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Our mission is to support & advocate for people with criminal records to be able to move on positively in their lives. Find out more

Monthly summary – January 2019

Welcome to our monthly summary for January 2019.

This provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you just stumbled across this? You can receive these updates direct to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’)


Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to the theInformationHub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people with convictions. 

Travelling abroad

  • Travelling to the EU post-Brexit – We’ve produced an advice post setting out our understanding of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for people with convictions wishing to travel to the EU as a result of Brexit.

About criminal records

  • Police Certificate – We’ve updated this page to include links to the latest ACRO step down model.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to from the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Success – What a difference 5 years makes – applying to university with a criminal record – “Nursing had always been my ultimate goal in life and I was very close to this dream becoming a reality when what I’m about to explain happened and all of that hard work and commitment had pretty much destroyed the dream …..”

Success – Although prison affected my mental health, I want to stay part of the criminal justice system – “When I finished my sentence and left prison, I was determined to put that part of my life well and truly behind me. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go back to my old job but I’d been planning for my release and had lots of ideas about what I was going to do …..”

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts to our online forum. If you’d like to join in the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

Has anyone successfully obtained a business bank account with a fraud conviction? – Marcovanba wants some advice about opening a business bank account with a fraud conviction as he was refused a business account approximately 18 months ago. Has anybody had any experience of this?

ECHR  – Following an article in The Independent stating that Theresa May is “considering axing the Human Rights Act after Brexit”, CC is worried about the loss of protections for people with convictions. Let us have your views.

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

Unlock’s response to Supreme Court judgement on criminal records disclosure regime

We provided an intervention to the Supreme Court to highlight the unjust consequences of the current regime and the alternative, fairer systems available. Read Christopher Stacey’s comments on the judgement.

A personal response to today’s Supreme Court ruling

Ellie has been actively involved in our work to push for changes to the DBS filtering rules and featured in a BBC Newsnight piece that aired before the Supreme Court hearing which started in June 2018. Read her response to the judgement.

Winter 2018/19 Newsletter – What we’ve been up to

We’ve published our Winter 2018/19 newsletter which provides an update of the news at Unlock in the last three months.

Unlock’s co-founder, Bob Turney, becomes a patron

We’re delighted to announce that Bob Turney, one of Unlock’s founders, has joined us as a patron. Find out more about Bob here.

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Photo of Head of Advice, Debbie Sadler
Debbie Sadler
Head of Advice

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