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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Migrated From: The Record - Posts

I had to face the consequences of breaking the law, why shouldn’t local councils?

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Having discovered that his local council were acting unlawfully by requesting a copy of his subject access request from the police, Mikey wasn’t content with a simple ‘sorry’ from them.

 

 

Last year I reapplied to go on the councils housing list as in 2017 I’d been refused due to my criminal conviction which was classed as ‘antisocial behaviour’.

Not long after I’d made my application, I received a letter from the council saying that they were unable to progress my application until I could provide evidence that I had no further convictions. I was told that I could do this by making an online Subject Access Request (SAR) to the police.

However, when I visited the police website a warning flashed up alerting me to the fact that where third parties were asking you to supply them with an SAR, then this would be considered ‘enforced subject access’ which was a criminal offence under Section 184 of the Data Protection Act. The information on the police website confirmed that employers, insurers, housing providers etc could only ask for a basic Disclosure and Barring Service check as evidence of unspent convictions.

This experience with my local council made me realise that before I did anything else related to my housing application, I needed to have a much better understanding of what I lawfully needed to disclose to housing providers, employers etc. As I researched online, I came across a disclosure calculator run by Unlock and, having input all my sentence details and submitted the form, it came back that my convictions were now all spent. This was fantastic news as I didn’t think they’d be spent until 2023.

I went back to the council to raise my concerns about the enforced SAR, happy that if they were to do a basic criminal record check it would come back blank. The council merely apologised and acknowledged that what they’d done was unlawful and promised that they would update their policies and procedures.

I really wasn’t happy with their response and decided to raise my complaint to the next level, requesting that the matter be investigated further. I made it really clear that I’d been punished for my criminal offence and that merely saying “sorry” for breaking the law didn’t really suffice! I advised them that as enforced subject access had been unlawful since March 2015, it was likely that hundreds if not thousands of other applicants could have also been affected.

The council responded to my complaint promising to backdate my housing application to 2015 and to prioritise my housing application. I’ve got to say that I took this offer with a pinch of salt. However, the next time I bid on a property I was told a couple of days later that the property was mine if I wanted it.

I didn’t think for one minute that I would have a place to feel secure in like I do now. I’m in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse and I’d previously shared a house with two mates; one drank heavily and the other smoked marijuana which made recovery extremely difficult. Now I have my own space I feel calm and secure.

I’m so grateful to Unlock’s disclosure calculator. If it wasn’t for the fact that my convictions were spent I’m sure that I wouldn’t have been so tenacious in my pursuit of achieving a result from this complaint.

I broke the law whilst I was in the madness of my addiction, however that doesn’t define who I am and I should be given the opportunity to live somewhere safe.

By Micky  (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 on applying to the council for housing on our information hub site.
  • Discuss this issue – Read and share your experiences on our online forum.

Isn’t 45 years long enough to have to disclose a criminal record?

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Laura has been able to work very successfully as a librarian despite her criminal record. However, she feels strongly that the current disclosure laws need to be changed so that there comes a time when people with very old convictions no longer have to reveal them to employers when they apply for standard or enhanced DBS checks.

I’m 65 years of age. Forty-five years ago, when I was about 20 years old, I was arrested and received a conviction for two counts of possession of cannabis and was given a community order and a fine. My record has been clean ever since then.

Following my conviction, I went to university and obtained a degree in librarianship. At this time my criminal record didn’t really cause me too many problems and there wasn’t really any such thing as criminal record checks.

Before I started applying for jobs I looked at the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and from what I read it appeared that I wouldn’t be allowed to work with children or young adults, become a police or probation officer or work for social services. I also thought it meant I couldn’t serve as a magistrate or sit on a jury.

However, when I applied to work as a librarian in a school in 1981, I didn’t disclose my criminal record as I didn’t feel that it was relevant to the work that I’d be doing. I was offered the job and from then on, my career went from strength to strength.

I continued working in education until a school caretaker called Ian Huntley was found guilty of murdering 2 schoolgirls. From that date on, any job that involved working with children or vulnerable adults required you to have an enhanced criminal record check (known as CRB checks at that time).

The school I was working for at the time did as they were required to do and carried out the check on me. As soon as they were presented with the certificate I was called in for an interview. This was an awful experience and extremely embarrassing but ultimately, my employers felt that as I had an exemplary work record, they’d be happy for me to continue in my role.

However, whenever I applied for other jobs, I knew that enhanced checks would be carried out and I’d have to disclose my conviction. This happened for the 27 years that I worked as a librarian and although my applications were successful for the majority of the jobs that I applied for, I’m aware that I’ve also been refused jobs because of this conviction.

I’m currently working on a part-time basis as an examination invigilator and again had to disclose my 45 year old conviction.

I’ve recently booked a holiday to the USA and because I was honest and ticked the ‘Yes’ box on the Visa Waiver application, I was refused an ESTA and will now have to apply for a visa. This is going to cost me approximately £300 in total and will involve an interview at the US Embassy which I’m really not looking forward to at all.

I’m sure that if I were arrested for possession today it’s unlikely that I would receive a conviction which resulted in a 2-year community order, I’d probably get a caution as it was my first offence.

I feel very strongly that the law needs to change. Having to disclose my conviction at the age of 65 for something that I did 45 years ago makes me feel like I’m continually being judged and punished for something that happened a very long time ago.

By Laura  (name changed to protect identity)

A comment from Unlock

Unlock has campaigned for a long time for the current disclosure regime to be revised so that people like Laura who have more than one count under one conviction can benefit from having their conviction filtered from standard/enhanced DBS checks.

Last January, the Supreme Court ruled that two aspects of the filtering regime – as it applies to multiple convictions and childhood cautions – are disproportionate and a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The government has yet to properly respond to the Supreme Court judgment. As it stands, the filtering rules remain the same.

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below.
  • Information – We have practical self-help information on filtering on our information hub site.
  • Discuss this issue – Read and share your experiences on our online forum.

Reflections on the last decade from a person with a criminal record

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As we enter a new decade, Amy looks back at her experiences over the past 10 years.

Stepping into 2020, I’m sure you can’t have failed to notice the huge amount of people that joined in the Instagram 10-Year Challenge, posting photographs of themselves in 2010 and then in 2020. Don’t worry, I’m not going to join them, because unlike Reese Witherspoon or Tyra Banks, I actually do look older not younger than I did 10 years ago.

However, as 2020 dawns, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the previous 10 years and thought I’d take the opportunity to share this with you.

When I woke up on 1st January 2010 with a humongous hangover I knew for sure that the next few years were not going to be great for me. I’d been charged with fraud just prior to Christmas and was expecting to go to court early in 2010.

My solicitor had told me that I was definitely looking at a prison sentence and it was likely to be around 3 years. I’d spent Christmas just going through the motions but every time I did something it was as though I was doing it for the last time and I was continually fighting back the tears. I know this sounds incredibly dramatic but please understand, my brain was mush and I really didn’t know what the future held for me.

My solicitor was right about the prison sentence, although the judge decided that a 3-year sentence wasn’t long enough and gave me 4.5 years instead. Funnily enough, I actually felt a sense of relief at this point – the investigation and court case had come to an end and I could now start my new life, whatever that may be.

I’m not going to go into a blow by blow account of prison life. For those of you that have been, you know what it’s like and for those of you that haven’t been – I wouldn’t recommend it. There were only really two stand out moments of my time in prison, the first was winning an appeal against my sentence meaning it was reduced from 4.5 years to 3, and the second was being released.

1st January 2013 and I’d been home for 6 months. I had a job working in retail which was a totally new field for me and was just about to move into my own house with my husband and son (we’d all been living with my mum following my release from prison). As 2013 would see my licence come to an end and my regular meetings with probation finish, I had a pretty positive feeling about 2013.

On 1st January 2014 I did what lots of people do on New Year’s Day and booked my first holiday abroad since 2006. I was off licence so didn’t need to get approval from my probation officer and I was in a new job (the same one I’m in today). Another year of good things to look forward to.

The years between 2015 and 2019 seem to have flown by, some have been better than others and there have been times when my criminal record has reared it’s head again. My choices around who to buy house insurance from have remained limited due to the need to disclose a fraud conviction although I was able to revert to a high street insurer for motor insurance in 2015 as they only wanted me to disclose criminal convictions I’d received in the last 5 years.

Being asked to act as Executor of my aunt’s estate made me question whether I’d need to disclose details of my criminal record – I didn’t – and when my niece got engaged in 2017, I’ve since had to think long and hard about applying for a visa to attend her wedding in the States at the end of 2020 – I still haven’t decided.

And so to 1st January 2020.

No hangover for me. New Year’s Eve was spent surrounded by family and friends. I didn’t need alcohol to blot out the bad stuff; I wanted to remember every part of the new memories that I was making.

My son and his girlfriend both have ‘big’ birthdays in 2020 and there was lots of talk around the dinner table comparing the pros and cons of a party -v- family holiday. I feel blessed that prison didn’t alter the great relationship I had with my husband or son. It was a difficult time for them but they supported me throughout my sentence and after.

In a strange way it’s probably fitting that my conviction becomes spent in 2020 – at the start of a new decade. I’m sure many people would look back over these last ten years as the worst of their lives but I don’t see it like that. I can remember 1st January 2010 as if it were yesterday – my life was chaotic and I was a mess but the shock of my arrest and being sent to prison was the wake-up call I needed to reassess what was important to me.

They say that every face tells a story and if I were to take the Instagram 10-Year Challenge I might not look younger but I look genuinely happier.

By Amy  (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 seven stages of a criminal record.

Do the police believe in rehabilitation?

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After a visit from the police, Russell felt like the police didn’t believe in rehabilitation, as they took no account of how he’d moved forwards with his life over the 8 years since his last offence.

I have been on the Sex Offenders Register (SOR) for five years during which time I have complied with everything and have never caused my police officer any concerns regarding my behaviour. I hoped that I had shown how I had moved on with my life and rehabilitated.

Now this is not a “oh woe is me” story, as I was guilty of my offences. I fully admitted what I’d done in court and I will live with the regret of what I did for the rest of my life; in particular with regards to failing my daughter as a father. I’m lucky that I still have a relationship with her as I appreciate there are lots of people with sexual offences whose families will have nothing to do with them,

Following a recent visit from the police I had to tell them that my daughter had given birth to my second grandchild (they were already aware of the first one). After sharing this with them, the police officer calmly told me:

We’ll have to notify social service who will be in contact with your daughter.”

My initial feelings were shock, followed by anger. “Why?” I asked. “It’s procedure” came the reply.

During the rest of the visit I went through a whole range of emotions anger, sadness, confusion. Many questions crossed my mind. Why does my daughter have to be contacted? What concerns do the police have? Don’t they take into account that it’s been eight years since my conviction and I have moved on, I’m rehabilitated. Do the police even believe in rehabilitation?

A couple of days later I made the phone call to my daughter that I’d been dreading, letting her know that social services would be contacting her. My daughter told me that social services had already contacted her. I apologised profusely for putting her through this and for not warning her prior to their call. She told me that the questions they’d asked her had been around the contact that I had with my grandchildren – was it supervised, was I left on my own with them. My heart sank, they obviously think I am a deviant paedophilic monster who would physically abuse my grandchildren. Surely that can be the only reason they’re asking.

I know what I did was wrong, I can never change that, no matter how much I wish I could. I was a weak, disgusting man when I was offending and I wish there was a time machine and I could go back to the moment before I first offended and start hitting myself around the head to stop myself but I can’t. All I can do is move forwards with my new life.

I am a stronger man now and will never offend again. As a person in a recent article on theRecord said:

I can never make up for what I did but I can do all I can to be the very best person I can be.”

This describes perfectly me today, but no matter how hard I try, it appears the police will see me as I was 8 years ago, a sex offender and a risk to everyone. The police may know of me, but they don’t know me. Because if they did they would find that I’m a nice guy. Perhaps, the police don’t want to know that some people with sexual convictions are nice people who have made mistakes and move on.

So my answer to the question is ‘no’. I don’t think the police believe in rehabilitation. But why, if part of the Criminal Justice System is supposed to work towards rehabilitating people who have committed offences. Is it because the police represent the society they serve, and society doesn’t believe in rehabilitation. Maybe an honest conversation needs to be had around rehabilitation, even though the answer maybe one I won’t like, that society doesn’t believe in rehabilitation. But at least I would know the truth.

By Russell  (name changed to protect identity)

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • For practical information – More information can be found on our information hub site on sexual offences
  • To discuss this with others – Read and share your experiences on our online forum.

I thought the last people to judge me would be the solicitors I worked for

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After working for a company for 25 years, Ian was distraught to learn that following changes to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Code of Conduct, he would have to disclose his 31 year old criminal record.

Until August of this year I was employed in the accounts department of a large law firm being responsible for several European offices. My employment began in the early 1990’s and without being too boastful, I had an exemplary work record.

However, my life prior to this was very different. In my early 20’s I was arrested for armed robbery and in 1988 received a prison sentence of 7.5 years. Like many people with convictions, finding a suitable career upon release was not easy but I was determined to put that life behind me and I never gave up searching for a career rather than just a job.

I managed to find a succession of jobs but nothing that had any long term prospects. However, despite a series of setbacks, I wouldn’t let anything stop me and I persisted with my search. In 1994 I secured a position in the accounts department of a law firm as an accounts assistant. Few companies asked about criminal records at that time and my employer was no different.

Over the years I progressed internally becoming assistant manager and then after 11 years I took the lead on a newly created role as billing coordinator. The past 14 years have seen me build on this and four years ago I became manager.

My life outside of the ‘office’ also grew. I met my wife in 1993 and we celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary this year with our two sons. We settled into an average, suburban life, something I never thought I would be able to enjoy.

After almost 25 years working for this company and building a new life with my wife and sons, I now find myself in a very difficult situation where I have become unemployed again. I had hoped that I would stay with the company until retirement but unfortunately a situation arose that has resulted in my employment being terminated.

Due to my employers desire to not only comply with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) but also with current and prospective client engagement letters, my company decided to carry out retrospective background checks on all employees. Before the check was even started I took the decision to disclose my conviction to one of the managing partners, who decided to raise it with both the SRA and an outside employment law specialist. Neither the SRA nor the legal advisors were able to offer any concrete guidance around whether my conviction prevented me from working in my finance role. Two months ago the SRA made the decision that my role was not eligible for this type of SRA approval and that I didn’t need to go through the process again in any future job.

The advice my employers received was discussed amongst a small number of the partners and, despite a faultless employment history and the fact that I’d worked for the company for approximately 25 years, the decision was made to terminate my employment.

I’m still in total shock over what’s happened and how I’ve been treated. The people that made the decision to terminate my employment were people I’d known for 25 years; I didn’t just think of them as my employers but also as friends. I was obviously nervous about disclosing my conviction to them and I knew that they’d probably be shocked but I didn’t think that it would result in my dismissal. I honestly thought that they’d use my 25 years of work experience to make a decision rather than something that happened 31 years ago to a very different person.

By Ian (name changed to protect identity)

Comment from Unlock

It’s extremely disappointing to hear that Ian’s employer’s took the decision to dismiss him, especially as the SRA have confirmed that his role was not covered by the SRA Standards and Regulations. However, it does evidence how once employers have seen details of somebody’s criminal record they can sometimes find it difficult not to act on it. It’s one of the reasons why we continue to campaign for changes to the current criminal record disclosure regime.

Ian has now accepted a settlement from his previous employers and is currently seeking a new role in a similar field.

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Teaching is facing a recruitment crisis; how can it be turned around?

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Several years ago, The Guardian published an article about the crisis in the recruitment of teachers. Since then, things haven’t got much better however as an ex-teacher with a criminal record, I’ve got my own ideas on how to improve the recruitment problem.

Back in 2017, it was reported that a shortfall of trainee teachers was reaching crisis levels, with particular shortages in London and the home counties, and a significant drop over the last decade in the number of women applicants. A number of factors were used to explain this, including the gap between the growth in private sector and public sector salaries. 

It was suggested that the Department of Education could reverse the crisis by considering:

  1. Reducing teachers’ unsustainable workload
  2. Treat the profession with respect
  3. Keep pay rises in line with the private sector
  4. Tackle the perceived ceiling to success
  5. Change and challenge damaging perceptions of teenagers

Here’s a link to the original article if you’d like to read it in full.

I’d like to add a number 6 to the list.

Stop being so risk averse to people with minor criminal convictions”

I’d been a teacher for many years before I received my criminal conviction and my last job was a senior position as part of the school management team. In exchange for the amount of money that the government had invested in my training, I was able to shape the lives of generations of students, helping them succeed academically and helping lay the foundations to the rest of their lives.

Immediately after I received my conviction however, this counted for nothing. Of course teaching is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and guidance states that for teaching roles those who have serious convictions would normally be deemed unsuitable. The definition of a ‘serious offence’ is:

  • Serious drug related offences
  • Robbery/burglary/theft
  • Deception/fraud
  • Murder/manslaughter
  • Rape/Other serious sexual offences
  • GBH/ABH/Other serious acts of violence

My conviction doesn’t fall under any of these categories.

I’m not on any barred list and my conviction is my one and only one. It happened at a difficult time in my life – my parents were both very ill and my relationship with my wife was coming to an end. I should have asked for some professional help at the time but I guess I was too proud.

I can explain the circumstances around my conviction until I’m blue in the face but nobody is prepared to give me a second chance. If you work with kids no conviction it seems is ever acceptable. I hear of teaching students being refused placements because of old convictions for shop-lifting or fights they got in at school. Rather than ‘fight their corner’, a lot of these potentially great teachers decide to follow another career path. Is it any wonder therefore that there’s a shortage of teachers?

Do I think I’m a worse teacher because of my conviction? ‘No’. If truth be told, I’d probably be a better one. Prior to my conviction, I’d lived a fairly privileged existence. I’d always had a nice house, money in the bank, nice holidays – I’d never had any real difficulties in my life. A lot of my students had a much less fortunate home life, some were incredibly chaotic. I had no understanding of what life was like in a household where parents were out of work, money was tight and alcohol helped ‘take the edge off’ the problems. I know what it’s like now and know that I’d have a much greater empathy with those students.

I’m not suggesting that every teacher with a conviction is given a job. Our children and young people have the right to be safe at school and there are no doubt some individuals who may pose a genuine risk to them. However, these people really are in the minority. Most head teachers are clever enough to tell from an open and honest conversation who the real ‘bad pennies’ are but, so worried are they about their own position that it’s easier to put a blanket ban on anybody who has a conviction.

So, in my mind there’s quite a simple way to ease the shortage of teachers – Give heads some credit for making reasoned decisions and allow them to work in a ‘no blame’ environment.

Truly assess the level of risk a person poses, for example is the offence relevant, how long ago was it and how old was the individual when it happened.

There are currently 11 million people in the UK with a criminal record and 1.5 million new convictions each year. How many of these 11 million would love to go into teaching and how many of the 1.5 million are already teachers.

By Lawrence  (name changed to protect identity)

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • For practical information – More information can be found on our information hub site on becoming a teacher
  • To discuss this with others – Read and share your experiences on our online forum.

A cautionary tale if you’re looking to start a relationship with somebody who has been convicted of a sexual offence

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Having started a new relationship with a man who’d been convicted of a sexual offence, Yvonne was surprised to find that the police, probation and social services all had such a judgemental attitude towards both her and her partner.

My partner Stephen is a convicted sex offender. I’m divorced and until I met him, neither I, nor anyone close to me, had ever met a person with a criminal record. This is our story.

Stephen and I met through an online dating agency. He was out of prison and on licence. Both his police protection officer and probation officer knew about, and encouraged his use of the sites although in hindsight, it should have been obvious that Stephen was unknowingly violating the sites Terms and Conditions. (Some agencies ban people with certain offences from signing up).

Little did I know that the consequences of getting involved with a sex offender are huge. The deceit you are forced into daily with everyone you meet, the decisions about who to tell and who not to tell, the horror of what those who you do tell subsequently discover on the internet, the change in your relationships with them, the difficult place you put them in when they, in turn, are forced to keep the secret, the ongoing terror of the truth eventually coming out …..

I have two children, a son and a daughter and Stephen’s probation officer advised him that there was no problem in him pursuing a relationship with the mother of a 16 year old girl. She and the police protection officer both approved and registered my home as Stephen’s second address without speaking to me, let alone meeting me or my daughter or visiting our home. Should this have been allowed? Probably not.

As my daughter was at boarding school she only came home during the holidays and every now and again at weekends. I’d mentioned to my daughter that I’d started seeing somebody but Stephen and I decided not to tell her that he was regularly staying over at my house until I’d spoken to her father.

A few weeks after we’d started dating, Stephen’s probation officer told him that she needed to inform the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) about our relationship – apparently this was ‘just a formality’. It took two months for the relevant paperwork to be processed and, when I was contacted by a woman from Social Services, it was whilst I was attending a lunch party with friends. She insisted that I repeat to her there and then on the phone the precise details of what Stephen had told me about his offence. Repeating the details aloud was a horrible experience not least because it came out of the blue.

Two days later after this telephone call I was contacted by Social Services again and told that they wanted to come along with a police officer to meet me – they gave me three hours notice!!!

During this meeting Stephen was made to wait in the garden and the police officer who’d never met either of us before spent 4 hours carrying out a character assassination. Her opinion of Stephen appeared to be based only on what she’d read and in my view demonstrated a stereotypical judgement of all sex offenders. It included straight untruths, exaggeration and general inaccuracies.

At the end of the meeting, the police officer insisted on driving directly to my daughter’s school to inform her of Stephen’s convictions. I was refused any contact with her or her father and so couldn’t be with her when she was spoken to. When the uniformed police officer and social worker arrived at the school they disclosed details of Stephens conviction in the presence of her housemistress and four other members of school staff. As my daughter had become aware of Stephen’s background I thought it was only right that I should tell my son and the children’s father.

At this point, my daughter told the police officer that she didn’t want Stephen to stay in our house any more and this was added to one of Stephen’s licence conditions. My son refused ever to meet him and the fragile relationship I’d built up over a decade with the children’s father was destroyed. The trust and respect my two children had for me was devastated and their faith in my judgement trashed resulting in a total loss of all sense of security and stability.

I made a complaint to the police which took them four months to respond to. My complaint was not upheld and I was advised that the police officer had ‘acted in good faith’.

Three months later and having got over the shock of the disclosure, my daughter told me that she had no problem with Stephen visiting our home when she wasn’t there. My ex-husband and the children drew up a statement confirming this. However the police and probation still continued to prevent him from visiting me and Social Services told me they could do nothing all the time the police and probation were denying him access.

This situation went on for 9 months and it was only when I began to threaten to expose the catalogue of mistakes made by all three agencies that they finally started to listen to me. A meeting with arranged with myself, Stephen, police, probation and social services where it was acknowledged that mistakes had been made. We received an apology from social services and Stephen’s licence conditions were immediately relaxed.

Discovering that that the police and probation were so judgemental, negatively stereotyping their clients rather than treating them as unique individuals came as a real shock to me. If this is the attitude of professionals is it any wonder that employers and members of the public find it so difficult to give those with a sexual offence a chance.

By Yvonne  (name changed to protect identity)

Useful links

  • Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
  • For practical information – More information can be found on our information hub site on sexual offences
  • To discuss this with others – Read and share your experiences on our online forum.

Forgiving myself was harder than being forgiven by others

Following his conviction for murder, Toby never believed that he deserved to be happy or to move on with his life. Read about his journey to forgiveness.

 

If you ask the general public what offenders are the most dangerous or what the most heinous offence is most will say ‘murderers’ and ‘murder’. Back in 1999, I became that person.

I’m sure there are a lot of people reading this that would love me to go into great detail about my crime – I’m not going to. It might make my story more interesting to some but it’s not something that I’m proud of and for anybody reading this who may have lost a friend or family member in similar circumstances, I don’t want to sensationalise what I did.

My crime truly was the lowest point of my life and almost as soon as it had happened I knew that I’d never be able to live with myself. As I saw my victims family being interviewed on the television I knew that I had to do the right thing and I handed myself in to the police.

From that day on I found myself on some type of roller-coaster and just went with it – police interview, court, conviction, prison. I can’t really remember the first couple of years in prison, I didn’t speak to anybody unless I really had to (this included my family) and I didn’t engage with any day to day activities in the prison. I was constantly punishing myself, believing that I wasn’t worthy of any type of kindness or compassion.

I’m not entirely sure when the turning point came, probably about the time that my brother visited me to tell me that he and his partner were expecting a baby. He made it clear that he wanted me to be part of my niece or nephews life and harshly told me:

Stop being so b****y selfish. You’re not the only one affected by your actions so grow up, stop feeling sorry for yourself and make the rest of your life matter”

Nobody had spoken to me like that. Everybody pussy-footed around me, trying to make me feel better but he was right. Although I didn’t deserve anything from my life, my family did and so the transformation started.

I embraced life in prison and found that by helping others I started to feel a bit better about myself. I took on peer roles and became a Listener and generally just helped the other lads on the wing with letters, apps etc. My niece Phoebe was born and I relished every letter I received from my brother and his partner telling me what they’d all been up to.

Eventually my release day arrived and my brother Tom was at the prison gates to take me to the approved premises. I wouldn’t have survived these early days without the support of my family and although I was living over an hour’s drive from them they visited me every weekend without fail.

Six months after I’d been released I’d found myself a job in a supermarket and a small flat to rent. However, more excitingly my brother had decided that the time had come to introduce me to my niece for the first time – she was 8 years old.

As happy as this occasion was, it was tinged with a certain amount of sadness. Phoebe knew all about my past and didn’t hold back asking me questions that other’s had avoided asking but I always tried to be as open and honest as I could. From that day on we became firm friends but it made me sad to think that I’d never have a family of my own – let’s face it, it was unlikely that I’d ever find a woman that would want to be with me.

Although I’d got myself a job with a supermarket that was deemed ‘offender friendly’ I was told by the store manager that they’d never employed anybody with an offence as serious as mine. However, he told me that he valued my honesty and openness and supported my application. I was offered a full time job on the night shift; terrible hours but I was grateful for anything. I worked hard and before long I was promoted to a supervisory role followed by the opportunity to apply for a trainee manager’s position.

I loved the job and the people I worked with although I often felt guilty that I hadn’t disclosed my conviction to my colleagues. It was whilst I was attending a health and safety course as part of my manager’s training that I met Dionne. She was also a trainee manager from another store although in my eyes she should have been a model. She wasn’t just beautiful to look at, she had a wonderful personality as well and, at the end of the two day course, I invited her out for a drink.

After we’d been out a couple of times I knew that I had to tell her about my past. I had no doubt that I could trust her not to gossip about me to anybody but I really wasn’t sure how she’d take the news of my conviction. I thought of all the ways I could break it to her – practised in front of the mirror, wrote her a letter etc but in the end I invited her round to my flat and told her over a cup of tea. She didn’t say anything to start with and then told me that she needed time to think through what I’d told her.

“That’s that” I thought. “I’ll never see her again”

The following evening she appeared at my door and told me that she wanted to know everything. As difficult as it was, I knew that I owed her that much and so took myself back to that fateful day. At the end of my story we were both in tears and I knew that whatever the outcome was, I was so glad that I’d had the opportunity to be honest with her.

Meeting that woman turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to me. She didn’t walk away, she told me that she wanted to be with me forever. Since then, life has treated me well – I’m now a department manager but even better, at the age of 46, I became a Dad for the first time.

I can never make up for what I did but I can do all I can to be the very best person I can be.

By Toby  (name changed to protect identity)

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An education, a job and a future; look how my life has changed

Despite a pretty awful childhood, the support of her foster family enabled Maddie to follow her dream of becoming a social worker.

My childhood sounds like something from a Martina Cole novel. I came from one of those families that you see on the Jeremy Kyle show.

Dad left before I was born and my mum was an addict – drink, alcohol, controlling men!! There were many times I’d come home from school to find her passed out either drunk or coming down from a high and I got used to patching her up after her latest boyfriend had used her as a punchbag.

It was after a particularly bad beating that social services stepped in and I was ‘removed from her care’. I was told that it wouldn’t be for long, she just needed a bit of time in rehab to get herself clean. I saw her a couple of times after that but it was obvious that she wouldn’t be able to beat her addiction.

Aged 12 and living with a foster family I realised that I’d never live with her again. I found it hard to accept that she’d put drugs and alcohol before her child and, just as she’d given up on me, so I gave up on myself.

I started mixing with older kids staying out late, smoking and drinking cider. My foster parents tried everything they could to help me but I didn’t want to know.

With the genes I had, it wasn’t really surprising that I’d dabble with drugs, a bit of weed to start with and then harder stuff. It was a slippery slope and to fund my habit I started to offend – shoplifting, theft, possession.

My life was out of control but my foster family stuck by me, even when I treated them appallingly. After one particularly nasty argument my foster ‘mum’ quietly and calmly told me that she was worried that one day I’d be found dead or end up in prison.

I’m pleased to say that neither of these things happened, instead I became pregnant at 15. I wasn’t sure who the father was but I knew that I wanted to keep the baby and that I had to sort myself out. I stopped drinking and taking drugs and started to eat regularly and healthily. After a lot of meetings with social services it was agreed that I could stay with my foster family and we started to prepare for the birth.

I was 5 months pregnant when I miscarried. “Just one of those things” I was told “Nobody’s fault”. But how could I not blame myself; drugs, alcohol and babies don’t mix. I don’t know what I would have done without my foster family, they were with me every step of the way and made me realise that I had to do something to make my babies life count.

I knuckled down at school and stayed on to do my ‘A’ levels in the sixth form. I wanted to be a social worker but I worried that the issues I’d had with drink and drugs would stop me doing so. As it turned out, this wasn’t the problem but my criminal record certainly was.

I applied to 3 universities; two refused me and one offered me a conditional offer subject to seeing my DBS. When the certificate arrived I was told that my application would need to be risk assessed by a panel before my offer could be confirmed.

Following the panel meeting, the university contacted me to let me know that my application had been refused. They did however give me the opportunity to appeal the decision.

I spent a lot of time on my appeal letter making sure that I set out the circumstances that had led to my offending and the reasons why I’d chosen to change my life. I got advice from organisations that worked with people with convictions and also contacted the Health and Care Professions Council who are responsible for regulating the work of social workers to make sure that I would be able to enter the profession after I’d gained my degree. Wherever I could, I provided evidence to back up my arguments.

I was delighted to hear that my appeal had been successful and I loved every aspect of studying. I worked hard and ended up with a 2:1. Part of my degree involved a placement with a local council and when I’d finished my degree I was offered a full time job. I’ve been there for just over 8 years now and have never once regretted the choice I made.

I doubt whether I’d have achieved what I have without the support of my fantastic foster family. They played (and continue to play) a huge role in my life and it’s for that reason that I’m now considering becoming a foster carer myself.

I’m not sure a Martina Cole novel would have ended this way but I’ve got no complaints.

By Maddie  (name changed to protect identity)

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“Second chances don’t feel like they exist if you’ve been convicted of a sexual offence”

Dean was delighted to find a job with a really supportive employer and didn’t think for a minute that he’d be dismissed 9 months later after head office had sight of his DBS certificate.

Back in September 2018 I applied for a job delivering and collecting courtesy cars. There was a box on the application form asking if I had any unspent convictions and then another box underneath asking for further details.

This question filled me with dread as I knew that ticking the ‘Yes’ box would always reduce my chances of success. So not feeling too optimistic, I put my cross in the ‘Yes’ box and went on to explain that I’d been convicted of downloading indecent images.

A few days later I was invited for an interview. It went really well, the manager was easy to talk to and really put me at ease and at the end of the meeting he asked me when I could start and offered me a job. He told me that I would need a basic DBS check but, as I’d disclosed my conviction I wasn’t unduly worried.

On my first day at work I filled out the forms for the criminal record check and then off I went to get my task for the day.

I absolutely loved the job, I was driving all day clocking up between 40-50 hours per week but as I loved it so much it didn’t feel like work.

Nothing had been said about my criminal record check so I assumed that all was well with it. I was surprised that they hadn’t told me they’d received it but I wasn’t too worried.

I’d been working for the company for just over three months when I was called into the managers office. He told me that there had been a problem submitting my DBS application (I think they’d forgotten to do it) and asked me if I could give him some further details about my conviction. I had nothing to hide and told him what I’d been convicted of and the disposal I’d received. I explained what had led me to offend and what I’d been doing since – completing a probation course and building up a network of support around me. I wanted my manager to know that I was a different person now and I was ashamed of the person I’d been. He made notes but he seemed fine, in fact he was very supportive.

Everything carried on as normal until about 4 months ago when I was told that the company would be applying again for my basic DBS. I signed the form and gave consent for the certificate to go straight to head office – why wouldn’t I, nothing was going to show up that they didn’t know already.

Two weeks later my manager asked to speak to me. His first words to me were:

I’m so sorry and I want you to know that I did everything I could.“

He went on to tell me that having seen the DBS certificate head office had told him that he had to terminate my contract. He was close to tears as he told me that he had no problem with me or my work and he’d be happy to give me a character reference if I needed one in the future.

I never tried to hide my conviction; I’m not proud of it but it is my past. My manager and other staff knew my story and I got on well with all of them. I think head office were worried about their reputation but I spent very little time with customers and I’d only ever introduce myself using my first name. It seems a knee jerk reaction by head office. I’d been at the company for 9 months without any issues.

I knew I worked hard and I did a good job. I was polite and courteous to customers and had the full support of my manager. However, with all those things in my favour, head office still couldn’t see beyond my conviction and give me a second chance.

By Dean  (name changed to protect identity)

 

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