Migrated From: The Record - Posts

An open letter to Lord McNally – Delays to changes to the ROA

by David, re-published here with his permission.

Good Morning your Honorables,

I woke up this morning feeling so suicidal and desperate because of my situation and was wondering why the government is working against its citizens.

I am a reformed offender, having made silly mistakes some years back, and trying desperately to put my life back on track, provide food and a living for my young family and feel useful in my community.

I have been knocked back from every single job offer both paid and voluntary that I received because of my criminal record which under the new reform would have become SPENT.

My problems is in regards to the implementation of the new Rehabilitation of Offenders Act passed in April 2012, which was meant to be enforced by April 2013, but will take up to November 2013 or longer to get implemented. Honestly over a 12 months to be put in place???

I would like to plead with you and request that you help ask the below questions to the people at the Ministry of Justice, we appreciate they are busy but our lives and the lives of our children and extended families depends on us getting jobs and living meaningful lives and contributing into our society.

You and the team at the Ministry of Justice will have to agree that it is poor and wrong that the relevant agencies cannot implement these changes within a reasonable time frame given there are mammoth resources available to conduct these checks in the first place, and given there are mechanisms in place for filtering,

Also with all due respect to the honorable MP’s that have work tirelessly to push this reform I believe you should scrutinize the work of this government agency, and given that there appears to be a delay in the implementation of important laws passed by Parliament, the relevant people – the Minister and the civil servant in charge – should be called to account and to explain the delay and what is being done about it.

My Questions:

(i). to specify what “…necessary changes to systems and processes…” they make reference to;

(ii). who is responsible for these;

(iii). which civil servant has overall responsibility for implementation of the project;

(iv). which government Minister is accountable and answerable to Parliament for implementation of the project;

(v). why “…it has not proved possible…” to implement the necessary changes by the original April 2013 deadline;

(vi). where the revised November 2013 deadline has been published and whether this deadline has been announced in Parliament by the Minister;

(vii). whether Parliament has been informed officially of these delays, either through the relevant Minister or a civil servant;

(viii). what, if any, response has been provided by Parliament.

Thank you very much for reading and hopefully get a reply and some news from you shortly.

Regards

David

Been held back for 2 years from reaching my dream

For the past 4 years my life has been on pause. I have been heavily relying on the reform to be put into place since 2012 when my goal was to become a Royal Marine Commando in the Royal Navy.

I messed my life up by crashing my car into the centre of an island and the courts slammed me with a 2 year driving ban which I could cope with, 240 hours Community service which is a bit heavy in my opinion and a small fine which I paid immediately after walking out of the courtroom. At the time I was in Full time University and working as a shift manager in a food production company. Being a student I had no escape I had to work in order to live as I can’t depend on family and a student loan was not enough. This unfortunately meant I was too physically exhausted to attend community service and breached 3 times. At the time I did not know how badly this would affect my career opportunities later on in life and haunts me day after day. I got sentenced to a 4 weeks suspended sentence for 12 months and 60 more hours unpaid work (i had 12 hours remaining to complete and my community order would be done).

After a few months I had finished my unpaid work and wondered what to do because I dropped out of university as I could not afford it and I was still unsure about my future, I was underweight, sometimes didn’t eat for near on 2 days and lost two jobs due to my convictions.

I went to my local Navy Careers Office and told them my situation, they told me to get a print out of my offences and conviction so immediately I went to court and bought original documents of my convictions and dropped them into my careers office. They said driving offences are at the discretion of the recruiting officer and they deemed me a suitable potential marine, passed my medical examination and Interview with flying colours even adding I am what they are looking for in a Royal Marine.

After my Interview he looked at my convictions and seen I had a suspended sentence and this became the downfall of my career as a Royal Marine before it had even started. He said there was no way on this earth I would ever be accepted in to the royal navy unless it was spent. He looked at the date at which my conviction would be spent and it is 2019. I will be in my late 20’s when my conviction is spent which is not at all a good time to join the marines.

After soaking that up and wondering where to turn next I joined the Royal Marines forum and looked at the rehabilitation of offenders act thread, which had a link to your website. At first it put a huge amount of hope into me and I was back on my training waiting for the reform to commence in spring 2013, after that didn’t happen I was a bit unhappy but November wasn’t too far away and gave me more time to dedicate to my training and preparation.

November reform has now been cancelled and I must say I am absolutely gutted I cannot move on from that night that totally ruined my life, I am not a bad person, I am polite and respectful to everyone. I do not Drink, smoke or take drugs and seen as an upstanding person who has self reliability, I have depended on myself from the age of 15, being from a normal working class family I have never had the luxury of being looked after financially by mum and dad, if my shoes have holes in them I had to do my paper round, save up and buy some new ones, that’s how my family are to prepare me for the ‘grown-up’ world.

The government need to immediately change the rehabilitation of offenders act not just for normal civilised people who cannot follow their dreams due to a split second accident/mistake but also for people who are bad but want to change, give people another chance to redeem their lives and prove they can be better, we all make mistakes but it is how you bounce back and overcome the down times and improve as a person.

We don’t need to be followed around by a demon stopping us from enjoying the fine qualities of life and the opportunities we have. Being in the Royal Marines is my dream, I will risk my life for queen and country.

By Carl

Transition – You never truly fail until you quit

My journey of transition unwittingly began as I lay face down at the banking of the Thames surrounded by a group of armed officers after having failed miserably in my bid to evade capture after a 5 hour armed siege.

What then ensued was a series of hearings to determine my plea of guilt which thankfully, owing to the overwhelming forensic evidence linking me to the firearm, saved me from the humiliation I would have had to endure had I have opted for a trial.

However, what followed had been far less palatable, a specified period of 15 years under the then quite novel IPP ruling which at the time had been the largest single term of its kind.

Prior to that point my life had been one of conflict with society where I tended to orbit in an environment outside of society’s realm as opposed to wanting to assimilate with it.

However, I was now faced with having the monumental task of ploughing my way through what in effect was the equivalent of a 30 year sentence.

Thankfully I had the presence of mind to utlilise my time as productively as the system would allow and began using education as a means of liberating myself out of my previous lifestyle choice.

I began by studying law, receiving a distinction in Prison and Human Rights Law and for the first time began to see the role which parliament had set out for what law was to achieve and strangely began to develop a slow but meaningful respect for it.

Add to this a couple of NVQ level 3 qualifications in counselling coupled with the beginnings of a journalism diploma, which sadly I had been unable to finish, I was now faced with a whole new proposition.

As a result of the new found understanding I had of law I launched my own appeal had my sentenced reduced by half and significantly lowered my risk to a point where after 7 years I was now manageable in open conditions.

During this period I began volunteering at Unlock, and within weeks of me being there I attended The House of Lords as part of the drive to launch Unlock’s online disclosure calculator.

This really impacted upon me and was the beginning of the broadening of my social landscape as it was under the auspices of Unlock that I really began to develop as I was now privy to all sorts of interesting third sector and criminal justice news which would simultaneously stimulate, inspire and at times appall me.

Having said this what it did provide me with was the rumblings of my very first remit statement for an initiative that I went on to launch. Thankfully my altruistic fervor hasn’t suffered as a result of the hard work I have had to endure being a small practitioner in a landscape which overwhelmingly favours the primes. In fact quite the opposite.

I think If there is a lesson I could impart from my own experience of change it would certainly be my new found understanding that you never truly fail until you quit.

Three tips on overcoming your convictions

Dr. Anthony Hewitt has spent more than twenty years working the criminal justice and drug treatment fields. He currently specialises in designing and implementing prison drug treatment systems. We asked him to give us three tips for prison leavers who want to move on and leave their offending behind them. Here’s what he had to say.

Three things to do:

1. In practice we often get what we need through people we know. Taking work as an example, most people don’t get work through the Jobcentre, but more often through contacts. Do use the Jobcentre, agencies, websites, the papers and so on, but also use other people for advice. This could mean someone you know giving you a job or some work. But also it could mean someone telling you about an opportunity they heard about, or even just some ideas they have about how you can get work. The point is that the best resource is often other people, so use this resource. Ask EVERYONE you can think of for help. Don’t be pushy about it, don’t expect them to have solutions, don’t even worry that they don’t know you that well or haven’t seen you for ages. Just ask them if they’ve got any good ideas, ask all of them. Think of everyone you’ve ever known, haven’t completely pissed off, and who you can get to talk to, and ask them, and ask them to ask around for you. The same approach could apply to finding somewhere to live, a cheap car, or to anything you might need or want.

2. Understand the world doesn’t owe you a living. A lot of us don’t get what we want when we want it. That’s life sometimes. And things can definitely be more difficult with a criminal record. Try not to get bitter and angry about obstructions and setbacks, that won’t help anyone, especially you. Whether they know about your convictions or not, being angry or upset with people who don’t give you what you want is only going to make them think they were right not to help you. Why should that potential employer, landlord or partner take the time and trouble to get to know why you’re the right choice? Why should they take your word for it? Learn to deal with the knockbacks as best you can, and you’re more likely to get where you want in the end.

3. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses; what you have going for you, not what might be going against you – like a criminal record. Think hard about ALL the things in your favour; skills you’ve got, stuff you know about, your personality, your likes and interests, your life experience, everything. This is one time when it’s good to make a list, and keep adding to it. Other people can help with this too. Put down everything you can possibly think of, don’t hold back, you don’t have to show any of it to anyone. It’s not just a CV of all the work you’ve done, try and be creative and get down as many things as you can. Try and frame things in a positive way, the more of them and the more positive the better. This list is a good starting point to draw from when you’re selling yourself, perhaps to a potential employer, perhaps to a potential partner. It can also help remind you what you’ve got going for you, and that’s probably a lot more than you realise.

Unlocking Criminal Record Checks

A lot of the contributions to theRecord tend to focus around the difficulties people face in trying to find work with a criminal record.

So, I thought it would be helpful to write a quick post from Unlock, just to flag up a new guide that we have recently written, which focused on the Disclosure & Barring Service and their processes.

Sadly, this guide doesn’t solve all of the problems that people with convictions face, but it should hopefully help people to better understand the process, know where they stand, and also challenge employers and the DBS where appropriate.

There is a more detailed explanation of this guide, and the guide can be download in full here.

We’d be grateful to read your comments on this guide, to see whether you’ve found it useful.

Best wishes,

Christopher Stacey

Can filtering be challenged?

Anonymous

In October 2001 I was convicted of “permitting premises to be used for producing cannabis” under Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. At the time, I was living with my partner and children in a relationship where domestic violence was occurring. On one occasion my partner assaulted me while he was drunk and I had to ring the police. My partner had cannabis plants growing in a wardrobe in the bedroom. When the police attended the property they had a look round, found the plants, and we were both arrested. He was charged with production of cannabis and received a fine. At the time, I was offered a caution – which I refused as I couldn’t stop him doing what he was doing. Anyway, the matter went to court and the magistrate argued that, even though I was in a violent and abusive relationship, I could have reported him to the police. I was stuck in a no-win situation. If I had reported him he would have battered me. I received a twelve month conditional discharge and a fine.

I left him shortly after that and have lived on my own with my children ever since. He is an alcoholic who is in and out of rehab, the children and I have nothing to do with him. I have been back into education, got a good job and bought my own house. I even got onto a teaching course and have been a teacher for a number of years now. I haven’t been in trouble with the police since 2001.

When the new filtering guidelines came out I thought I could put this matter behind me, but ‘permitting’ is on the list of serious offences, and so it is not filtered out of a DBS check. I don’t think production of cannabis is on the list, so that makes my conviction more serious than his, even though he was the one that cultivated the plants and got all the equipment.

I feel my life is blighted forever. I can’t face applying for new jobs as it is so, so degrading to have to bare my soul and reveal my past to colleagues and people I have to work with on a daily basis. What’s the point of a filtering list if I haven’t committed another offence in eleven years but my ‘crime’ will never be filtered? Do you think that the list can be challenged?

Sophie’s choice – “My only option is to resign…I am living in constant fear of being found out”

Sophie*

In the 1980’s I was convicted of two minor offences and given and Absolute Discharge. Two years later I got a job and started work. I wasn’t asked to disclose if I had convictions, so I kept quiet. I thought that there was no point looking for trouble.

As my career progressed, I registered with the professional body. Again, I didn’t disclose my convictions because I wasn’t asked to. In fact, I have never asked to do any type of criminal records check until very recently, when a new Human Resources Manager started with the organisation and my department to apply for an accreditation.

I know that my convictions will not be filtered under the new system because there are two of them, and only single offences are filtered, so both of my convictions will show up on a DBS check, even though they are now spent and twenty-eight years ago .

I really don’t feel I can have an informal discussion with my manager about my convictions because I am sure I will be sacked. There’s no-one at work I can turn to, and once you’ve let the cat out of the bag there’s no telling who will tell someone else. I’m very worried that my employer will inform the professional body, and I’m really afraid that they might even prosecute me for not disclosing my convictions earlier – even though I was not asked at the time – and that would just make everything a hundred times worse.

It seems to me that my only option is to resign, so that no-one will ever know. But, at fifty-seven, I’m terrified that I won’t be able to get another job and will have to give up my career altogether. If I have to go through a DBS check it will be the end of my career, and not because of something I did while I was working, but because of something I did two years before I even started. Even if I try to take control of the process by raising the issue with HR, I’ll just be putting the first nail in the coffin of my own career.

There’s also no way I could go through that process and disclose my convictions and then have to leave without all my friends and colleagues finding out why. When people find out this sort of thing they immediately stop trusting you and treat you as if you’ve only just committed the crime, not that it was half a lifetime ago and you’re a completely different person now, living a decent life. And my colleagues would no longer respect me or value my judgement.

With the current funding situation, it seems likely that the organisation will be making people redundant at the end of the year, so even if I disclose and still get to keep my job for now, I might lose it later anyway, and I will have blown my own confidentiality for nothing and ruined my chances of finding something else.

I am living in constant fear of being found out, and facing a very uncertain future. It’s really stressful and isolating, and I just don’t know what to do.

*Note – As this is an ongoing case, details have been changed to protect the authors identity.

One conviction or multiple offences? The DBS filtering process

Ever since we published our Information Hub guide on the new DBS filtering process, our Helpline has been receiving queries left, right and centre about the filtering process and how it applies to them. It’s fair to say that, in lots of cases, it doesn’t help, because they have more than multiple convictions over many years, or received prison (or suspended) sentence.

One issue that seems to be quite common is where people believe themselves to have one conviction, only to find that, when they do a DBS check (or get a Police National Computer record) , they have a number of ‘offences’ on their record, all of which were dealt with at the same time in court. A common example is drink driving and driving without insurance. The court records this as one conviction, but would have two offences.

We’ve clarified this kind of example with the Home Office, who interpret this situation as meaning ‘multiple convictions’, meaning that none would be filtered from a DBS check.

This is something we’re looking at challenging, and as part of this, we’re keen to hear of people who may be affected by a similar kind of issue. The more examples we get, the better chance we have of finding a way of challenging this.

If this is something that affects you, please get in contact with our Helpline. If you have a copy of a DBS (or CRB) disclosure, or a copy of your PNC record, which shows this, please send this through too. All information is treated confidentially.

Scottish Government consult on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

This week, the Scottish Government has (finally) launched its consultation on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

England & Wales has passed its own reforms on this (although they’re still waiting to come into force), but these will not change the situation in Scotland.

The Scottish Government hasn’t put forward a specific proposal at this stage, which suggests a genuine openness to look at different ways of improving it.

Not only is this is a great opportunity to influence potential changes in Scotland, but it’s also a way of setting out arguments for why broader changes in approach may be needed, and how this may relate in the future to changes in England and Wales.

For information, when the UK Government published a consultation on amendments to England & Wales, Unlock submitted a response, which can be downloaded here.

We want to encourage anybody who has a view on the ROA in Scotland to respond to the consultation. All the details can be found on the Scottish Government website.

For anybody who wishes to their share contributions more broadly, we’re happy to circulate responses via this site – just send them through to therecord@outlook.com.

Strange City, Fresh Start, New Life

G Leigh

In 2006, after serving two years of a four year sentence for manslaughter, I found myself in a government hostel in a strange city. Within a week I registered with the local Job Centre, but every time I had to fill in the disclosure part of an application form, it was like I was writing “put me in the bin” in bright neon letters. I went to employment agencies and they couldn’t wait to get me out door. One told me that I should come back in ten years, and then they might consider putting me on their books. Then they rapidly even escorted me out of the building; which was completely unnecessary – but more about them later.

After three months of this, I was climbing the walls. So I started working with a Job Centre worker who regularly came to the hostel. I continued to apply for jobs, but I still wasn’t even getting to the interview stage. Then I was asked if I would be interested in going on a work experience scheme run by an organisation called Business in the Community. This is a group started, funded and run by local businesses in the city aiming to give something back to the community by helping homeless people get a step into employment by giving them work experience and so help them get that first all-important reference. I jumped at the chance. If nothing else, it would at least lift the boredom of unemployment. And, for once, my conviction was not a barrier because their focus was on the homelessness aspect. However, I was made aware that any business which gave me work experience would need to be told about my conviction, but I would have the opportunity to tell them first myself.

To begin with, we had a group meeting every week and we would work with mentors. The mentor was someone from one of the businesses who would help us to write our CV and practice interviews. My mentor was a trainee solicitor from a large law firm.

Soon we were all offered interviews with a local business. The interview was very informal, and that helped me with my nerves. It was at this interview that I told the interviewer about my conviction. She didn’t even bat an eyelid!

The interview was a success and I started I was working in the Human Resources Department. It was the first time since my conviction that I felt people saw me as a person with skills and a personality, not just a conviction. I started off doing the smaller admin jobs, but soon I was accompanying them on job interviews and typing them up. It was a huge step forward.

I ended up being on placement with them for about two months, and I had impressed them – I think mainly because I was just so enthusiastic to have something productive to do. Plus, it turned out that the agency which had told me to come back in ten years was the main agency this law firm used, and Human Resources were not happy about the way I had been treated. They phoned the agency and gave them a very posh bollocking, and said that they were going to have to look into it further as the way the agency has acted conflicted with the law firm’s diversity policies. As a result, the agency promptly put me on their books.

I went on to work in two other departments within the law firm, and I was given more and more responsibility. When my placement came to an end I didn’t want to go but, luckily, the people I had been working with didn’t want me to go either, so the management put a business plan together to produce a position for me. I had an interview for the role, and I was hired!

Within twelve months I was awarded Newcomer of Year, plus I got promoted from Admin Clerk to Junior Legal Secretary. Three years later I was a senior secretary, and seven years later I am still at the same law firm.

The firm still employs people from the Business in the Community scheme on a regular basis, and I got to know three of them. One had an alcohol addiction, one had got involved in dealing drugs and another had lost his previous job because he had been done for assault – which led to being fired automatically. As far as I know, two of the three are still working there.

So, for anyone leaving prison, I would recommend that you find out if there is a Business in the Community programme in your area or anything similar (your local Job Centre should know), plus do consider working for nothing as you will reap the rewards later. Also, willingly accept all the help and information you can get. I would also recommend that anyone leaving prison should apply for jobs in corporate, or at least large, companies because they have employment targets for things such as diversity. And they will have a Human Resources Department which is separate from the rest of the company, so they have a more objective view; and they are more educated on the implications of discrimination etc. when it comes to job applicants.

Finally, remember that nothing pays off better than showing your enthusiasm to work!