Monthly summary – June 2020

Welcome to our monthly summary for June 2020.

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.

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Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made to the information hub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update.

About criminal records

• Were you given a compensation order in court? Remember to tell the DBS once it’s paid – We’ve written an advice post setting out the way compensation orders are dealt with by the DBS for the purposes of basic checks and highlighting when you’ll need to provide proof of payment to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Work and volunteering

• Ban the Box employers – We’ve updated the list of ban the box employers to include details of new companies that have recently signed up to remove the box on application forms which asks about criminal records.

Insurance

• List of insurance brokers – We’ve updated our list of brokers to include details of further companies that offer policies to people with a criminal record.

News from Unlock

• Our support in numbers – We’ve put together an infographic setting out the details of the number of people we supported in 2019/20 through our helpline and online sites.

theRecord posts

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

Struggles and stigma – Why are insurance companies still discriminating against those with a criminal record? – “I was convicted of fraud in March 2017 and received a 5 year prison sentence. This was my first experience of the criminal justice system. I now fully appreciate the stigma and prejudice those with a criminal record suffer, particularly when trying to obtain insurance for their home or car …..”

Success – Gone but not forgotten – Understanding the meaning of a spent conviction – “At the beginning of May I reached another milestone in my criminal justice journey – my conviction became spent. Ten years from that day in court I am, according to the law, a fully rehabilitated individual. Awesome! But what does it mean? …..”

Success – Being brave isn’t easy but it’s key to moving forward – Standing by my husband following his conviction – “My husband Gary and I had been married for 12 years when he was convicted of a sexual offence. I had no idea that he’d been downloading and viewing indecent images of children and from the moment I found out, I went through a whole spectrum of emotions …..”

Discussions on our online forum

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

I’ve been barred from the housing register by my local housing department because of my conviction – Following the disclosure of his conviction to his local authority, Icy has been told that his request to stay/join the housing register has been suspended for at least 2 years. Has anybody else encountered similar problems with housing and if so, what did you do?

Restraining orders – procedure to follow for defendants during lead up to issuing of an order – Star is concerned that the process followed when he was issued with his restraining order was incorrect. Can anybody offer him any help or advice?

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.

Blog – Looking to the future: incentivising employment of people with convictions

At the start of the month, Unlock published a briefing paper calling on the government to use financial incentives to improve the employment prospects for people with convictions.

Criminal records webinar on 29th July – Booking now open

If you deal with criminal records in your work, for example helping people with convictions who are applying for jobs or working in recruitment/HR and making hiring decisions then you may be interested in our webinar on understanding the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and disclosure of criminal records.

Blog – Criminal justice, racial discrimination and criminal records

Unlock’s co-director, Christopher Stacey shares some thoughts on the current Black Lives Matter protests, the criminal justice system, racial discrimination and the impact of criminal records.

What’s your experience of ban the box?

As part of our fair access to employment project, we’re gathering evidence of employers’ approaches to people with criminal records. In particular, we’d like to learn more about your experience of applying to a ‘ban the box’ employer. Find out how you can help.