Monthly summary – July 2018

Welcome to our monthly summary for July 2018.

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. 

About criminal records

• Problems with the filtering of conditional cautions – We’ve written an advice post setting out how conditional cautions are often recorded as convictions on the Police National Computer (PNC) meaning that despite being eligible for filtering, they continue to be disclosed on standard and enhanced DBS checks.

Work and volunteering

• Leading charities with conviction – Guidance for individuals on changes to the rules on being a trustee or senior manager of a charity with a criminal record – The changes to the automatic disqualification rules that relate to people being a trustee or senior manager of a charity come into effect on 1st August and we’ve updated our information to reflect this.
• Leading charities with conviction online tool – We’ve updated our online tool which is designed to help trustees and senior managers of charities determine whether they need to apply for a waiver to bring a disqualification to an end.

Other areas of life

• Subject access request – General information – We’ve produced some new information about applying for a subject access request and what options are open to you if  an organisation refuses to provide you with one.

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 – Now I’ve got my professional indemnity insurance I can start to believe that the best is yet to come – “In November 2016 I received a conviction for downloading indecent images and received a suspended sentence. From the first interview I had with the police, I couldn’t explain why I had downloaded and viewed those images as I knew in my heart that I’d never hurt a child in any way …..”

Success – Success in getting my Sexual Offences Prevention Order discharged – “I was convicted of a sexual offence in 2008 and given a 10 year Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). Earlier this year, I made enquiries at the Crown Court as to how I would go about discharging my SOPO. The Court provided me with quite a vague response and I was told that my enquiry would be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service …..”

Struggles and stigma – Denied healthcare due to my conviction for assault – “I’ll try to be brief but it’s important that you get an idea of my past. I have various convictions and an extensive psychiatric history. I received my first conviction in 2006 before I’d been properly diagnosed with a mental health condition …..”

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.

SIA licence with a criminal record  – GaryTS is keen to get some information and advice on applying for an SIA licence. He’s got a conviction which will never be filtered and wants to know how others have gone about disclosing their convictions.

Complaints against police liaison officer  – BetterLife’s partner is considering making a complaint about their police liaison officer but wants to know whether anybody else has gone through the process and if so, what happened. Can anybody help?

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 comment: Government announces scrapping of ‘disqualification by association’ in schools

We’ve been calling on the government to scrap ‘disqualification by association’ requirements for nearly four years. Read our comments and download the draft guidance.

Blog – Standing up to the government in the Supreme Court – Some reflections on last month’s landmark criminal record disclosure hearing

Following the Supreme Court hearing last month, Unlock’s co-director, Christopher Stacey sets out the background to the case and his thoughts on such a significant hearing.

Almost three-quarters of applications for waivers from charity trustees or senior managers who face possible disqualification, have not yet been dealt with by the Charity Commission

New rules that disqualify people from being senior managers or trustees of charities if they’ve committed certain offences will come into force on 1st August 2018. Read Christopher Stacey’s article published in Third Sector around the implementation and delays in processing applications.

New addition to the Unlock team

We’re delighted to welcome Rachel Tynan to the Unlock team as our new policy and practice lead. Find out more about Rachel.