They gave me some good advice about how to track down my probation records and they also wrote a letter on my behalf to the university. They were really keen to help me get a positive outcome.

The stress, anxiety and worry at this time was horrendous and my relationship with my wife had started to suffer. It’s at times like this that you have to step back and consider what’s important. If I managed to keep my job at the university, would I be happy? Would the university be looking to find some excuse to get rid of me? Did I want to work under that kind of pressure, fearful that at any time I’d get another call to the HR office? I started to think that losing my job wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen but losing my family would be.

In the end I arranged a meeting with HR and offered to resign. They accepted my resignation and assured me that if I went down this route there would be ‘no stain on my name’. Great – end of fantastic job.

This experience really demonstrated to me that employers really don’t understand that as an ‘ex-offender’ once you’ve served your punishment, you should be able to live a normal life. A judge decides and enforces your punishment not an employer and having an old conviction shouldn’t mean that you have to remain constantly wary of the repercussions simply because an employer is failing to comply with legislation.

When I applied for the university job I thought I’d done my homework and knew what I needed to disclose but, be it intentionally or unintentionally, there are organisations who are carrying out ineligible criminal record checks and all the time this happens, more and more people could find themselves in the same situation as I did.

Resigning was a pretty low point for me but funnily enough, my experience at the university and the dealings I’ve had with organisations such as Unlock gave me a greater confidence and a new found moral strength. I’ve now decided to set up my own business and also to undertake study in a new professional field.

The career choices I’ve made were not something I’d ever thought I’d be doing but so far I have no regrets.

I’ve had quite a few dealings with Unlock since I first contacted them and I know that they are working very hard to change employers mind set’s. I for one am extremely supportive of this vital work.

Ultimately, I may have lost my job but I have family, friends, support and a new beginning.

 

By Donald (name changed to protect identity)

Sam’s top tips for job hunting

Like lots of people with convictions, I’ve struggled to get work. You know how it is, if the employer asks about unspent convictions you have to tell them but if they don’t ask then you can keep quiet. If like me, you’re still on Licence then your Probation Officer might tell you to disclose even when you’re not asked.

So with this in mind, I’ve ticked the ‘Yes’ box on application forms and heard nothing. If I’ve been able to send off my CV and secured an interview I’ll always disclose my conviction if I’m asked during the interview. But even when I think the interviews gone really well, I hear nothing more.

Well, I’ve got a job now and thought I’d write something about my own experiences just in case it helps someone out there with no job who is worrying about their future.

I work in the highly exciting world of produce processing – basically stacking vegetables in containers after they’ve been graded. It’s a massive step back, my pay is probably a third of what it was 4 years ago and I really hate the job. It’s tedious, mind numbing and I always go home with a back ache. Having said that, I’m grateful to be working. I’m being paid, I work with some great people (so I’ve got some sort of social contact) and it gives me a little more focus to my life.

I’ve been at the company for 5 months now and I’ve been promoted twice.  The first was a very modest promotion – just a slightly higher hourly wage.  However, more recently I’ve moved into a supervisory role. I’m still being paid below the living wage, but it’s really good to see that my hard work is being noticed. Like most people, I hated having to come in at the bottom, but things are what they are and I can now see more clearly a route forward (and upwards).  Despite what I originally thought and felt, there really is no shame in starting again at the bottom.

So what have I learnt that I can pass on? Well I believe that ‘dumbing’ down my CV was really important. By making it simpler and not ‘bigging’ myself up employers stopped asking lots of awkward questions – you know the sort, ‘why do you want to work in a warehouse when you’ve previously held a senior management position?’. I also changed my tact in where I applied for jobs. I found that organisations who tended to employ higher levels of foreign workers were less likely to ask about cautions and convictions and usually didn’t do criminal record checks (I don’t know why).

One thing that was holding me back were the gaps in my CV. I’d previously registered a limited company – the company failed – but what it did do was provide me with a legitimate ‘filler’ for my CV with an address, name and company number that could be checked. As I was my last previous employer, it was a good way around the question of ‘may we contact your last employer’.

I’ve also had to change my mind set – I’ve realised that I have a conviction which I can do nothing about. I just have to live with it. Coming to terms with this enabled me to start searching for organisations that might be able to assist me and it was then that I came across the Unlock website. This showed me how many people have convictions, many honest, hard-working and intelligent just wanting a fair chance in life. Reading the stuff on-line has helped me so much and at last, I can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

 

By Sam (name changed to protect identity)

 

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New York Times Editorial – A Criminal Record and a Fair Shot at a Job

This was originally published by the New York Times on the 13th November and we thought it would be of interest to people with convictions.

A Criminal Record and a Fair Shot at a Job

Nineteen states and 100 cities and counties forbid public agencies — and in some cases, private businesses — to ask job applicants about criminal convictions until later in the application process, when they have had a fair chance to prove their qualifications. Last week, President Obama added the weight of the federal government to this movement when he ordered federal agencies to stop asking most people about convictions at the outset.

He should not stop there. The president could send another powerful message by issuing an executive order that extends the fair-chance requirement to government contractors and that uses the approach that has been laid out by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Without employment, after all, people who have served time in jail will remain trapped at the margins of society.

Seventy million Americans have criminal histories that can limit their job opportunities or shut them out of work altogether. This sometimes means they had an arrest that never led to conviction, faced charges that were eventually dismissed or committed minor crimes in the distant past.

Fair-chance — or “ban the box” — laws have gained traction in both liberal and conservative states as elected officials and businesses have come to understand that shutting people out of work weakens families and communities. It also leaves qualified people out of the applicant pool.

Scores of municipal governments have expressly postponed the criminal history question until the applicant has been given a conditional job offer — a policy that the federal government should follow. And giant companies like Walmart, Target and Koch Industries have removed conviction questions from job applications.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gave the fair-chance movement a lift in 2012 when it reaffirmed a longstanding ruling that bars employers from automatically turning away applicants based on their arrest and conviction records. Rather, the agency said, employers should take into account the age at which a person committed the offense, the nature of the offense and whether it is directly related to the job.

The agency also made it clear that arrest alone is not proof of illegal conduct or grounds for exclusion of employment applicants. Two developments made the need for this new guidance urgent: the rise of computerized arrest and conviction records that often contain mistakes and the sharp increase in the number of people who have been arrested for minor offenses as a result of “zero tolerance” policing.

A year after that clarification, a federal commission led by then-Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. recommended making the federal government a “model employer” in the way it treats people with criminal records.

President Obama’s new directive gets the government closer to that. But an executive order that instructed federal contractors to abide by the employment commission’s guidance would fulfill that promise.

The president, who no doubt wants to avoid another dust-up with Congress over executive authority, would ideally like lawmakers to pass a pending “ban the box” bill. That would be the right thing for Congress to do. But since Congress is unlikely to act, Mr. Obama should go ahead and complete the job he has begun.

This content originated from: The New York Times
Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/opinion/a-criminal-record-and-a-fair-shot-at-a-job.html?_r=1 (last accessed 13th November 2015)

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • Information – We have details of friendly UK employers on our Information Hub.
  • Policy work – Read about the work Unlock is doing on Ban the Box in the UK

Convictions accounted for!

In 2006 I received a custodial sentence for possession with intent to supply. Prison gave me lots of time to reflect on my past and consider my future and I realised that when I was eventually released, I didn’t want to carry on like before, – I wanted to change.

I had been fairly successful academically and when I was sentenced, I had been in the final year of a Computer Science degree. I went on to finish this after I was released from prison.

Once I’d graduated, I started to look for work and this is where my troubles began. As soon as I mentioned my conviction nobody was interested in taking my application any further. The only work I was successful at getting was a short term, temporary admin job which didn’t require any criminal record disclosure or check.

I tried to keep positive, telling myself that someone would eventually give me a chance and that’s exactly what happened – I got a job as an Assistant Buyer. I did this for about a year until the company went into Receivership and I was back on the jobs market again.

I managed to get another job quite quickly as a Coordinator. The job had quite a lot of financial content to it which I really enjoyed and so I started voluntarily shadowing one of the company’s finance guys to get more experience. At last I’d found something that I thought I could make a career of. I contacted the AAT for advice about routes into finance work and joining the AAT and they explained that I’d need to go through a thorough process of vetting to be allowed to join them as a Student Member. This included sending copies of police reports, a CRB application form (as it was then), job references and reports from my Probation Officer. The process took nearly 6 months for the AAT to finally decide to give me the green light. I was over the moon – I had a real chance here to build on the experiences at work and the opportunity to be a part of a recognised professional association.

I started studying through the AAT and quickly passed modules and progressed to the next level. I then started applying for dedicated finance jobs. I always disclosed my convictions in a separate private letter providing employers with the full context of where I was at the time of my offence and where I am now.

Eventually I was offered a job with a Housing Association – this was it, a foot in the door. I started seeing all sorts of opportunities opening up with salaries I wouldn’t have dreamed of a few years before. I had a long conversation with the Senior HR Manager about my convictions after which I was given a contract to sign and a start date. This was a really successful time in my career during which I passed my AAT examinations and became a qualified member.

The next step academically was to become part of a Chartered accounting body – the likes of ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA etc. I had ambition, experience and with the support of my Deputy Finance Director and Line Manager I decided to pursue an application to join CIMA. I contacted their student membership department who asked me to email my application. It was a very similar process to what I’d gone through with AAT and 2 weeks after my application they accepted me, stating that I would eventually be able to join as a full member once I’d qualified. I have since progressed through CIMA now sitting the Management Level papers.

I spent 2 years at the Housing Association before earning a promotion. I’ve been doing this new job for just over a year and then a couple of weeks ago, I was offered a move to another Housing Association as a Project Accountant. I made my criminal record declaration in the usual way but for the very first time ever, wasn’t asked anything else about it.

I feel like I’m well on the way to becoming a fully qualified Chartered Management Accountant, with good job prospects. This time next year I won’t have any legal requirement to declare my convictions for roles covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. I’m already doing better than many of my counterparts who don’t carry the baggage I do and I think I can really make the grade if I continue to work hard. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but seriously if I can do it – anyone can. You really need that drive, commitment and optimism to keep pushing yourself. If you’re honest with yourself, I think someone out there will give you a chance.

Building our dreams

I have not had a great past in terms of childhood experiences, having been brought up in a family with strict values; I always felt that my choices in life were limited. Then in my late teens, something happened which would further blight my life. I landed myself a criminal conviction. At the young and naive age of 19, I was found in possession of a prohibited weapon and prohibited ammunition.

At the time I was in a relationship with someone who had obtained a firearm. The weapon was a 9mm revolver, which apparently he believed to be a replica. One evening, as we were travelling in his car he realised the police were going to pull him over. I noticed him start panicking and then, whilst he was still driving, he revealed the weapon to me and told me to hide it. I was very scared, confused and worried and had no idea what to do. He insisted that I conceal it in my handbag, reassuring me that all would be OK.  Sure enough, the police stopped us and his vehicle was searched along with my handbag. The weapon was quickly discovered.

The police arrested me and I was later charged with offences committed under the Firearms Act 1968. I was absolutely devastated and couldn’t believe this was happening to me. With legal advice, I accepted responsibility for my part and my ex also admitted his guilt.

The relationship ended and after a long stressful 6 months of attending Court Hearings, I received my sentence – a 2 year conditional discharge. At the time, I was studying Law at University and had hoped to pursue a career in the legal field. I was extremely worried that this conviction would jeopardise my future career plans. My legal representative told me he would be willing to write to the Law Society to confirm my suitability for the profession but in my heart I had already given up on this career path.

Needless to say this affected my confidence in a huge way and ever since then I have deliberately avoided applying for jobs where I know I would have to disclose my dreaded conviction in fear of being judged and rejected.

After spending about 8 years going from one mediocre job to another with periods of unemployment in between, I finally discovered something I felt truly passionate about – helping people make positive decisions about their lives through talking therapy. I took a short course in counselling skills which I successfully completed and passed. I really wanted to progress with my studies but I knew there would be quite a big financial outlay and I did not want to waste time, effort and money embarking on something if it meant that my conviction was going to get in the way of my practising.

In May 2013 when the DBS filtering system was brought in, I started to think ‘Does this mean I will finally be free of my conviction and the past?’ I could see from the list of offences that would never be filtered that the offences I had been convicted of were not included. I felt hopeful but I wanted to be certain and so I contacted the DBS only to find out that although I had only one conviction and the offences were indeed eligible for filtering, I would still be required to disclose as I had been charged with two offences.  My heart sank.

I continued to do further studying and as much as I have tried to tell myself to just go after what I want, regardless of my conviction, from time to time I still worry that I may just be wasting my time and will be left feeling disappointed again. There are job opportunities that I just allow to pass me by without even trying because of my belief that I will be judged and discriminated against. I am 33 years old now, in a stable and loving relationship and have a 3 year old son and I hate that this has happened to me. I hate having to relive it every time I attend a job interview.

I really would like the DBS filtering system to be reviewed and reformed to allow people like myself to move on from their past and not to be haunted by it every time the opportunity to pursue a dream job comes up.

I am however tired of the old stories that I tell myself, which I feel are holding me back from living the life that I want and feel I deserve. I will continue to pursue the things I desire regardless of what the outcome will be as I passionately believe in having goals, aiming high and following your dreams. After all, as mentioned by another writer, successes are built on failure.

By Hilary (name changed to protect identity)

 

59 convictions and only just going to prison!!!

I have a long criminal record (59 convictions under the Street Offences Act) and have experienced many barriers into employment. I was refused OFSTED registration due to my spent convictions when I wanted to become a child care practitioner and had to appeal OFSTED’s decision in a Care Standards Tribunal. I won the decision of the panel with no legal support whilst my opponents had a Treasury barrister at their disposal.

I was offered a Teaching Assistant role after declaring my convictions on an application form and in a written disclosure letter. Once my CRB (as it was then) came back, the conditional job offer was withdrawn. I had been in post for over a month but suddenly my application documents couldn’t be found (to prove that I had indeed declared my convictions) and my employers denied ever having seen my disclosure letter.

By now I was becoming extremely frustrated and started volunteering as a mentor for Catch 22 working with ex-offenders that were subject to probation services. I was also involved with St Giles Trust where I also worked as a volunteer. Both these roles involved helping people to overcome barriers into better and brighter futures.

I gained NVQ qualifications in Mentoring, Mental Health Awareness, Substance Misuse Awareness, Employability and a Level 3 in Information Advice and Guidance. I also attended many additional workshops to assist me in my volunteering roles.

I applied for a role with a Young Offenders Services and was accepted after interview. Again, I wrote a disclosure letter (this time with the help of the Skills and Employment team at the St Giles Trust) and got clearance from both the Directors of Children’s and Family Services.

I was contacted recently by one of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies and was invited to an interview for a Through the Gate role. I had put my CV on a website CV Library and they had found it. The long and short is that I was interviewed and offered the job. I needed prison clearance, but my prospective employers did not envisage any problems from my conviction. For any job, I make a habit of mentioning my conviction but most importantly, how they would positively impact on my service delivery.

I thought long and hard about taking up this role. The knowledge that my convictions wouldn’t be a problem was great to hear but my role at the Young Offenders Service was really expanding. I had started to act as an appropriate adult attending police stations and doing escorts to youth court. I’d also completed some training to facilitate restorative justice processes. In the end I turned down the job with the CRC but feel so proud of myself for getting so far in the process.

It has been a long tiresome road but I think that I am finally able to put my conviction history behind me and am now able to be completely empathetic to others in situations similar to my own using my personal experience to help them to move on.

I am sharing my story in the hope it will inspire and give courage to others facing the kind of obstacles I have scaled.

By Bernadette* (name changed to protect identity)

Volunteering – Helping me to live life at last

I wanted to write about my recent experience of volunteering. Although it was at Unlock, I think my experience is is equally valuable to anybody who is looking for work and feeling despondent about the future. Volunteering was the start to a new brighter phase of my new life.

Prior to volunteering, I had been applying for jobs, getting to the interview stage and then being knocked back because I had a conviction. It would be fair to say that I felt excluded from society and would describe my life as surviving, rather than living.

Getting through the interview and being offered the volunteering role at Unlock was a big boost to my confidence. I was treated like a normal person throughout the whole process, even when discussing my conviction. I was being judged on my skills and abilities and not just on a piece of paper with my conviction on it. I felt accepted and empowered to prove that I still had the skills and abilities to work and contribute to help Unlock provide a good service to its clients.

I always looked forward to the 2 days I volunteered at Unlock, working with the staff and volunteers where I felt totally accepted. Everyone worked together to provide the best service to the people who would contact us for help and advice.

I felt normal, having a purpose to get up in the morning. Usually my life revolved around trying to get the enthusiasm to get up and apply for jobs that I knew I wouldn’t get because of my conviction. This changed with volunteering. I proved to myself that I was a good worker who had the skills and abilities to get back into the work place and contribute. I started to apply for jobs with a renewed confidence, feeling better able to deal with disclosing my conviction when asked.

Volunteering with Unlock opened my eyes to the multitude of issues that people with convictions have to deal with. It showed me that I was not alone and that there were people who were worse off than me, yet coping with life.

Just being able to give advice, information and support to people to help them move on, gave me a great sense of satisfaction and brought home the important work that Unlock undertakes, as they try to help people with convictions move on with their crime free lives.

I have now started a new job and whilst there are still challenges ahead, volunteering with Unlock has given me the confidence to deal with these in a more positive fashion, not to become depressed and move forward knowing that I am a good person who can provide an employer with a good employee.

I am now starting to live my life and not survive it.

By Robert (name changed to protect identity)

 

Success with dealing with the ‘google effect’

I would like to share with readers of theRecord how new rules allowing Google links to be removed (‘The right to be forgotten’) has turned my life around. I really do believe that it can be of use to people with convictions.

Eight years ago I was in a very abusive relationship with a partner who was, in fact, a Police Officer. The relationship had ended although we did still have to live together and unfortunately one evening, an accident at our house caused a serious fire. I ended up in Intensive Care for two days fighting for my life. When I recovered I discovered that I was being taken to court, charged with arson. It was an extremely difficult time which was made worse upon conviction when details of the offence were published in the local newspapers. In court, my ex partner pleaded with the judge not to send me to prison, and I received a two year suspended sentence and 150 hours of community service.

For years I’d been living in the knowledge that anybody could look me up on the internet. I’d searched for myself and found a twisted press story of the event, which even showed where I lived. I knew that I was a good person and this was never going to happen again.

As a result of having a very understanding boss, I had kept my job and just wanted to move on and concentrate on my career so I studied for a Leadership, Management and Business Degree. A fantastic job opportunity came up and I applied. I was totally honest and disclosed my conviction as I knew it was going to show up on my DBS which they requested. I was delighted to get the job and was told it was entirely on merit, references and my drive to do well and succeed. I was over the moon and knew my life was now going in the right direction again and I was never going to look back.

In the meantime I had met a ‘nice’ man and we married. The relationship seemed to be going well, however when I used to come home and say that I had done well at this or that or I had received another pay rise, things started to go wrong. I eventually found out he was leading a double life, one with me and the other with a 24 year old (he was 52). I told him to leave and I moved back in with my parents. I filed for divorce as I felt I couldn’t ever trust this man again and that is when my life came crashing down again.

He suddenly decided that he wanted revenge and told my employer that they were employing a very dangerous person who was a risk to others because of my conviction (a complete lie). He had also printed off the newspaper article he had found on Google about me and said he was going to post it around the city so everyone could read it and destroy me. His attacks on me were malicious and it was terrifying not knowing  what this man could do and the lengths that he would go to. I was advised by my solicitor and my employer to file for a Harassment Order and inform the Police of his allegations and intentions. My employer could see what this man was trying to do to me and supported me wholeheartedly.  Despite having a spent conviction, that terrible newspaper article was being used against me again. It just wasn’t fair and I felt that enough was enough. I had to fight to get the past ‘put to bed’.

I remembered reading an article about ‘Google’s Right to be Forgotten’ in an Unlock update and decided to contact them.  I told them what had happened and they advised me to do two things:-

  • Firstly – contact the newspaper who had published the original article and ask them to ‘remove the contents’ and,
  • Secondly – contact Google’s Legal team (through the link that was sent to me by Unlock) and ask them to remove the actual ‘link‘ that had any reference to me.

The staff at Unlock helped me word the email and information I was going to send, stating that I would be sending copies to the Information Commissioner’ Office or ICO (They are the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals).

I emailed the newspaper and explained to them that the information in the article was being used maliciously against me, quoting references from the ICO asking them if they would support me in my attempts to remove the article and its contents due to it being related to a spent conviction. I then completed the online Google form with as much details as possible to try and remove the link and sent that off too.

To my amazement within a day, the newspaper had emailed me back saying that they had removed the article from their site. I quickly went on to their site and, yes, the article had been removed. All that was left was the link on Google. I waited in anticipation and seven days later I received an email from Google saying that all links to me, my name and the offence had been removed.

Well, as you can imagine, it was a joyous day. The dark grey cloud had finally been lifted. I could walk tall again and restart my life.

The reason for this ‘long’ story is for me to reach out to everyone caught up in a similar situation. Is there something out there on Google that could be used against you? Is it being held against you now through a partner, a friend, a work colleague…even your boss? Are your children or family suffering because of it? Because if this is the case you must try and get it removed. If the conviction is spent then that gives them all the more reason to remove it. You will be surprised how helpful people are when you tell them that you made a mistake and how much you have turned your life around, that you are a good person… so get writing! Mine is a success story and so can yours be…just don’t give up. Good Luck!

By Sam (name changed to protect identity)

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