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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Story Type: Successes

Staying positive and being resilient – my journey from prison to normality

Having a little bit of time on my hands, I just wanted to share my experiences of being out in the real world.

It’s been eight months since my release from prison after serving four years of an eight year sentence for conspiracy to defraud. From the outset, I have maintained my innocence and stated that trust and stupidity are the only crimes that I’ve been guilty of.

The first eight months out of prison has been strange to say the least. I was fortunate enough to have been directed to the Langley House Trust who provided me with accommodation upon release and the prospect of a cardboard box under the arches was finally put to rest. I cannot thank them enough for their kindness and support.

Next it was off to the job centre. I think it was clear to the advisor straight away that I had health issues but I was happy to go along to the job centre every week, use their computers and pursue every job application that was appropriate. My advisor suggested that I should go onto Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which I did but I continued to remind the job centre that I was actively seeking work and they acknowledged that being on ESA would simply allow me time to ensure that my job search could be more precisely tailored to my health needs – for example there would be no attempt to send me off to do heavy lifting in a warehouse.

Strangely, I’ve recently been asked to attend an assessment with the ESA people to determine my fitness for work despite my telling them that I am fit for work and am actively seeking employment. My only reason for going onto ESA was because I was advised to do so by the job centre advisor – I’m starting to think that the different departments at the DWP don’t speak to each other.

I’ve continued my search for work and although I’m based in Northamptonshire, I’ve extended my search area to London and Kent. I have adopted the ‘don’t tell until you need to’ approach to disclosure. If a prospective employer doesn’t ask, then you don’t have to disclose but I’m pretty sure that if I’m offered a job I will tell – I’ve got a written disclosure all prepared which will help if an employer asks me to disclose in writing or in person.

So far, I’ve had no opportunity to disclose my record because quite frankly, the job market is not as buoyant as I would have hoped and I have now reached the ghastly age of 60. I believe that so far I have suffered from age discrimination rather than any other type of discrimination but obviously it’s impossible to say for sure.

As we progress day to day, it’s easy to lose sight of our goals and objectives. I’ve run the gauntlet of emotions from being fed-up, tired and dejected and at the point of giving up. I know it takes time and energy to find a job but sometimes it just seems so pointless.

I’ve now found a flat closer to my family and friends and will be moving into my own self-contained accommodation for the first time in five years. I’m looking forward to that and it’s a boost to my confidence at the right time. Seeing more of my family and friends will make the wait for a job easier; I’ll also be in a new location and can search with a fresh head on my shoulders.

The thing is, we all need a pick-me-up once in a while. The so-called justice system and the DWP think that people are robots and that facing rejection day after day has no effect on the will to continue – how wrong they are. Constant daily, weekly and monthly failure to progress has a huge impact on our resilience.

When you’re getting to the end of your rope, talk to someone you trust. Don’t give up, don’t let go of your dreams and don’t them ‘them’ get you down.

Good luck everybody.

By Francis (name changed to protect identity)

 

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Sometimes you have to believe you’re worth it – securing the job of my dreams with a criminal record

I’ll never forget the day I sat across from the smiley faced prison officer who told me

“You’ll never get a job with a fraud conviction. You’d have more chance if you’d murdered somebody”.

So much for moving on, being rehabilitated – from what this woman was telling me, I had a life on benefits to look forward to.

Luckily things didn’t quite turn out like that. I went to an open prison and, as soon as I was eligible for paid work, I secured a job with a well-known supermarket who employed individuals near to the end of their sentence. The job was essentially stacking shelves but I was so pleased to be working.

The best part of all was that when I was released, I kept the job. The money was ok and there was plenty of overtime available to bump up my salary. After a year I’d managed to rent myself a small flat and buy a really cheap car. It was wonderful to have some possessions of my own, all legally acquired.

Work was going well too. My line manager recognised that I was a hard worker, I kept myself to myself and was always willing to step in and cover extra hours when they were short staffed. He recommended that I go for promotion and after a bit of persuasion, that’s what I did. Four years on another promotion beckoned – department manager this time.

I passed all my assessments and moved to a small local store and as time went by I moved to bigger and better stores taking on more and more responsibility. I’d never had any passion to work in retail and although I was doing well, I’d often wondered what my life would have been like had I not received a criminal record. Prior to prison I’d worked in a management role for an IT company and I’d sometimes think about doing something different. However, that prison officers’ words always came back to me to haunt me. I was sure she was right. I’d secured one good job and after breaking the law and going to prison, I should be content with that job!

The supermarket that employed me often did work with local charities and I’d gotten to know the CEO of one of these quite well. I’d seen a lot of women in prison who were victims of domestic violence and I’d developed an interest in this field. I think I’d mentioned the possibility of doing voluntary work to the CEO at some time. One lunchtime as I read the local newspaper, I saw that the charity were advertising for an operations manager. The job description sounded just like my existing job albeit in a charity rather than a supermarket. I knew that I would be able to use a lot of my existing skills in this job but how could I? I had a job. I didn’t want to rock the boat. I’d have to disclose my convictions and the minute they found out about me, they’d reject my application. Not only that, but potentially I’d lose the respect of the CEO who I’d come to look upon as a friend.

For the next couple of days I tried to put the job out of my mind but at the most unexpected times, it would leap into my head. What should I do – just be happy with my lot that’s what.

To cut a long story short, I felt that I needed to speak to somebody about my thoughts and concerns. I rang my mum and asked her what she thought I should do. She told me that I needed to start forgiving myself for what I’d done in the past. That the only person stopping me doing something with my life was me.

Good old mum – always knows best.

I took her advice and filled in the application form. When I received the letter inviting me for an interview I was over the moon but then the doubt set in and there were several times when I almost rang and cancelled and even on the morning of the interview I almost didn’t go. I had a great interview. I’d done loads of research about the charity and I really gelled with the HR manager. Even when I disclosed my criminal record she didn’t seem too phased but I guessed that she was probably just a good actress.

When my phone rang the next morning offering me the job I couldn’t believe my ears. I’d done it. I’d got my dream job.

I’ve been there about 8 months now and I love it. I no longer think about the words of that prison officer but I often remember what my mum told me that the only person stopping me doing something with my life was me. She was absolutely right and I wouldn’t mind betting that there are people reading this now who are doing exactly the same as I was doing.

By Viv (name changed to protect identity)

 

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Getting permission from probation to travel to my brother’s wedding whilst on licence

From the day I received my custodial sentence, I was determined to turn my life around and make sure that I never went back to prison. I kept my head down all the time I was inside and upon release I’d already lined up a job volunteering for a charity who worked with ex-offenders.

I knew the hardest thing for me was going to be rebuilding a relationship with my family. I’d really let them down and I’d been devastated to see my mum and dad so distraught when I told them that I was likely to be going to prison. Communication between us had been very sporadic all the time I was inside.

My brother had been a fantastic support to me both during my trial and whilst I was incarcerated and I was so pleased when he told me that he’d got engaged and would be getting married – at last, something to look forward to. But then came the sting in the tale – they were getting married abroad. I was pretty sure that as I was still on licence, I wouldn’t be able to go.

From the time I left prison, I’d had a pretty good relationship with my probation officer so I thought I’d run the idea of travelling overseas for a couple of weeks past her. I was quite shocked when she categorically said ‘No’. No discussion, no thinking about it, just ‘No’. She told me that it was a standard condition on any licence to:

Not travel outside the UK unless otherwise directed by your supervising officer (permission for which will be given in exceptional circumstances only)

As far as she was concerned, this wasn’t an exceptional circumstance!

I left the probation office in tears. I wasn’t totally surprised but I did think that my probation officer would at least consider the pro’s and con’s of the trip. I’d really wanted to be with my brother on his big day and had thought it would be a good opportunity to start to build bridges with my mum and dad and other members of my family. My probation officer had just taken this all away from me.

My brother was stunned when I told him the bad news but after a cup of tea and some clear thinking he said:

Come on Mee this can’t be right. Let’s find out what options are open to us.

We did loads of research that night and over the next couple of days had conversations with lots of different organisations. In the end we decided that I had nothing to lose by appealing my probation officers decision.

I wrote a really detailed letter to the head or the probation office and a couple of weeks later I received a response stating that my application to travel had been approved.

My brothers wedding was fantastic. We were away for about 10 days in all which gave me plenty of time to spend with my mum and dad, away from the stress and pressure of everyday life and really did give me the opportunity to start re-building our relationship.

 

By Mia (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 travelling abroad while on licence
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to disclosure on our online forum.

Building my own dreams – What I’ve learnt from becoming self-employed

I knew that having a conviction was going to make finding a job difficult but I wasn’t prepared for just how difficult it would prove. I resigned from my previous job (at my employers suggestion) when news of my court appearance became public. I had a well-paid job, wife, house and a decent car; within months I had lost everything.

Finding a job became fundamentally important to me; not just to provide a wage but I hoped it would also help with my increasing feelings of isolation and anxiety. Unfortunately, I got the same result every time; sometimes it was simply no or a sorry we can’t put you forward, even worse was the silence, unreturned phone calls and emails. This continued for month on month and it began to feel that however low I set my sights the result was always going to be the same.

When I came to the conclusion I was just repeating the same action over and over again I decided to change tack; if an employer wasn’t prepared to take a chance on employing me would I be able to go self-employed or start my own business? I set about doing a lot of research on possible options and quickly found myself making a long list. After a few changes of mind along the way I decided to start a small business of my own.

Having made my decision I invested all my time, energy and a modest amount of cash in my new venture and thankfully I’m pleased to say that after a difficult initial six months there are now signs of progress. Thus far things have progressed slowly but surely and my business turnover is increasing steadily. Financially things are very tight; as business increases so does the necessity for more investment and the bills come in at a scary rate. I still constantly worry about my financial security both in the short and long term; in reality I need to make this work to keep a roof over my head.

Despite the worries, on the whole I have found the process very rewarding. Thus far I’m happy that I decided to ‘go it alone’, despite the difficulties and knock backs the positives still outweigh the negatives. Having a purpose to simply get up in the morning has helped with my general outlook and I dare to believe that there may be a brighter future for me ahead. I know it’s early days but I am at least doing something positive with my time.

I would encourage anyone stuck in a similar situation to consider the possibilities of working for themselves but to also think long and hard before making any serious career or financial commitment. For anyone considering going it alone the first thing to realise is that no one can tell you what is right for you. Like me you’ll need to take time and carefully analyse what options are available to you.

First off you will need to be realistic about what choices are available to you. If you have limited finances you can’t expect to buy a profitable off the shelf business; nor will you be able to kit out a swanky coffee shop with all mod cons. You may have to be more creative with the resources you have available to you, try to think what you enjoy doing and see if there is some way you can incorporate that in a new challenge. Just like applying for employment it’s worth considering what skills and experience you have to offer.

As most of you will be only too aware, having a conviction does put certain obstacles in your path and this is just the same for self-employment. I have had to take out a number of insurance policies with my business and having a conviction has made them all more difficult to obtain and of course, more expensive.

I have no personal exposure on social media; a conscious decision made in an effort to protect myself, similarly my business lacks an online presence and no doubt this has made it more difficult to find new customers. One benefit of being older is that I have been able to dismiss this as a personal choice/lack of tech savvy.

I have touched on the financial difficulties that have been (and are still) of concern to me and I can’t emphasise enough how important keeping track of my finances has been. You don’t have to be a financial wizard to do this, but you do need to be disciplined.

In part it has been easier for me to make the choice of going self-employed because of my personal circumstances. I don’t have the personal commitments that I once had and my social life is limited. On the plus side this has given me time and the energy to pursue a livelihood I would never have considered otherwise. More importantly it has made me more determined than ever to rebuild by life however long it may take; every cloud as they say!

By Robert (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 self-employment/running your own business
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to disclosure on our online forum.

A city of possibilities – Living and working in Singapore with a criminal record

I’m 40 years old and most people that know me would consider me to be a ‘pillar of the community’. However, this hasn’t always been the case and, as a young man, I received several cautions and also had a short stay in a Young Offender’s Institution. Most of the incidents involved violence.

Since then, I’ve done pretty well at work and, two years ago through my work in the UK, I was offered a job in Singapore. The job was a management role and I’d been offered a good salary. As a young man, it had always been my dream to live and work abroad but, from what I’d read, this was going to be impossible with my criminal record.

My new employers in Singapore told me that I’d need an ‘Employment Pass’ which they would apply for on my behalf and would last for two years. To meet the criteria, I had to demonstrate that I had the appropriate professional qualifications and skills and would be earning above £1800 per month.

It all sounded too good to be true and I started to do some research into what, if any, criminal record checks might be undertaken. I found out that to work in many countries, I would need to get a copy of my Police Certificate. I know that my past cautions and conviction would probably show up and this would be likely to affect my new employers decision as to whether to employ me. However, I’d not been asked to provide one yet.

Within a matter of days, my new employer contacted me to let me know that they’d submitted the application for an Employment Pass and that they needed some additional information from me – this included a copy of my passport, my bank details and evidence to show that I had a clean criminal record.

I obviously agreed to send this off but was panicking like mad. How could I prove that I didn’t have a criminal record – I did. I started to search for information online and came across details of the helpline run by Unlock. I rang the number straight away and explained the situation to the lady at the other end of the phone. She immediately put me at ease and, after a few minutes suggested that as the company had not specified the need for a Police Certificate, then I should get a copy of my basic criminal record check from Disclosure Scotland and send this to my employer. The certificate would be blank as all my cautions and my conviction were spent.

It all made complete sense and I started to think it might actually work. As soon as I put the phone down, I applied for my basic certificate online. I got it back about 6 days later and emailed a copy to my new employers who were more than happy with it.

I’ve been working in Singapore for about a year now and loving it. Singapore is a cosmopolitan city that offers a high quality of life and endless career opportunities. Sometimes, it’s important to really think about what an employer wants from you. Mine needed evidence that I didn’t have a criminal record and the basic certificate was able to prove this. If I’d rushed in and given them a Police Certificate it might have been a different story for me.

By Seb (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 police certificates and travelling abroad
  • Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to disclosure on our online forum.

‘Be prepared’ – Facing up to my past and volunteering as a Scout Leader

Almost 20 years ago, I received two convictions; one for criminal damage and one for carrying an offensive weapon in a public place. This sounds absolutely terrible but, if I explain, you might get a better understanding of what happened.

For about a year prior to my convictions, I’d been experiencing some extreme mood swings. Some days I’d be pretty depressed and feel really pessimistic about everything and other days I’d be full of energy and great ideas. I didn’t know it at the time but I was suffering from bipolar.

Sadly, another symptom of my condition was that whilst I was in a manic phase, I would become easily irritated and agitated although I’d remember very little about this when I was ‘normal’.

On the day of my conviction, I had a bit of an argument with a guy in a car park who I thought had tried to run me over (on reflection, I think I’d probably just walked in front of him whilst he was concentrating on parking his car). There was a bit of ‘banter’, I kicked his car and the police were called. Not knowing when to keep quiet, I continued to argue with the police officer who decided that the only way to shut me up was to take me down to the police station.

When we arrived at the station I was asked by the Desk Sergeant if I had anything on me that I shouldn’t, and I handed over a small knife which I had in my pocket (I can’t remember why I had it) – bang – two convictions.

Despite receiving the convictions, some good did come out of this as I was diagnosed with bipolar and started on medication to control my condition.

My bipolar is now well under-control and I’ve never been in trouble since. I now run my own business and I’m married with two beautiful boys. Both my kids are really active and involved in all sorts of clubs and groups and, like many fathers, I’ve also become involved in some of these.

About a year ago, I was asked by the kid’s Scout group if I’d consider becoming a Scout Leader. I didn’t give an answer straight away, just told the guy that I’d give it some thought and would let him know. Over the next couple of weeks I read all I could about the process and found out that despite my convictions being very old, they would not be eligible for filtering because I had more than one.

I’d pretty much decided not to go ahead when I saw the Scout Leader again and he asked me where my application form was. I can’t tell you what made me do it but I sat down with him and told him everything. He told me that I shouldn’t let it bother me – it was years ago, I’d been ill at the time and I was now a completely different bloke. So, fuelled by his positivity, I filled in all the forms and sent them off.

Weeks later my DBS certificate dropped through the letterbox and I opened it with some trepidation. I was so upset when I read it. I knew what I’d done but seeing it in writing was hard. I toyed with the idea of withdrawing my application so that I didn’t have to had it over but luckily I listened to my wife who told me that as I’d already had a conversation with the Scout Leader about it, it didn’t really matter.

So with that in mind, I handed over the certificate. There were a couple more conversations about my past with members of the Scout Association but ultimately, I was approved and I’ve been volunteering for about six months now.

However long ago it was, facing up to your past is never great but if you do, you can reap fantastic rewards.

By Taylor (name changed to protect identity)

 

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There are people in the caring profession that care about people with criminal convictions: Getting a job in a care home

care-homeAs a youngster growing up my life was extremely chaotic. A mixture of getting in with the wrong crowd and being mentally unwell meant that I picked up a series of convictions – shoplifting, assault, burglary and possession of heroin. However, there reached a point when I realised that I needed to get away from the crowd I was mixing with and better myself. So I started studying for a degree in health and social care.

As my degree course came to an end, I turned my attention to job hunting and after sending off several applications, I was invited to an interview at a care home. Obviously, I was nervous – this was going to be my first proper job. The interview was going well and then the interviewer said:

You’ve ticked the box stating that you have a criminal conviction, can you tell me a little more about that’

I had so many but I disclosed what I could remember and the manager thanked me for being so honest.

A couple of days later I received a phone call offering me the job. I was asked to go in and complete the paperwork for my enhanced DBS check (I was told that I couldn’t start work until I’d received this) and put an order in for my uniform. I was over the moon.

Several weeks later my DBS certificate dropped through the letterbox and on opening it I felt physically sick. It was far more in-depth than I’d expected it to be with information about a short prison sentence that I hadn’t even mentioned and a couple of other things that I’d totally forgotten about. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten this stuff but I’d been mentally unwell at the time and had even been hospitalised for a while. What was I going to say to the manager when I had to take my DBS check in? He was going to see far more than he’d bargained for and I felt absolutely awful about it. I’d kept out of trouble for over 16 years yet it all seemed a waste of time – my past would follow me around forever.

I felt as though my future had just gone up in flames. I was young and stupid at the time of my offending. Addicted to drugs and mentally ill.

One of my neighbours works in the same care home and she’d been as excited as me when I told her that I’d got the job. What would happen when the job offer got revoked. It would be obvious that there’d been something on my DBS check. Would she tell anybody? My head was buzzing with the implications that handing over the certificate would have.

That night I dreamt about working in the care home. It was the strangest dream ever but it made me realise that I owed it to the manager to go and explain the situation. I rang the home and started to explain. The manager told me that he’d have to arrange for me to meet the company’s Area Manager as it was too much for him to deal with.

As I prepared for the meeting lots of scenario’s were running through my head. I’d convinced myself that the job offer would be withdrawn and even if it wasn’t and I started work I’d probably be treated differently to my colleagues. I read my DBS certificate over and over again and tried to remember what was happening at the time of each of my convictions.

On the day of the meeting, I walked into the office of the Area Manager and handed over the certificate. I gave her a moment to read through it and then started to explain. I told her that I hadn’t deliberately withheld information but as a result of my mental state at the time there was stuff that I just couldn’t remember. I told her about the care I’d been given when I was ill and how I really wanted to do the same for somebody else and how I felt that I’d never be able to shake off my past. She listened to everything I had to say and asked me couple of questions.

She thanked me for being so honest and I prepared myself to hear her say ‘unfortunately we won’t be able to progress any further with this job offer’.

Instead she said:

Congratulations, I think you’ll make an excellent addition to the team’

I’m starting to think that it might just be possible to shake off my past after all.

By Lizzie (name changed to protect identity)

 

A comment from Unlock:

Lizzie’s story demonstrates how there are employers willing to see beyond a criminal record and give people a second chance.

Although Lizzie initially forgot to disclose some of her convictions, her employers still gave her the opportunity to explain them in further detail when she handed over her DBS certificate. Sadly, many employers are not so obliging and, if the same situation had arisen elsewhere, Lizzie may have had the job offer revoked. Some employers might have taken the view that she had been deliberately dishonest.

Unlock’s advice would always be to find out exactly what is on your criminal record (apply for a subject access request if you’re not sure) before you start applying for jobs.

Great result Lizzie!

 

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Officer G – a prison officer in a million

prison-officerI’ve been watching the news over the past couple of weeks which have shown some disturbing images of prison riots.

Prison officers being interviewed in the press say that cuts in staffing mean they don’t have time to deal with individual prisoners’ requests and issues. They’re spending less time interacting with prisoners which means that they miss out on changes in prisoner’s behaviour.

It’s been reported that prison management isn’t bothered about frontline staff as long as they complete the necessary paperwork. Management don’t see the importance of engaging with officers or prisoners on a daily, face-to-face basis. The end result is totally demotivated officers.

Therein, I believe lies the problem. For anybody that’s been in prison, it’s fair to say that a good officer can make all the difference and the impact they can have on an individual can go on long after the individual leaves prison.

I arrived in prison having just received a 4 year sentence. Not having any control over my situation or environment was a huge culture shock and it became obvious that prisons are generally under-funded places, having to deal with a variety of people, some of whom can be really difficult to manage. It was also clear that when asking a question some prison officers knew nothing and didn’t want to know anything, whilst others knew loads and were keen to impart their knowledge to others. Officer G was one such woman.

The things she did may sound simple but they were different to the way a lot of the other officers acted.

  • She was a role model for socially acceptable behaviour. For example, she always referred to us as ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’, she was always really polite and never used bad language.
  • For anybody that was willing to make changes to their lives she was happy to reward their positive behaviour. This was simple stuff like arranging a bingo afternoon or a film show on a Sunday afternoon.
  • She was always keen to encourage us to seek guidance, information and advice from a wide range of different organisations and she would often get the more capable prisoners to help those who were less able.

Officer G didn’t think that prison should stop us being individuals and more importantly, women. After we complained that the make-up we could purchase through the prison shop was useless and really expensive, Officer G contacted a well-known make up supplier and became the wing’s ‘Avon lady’. She used a team of girls to help her package it up and distribute it which reflected the trust she put in us.

Everybody in prison will have worries or concerns of some kind and mine was what I was going to do for work when I left prison. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go back into my previous line of work but I didn’t know anything else. I spoke to Officer G about this who explained that I’d soon be eligible to move to an open prison where I’d be able to do some voluntary work before being able to apply for paid work. She told me that I should think carefully about where I did my voluntary work as it could potentially lead straight into a paid job which I may be able to continue upon my release. She suggested that I consider work in the retail or leisure industry as career progression can be quite quick.

The next day when I saw Officer G she gave me a list of hotels which were local to the open prison that I’d be moving to. She told me that she thought I had some good people skills and she could see me working in a hotel. I set about updating my CV and sent it out along with a covering letter explaining my conviction and current circumstances to all the hotels on the list, asking whether they had any opportunities for either voluntary or paid work. By the time I’d moved to the open prison a month later, I’d already lined up a couple of interviews.

To cut a long story short, I was offered a work experience role with a large hotel chain. These roles are generally geared at school leavers looking to get a taste of what working in a hotel can offer. However, the company is large enough to tailor these programmes to an individual’s needs and this enabled me to work with them on a voluntary basis for a couple of months. As soon as I was eligible to, I applied for a team members job which involved working on the reception desk and also in the hotel restaurant when required.

I’ve now left prison but have continued working at the hotel. I was promoted pretty quickly to team leader and I’m now working towards a job as an Operations Manager. I’m very self-motivated and I’ve worked hard to get where I am. However, without the guidance and the push from Officer G I’m not sure that I would be where I am today. So thanks Officer G, you’re one in a million.

By Daisy (name changed to protect identity)

 

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Unlock – the beginning – by Bob Turney, Unlock’s co-founder

Bob Turney at his recent visit to Unlock’s office

Have you ever had a chance encounter with someone that has had a far reaching impact on people’s lives for the good? I have been fortunate enough to have had a few such meetings but this one was particularly memorable.

It was April 1997 and I was in the green room at the BBC Centre in Shepherds Bush, London waiting to appear on the Esther Rantzen Show. The programme was looking at people who had been in prison and how they had managed to turn their lives around.

Eighteen years earlier I had been released from Wandsworth prison having spent the previous twenty years drifting in and out of similar establishments. Since my release from Wandsworth, I had obtained a degree in Forensic Social Work and was now enjoying a career as a Probation Officer.

Also present in the green room was Mark Leech, then the editor of the Prisons Handbook, who had a similar background to me. We discovered that we had the same publisher, Bryan Gibson of Waterside Press. I found Mark very forthright in his opinions and was impressed with the way he handled questions from the studio audience. After the show we went for a bite to eat where the topic of our conversation turned to us increasingly coming across people with criminal convictions who were struggling to reintegrate back into society despite their best efforts to put their offending behind them. Their pasts were like millstones around their necks. It was clear that disclosure was a massive drawback in the jobs market and they felt that society was continuing to punish them, despite their best efforts.

We agreed that if people were genuine in trying to turn their lives around, there should be an organisation that could help them. We then went on to explore the possibility of establishing a charity that would help ex-offenders manage their antecedents in a positive way. It was Mark who came up with the name ‘Unlock’ – I thought it was a great idea, because that was how our days in prison were divided up, when the landing officers shouted “Unlock!” we knew it meant we could have time out of our cells. It was symbolic of freedom.

So we set about establishing the charity, but it needed to have some gravitas – we didn’t want to be seen as reps for a burglar’s union! Lord Longford had befriended me while I was at university and he and I remained close friends up until his death in 2001. Frank had been good enough to open many doors for me and I managed to get him on board and he had many great ideas regarding the charity.

In the meantime Mark had contacted Sir Stephen Tumim who had been Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons from 1987 to 1995, and he also got behind Unlock, becoming the charity’s founding President.

Mark and I had a meeting with the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, who gave us an hour of his time. We told him about the objectives of Unlock and that we were hoping to obtain some government funding. We also discussed repealing the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Simultaneously I was co-writing a book with Angela Devlin entitled ‘Going Straight‘, which contained interviews with a number of people who, since leaving prison, had totally changed their lifestyles and gone on to build successful careers. Jack Straw wrote the foreword for the book and it became core text reading in universities for students studying Criminology. We donated the royalties from the book to Unlock.

We received a lot of support from many people, including David Wilson, Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University and former Prison Governor, who shared with us his wealth of knowledge, and Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, who generously let us use her offices for meetings.

Stephen Fry, actor and author, agreed to be involved in the launch of the charity and was very helpful with his time. His involvement meant we attracted a great deal of media attention.

Getting off the ground

Unlock was duly launched at Pentonville Prison in the spring of 1999 to an audience made up of inmates, members of the media, and invited guests.

David Wilson was our first speaker, followed Sir Stephen Tumim, myself, then Mark. Our concluding speaker was Stephen Fry, who held the audience spellbound for over half an hour, telling us about his time in Pucklechurch Young Offenders Institution. Such a nice man – I can see why he is regarded as a national treasure.

In 2000, Unlock was really starting to take off. Probation was undergoing a lot of changes with the introduction of Youth Offending Teams, which was putting a lot of demands on my time, plus I was also due to go to the States to study their penal system, and with five young children and a mortgage, conventional wisdom dictated that I couldn’t serve two masters at the same time. Regretfully I felt that I couldn’t give the charity the time that it deserved, so I took a back seat and we recruited Bobby Cummines to take over from me.

Why Unlock?

Unlock is driven by the belief that most people are redeemable and that their lives shouldn’t be defined by the mistakes of their past. The ethos of Unlock is to look at the positives in people and draw the best out of them.

In my case it was many years ago that I managed to become a volunteer with the Probation Service. I was full of self-doubt, and the chances of advancing in the service seemed impossible, and if the truth were known I believed that Probation was only using me as a cosmetic job, to show how they were allowing an ex-offender to become a volunteer.

But that was so far from the truth. In fact, the service saw qualities in me that were far beyond my level of comprehension. They built on my fragile self-belief and gave me tasks that would stretch my abilities. Of course I did make some mistakes, but nonetheless I reached a level I didn’t think possible, and the rest is now history.

And that is what Unlock is about – getting the best out of people.

To illustrate this, I am often invited to give talks in colleges and sixth forms and as part of my talk I will hold up a fifty pound note and ask the audience who would like it. Every time I get the same response – a forest of hands are raised as everyone in the room wants the money. Then I screw up the note, throw it on the floor then stamp all over it, then hold it up again and ask if they still want it – again everyone holds up their hands. I then ask them why and always get the same reply that of course they do as it is still valuable! That is how Unlock perceives the people they work with – for sure they screwed up, but they recognise the value that is in everyone.

Unlock is all about harnessing people’s skills in a positive way, helping people to identify their talents, and then magnifying them. But it is also more than that, it’s not about enabling people to move away from offending, it’s about helping them feel that they are no longer standing on the peripherals of society, but playing a pivotal role in reintegrating themselves back into a productive life.

The Longford Prize 2016

Following the death of Lord Longford in August 2001, the Longford Trust was established. His family invited me to become Patron of the Trust, which I gladly accepted and I was invited to sit on the panel of judges which would select the recipients of the annual Longford Prize award. The competition was always fierce, each year we would be inundated with nominees that we would whittle down to a shortlist. It was one of the most difficult tasks I have ever been involved in. There were so many good causes it was extremely difficult to select a winner.

So, when Unlock was awarded the Longford Prize this year I felt extremely proud to be one of the founders of the charity all those years ago when none of us could have visualised that it would be such a big player in the rehabilitation of offenders.

Bob with Unlock’s co-directors Julie Harmsworth and Christopher Stacey at the Longford Prize award

I am really grateful to all the staff and volunteers at Unlock for the vital work they are doing in helping people to cast off the baggage of their past. My time with this wonderful charity was incredibly rewarding and I am so happy to see it going from strength to strength.

By Bob Turney – Co-founder of Unlock

 

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Job centre advisors – make sure you understand the problems facing ex-offenders

delivery-van-clipart-delivery_a05In October 2015 I found myself sitting in front of a job centre adviser desperate for her to help me find a job so that I’d have some money to buy my kids some Christmas presents and to put that all important turkey on the table.

I didn’t care what I did. I hadn’t been out of prison that long so I couldn’t afford to be choosy.

If I’m honest, my experience of the job centre up until then hadn’t been great. On the day I first went to sign on I thought it would be best to be honest about my criminal record but, as soon as I started explaining them, the advisers attitude towards me totally changed. Gone was the happy, helpful lady of five minutes ago, chatting about the weather and her holiday. Now she was ‘looking down her nose’ at me, hurrying me along, desperate to get rid of me.

I’ve got a couple of convictions for fraud. Nothing to be proud of and I’ve got no excuse for breaking the law. But I’m a decent bloke; certainly not violent or dangerous.

Still, I tried not to let the advisers attitude bother me and I always turned up for my appointment with a smile on my face, ready and willing to ‘engage’.

So on this particular morning the adviser told me:

“You’ve come at the right time. Royal Mail is just starting to recruit for Christmas staff. You can apply online.”

Sounds great especially if like me, your name’s Pat! Sadly though not a job for me. I’d tried applying for a similar role immediately after I got released from prison only to be told that the Royal Mail have a blanket ban on recruiting anybody with an unspent conviction for fraud (and a whole range of other offences as well).

As I was explaining this to the adviser, she started tutting and the look on her face told me that she thought I was making excuses. I really wasn’t. It didn’t stop her saying:

“If you don’t apply, you run the risk of being sanctioned”

So, I tried to apply but could only get so far on the application form before it told me I was unsuitable. As expected, when I told the job centre that I hadn’t been able to apply, I was sanctioned.

Why is it that these people who are meant to be there to help you, actually offer no help? Mainly because they don’t have a clue about how to help somebody who has a criminal record.

I would probably have had good grounds to appeal the sanction but decided that dealing with the job centre was just causing me additional problems and stress. The adviser I was dealing with was no help and I wasn’t confident that another would be any better. Added to which, I felt that if I asked to change advisers I would just be labelled ‘difficult’ or ‘problematic’.

As I sat at home trawling the internet, I came across Unlock. I wasn’t sure what they did but thought I’d give them a call. After I’d finished telling the guy on the phone my story, he agreed that I’d have had no chance of a job with Royal Mail with an unspent conviction (it’s a well-known fact apparently) but told me to have a look at Unlock’s list of friendly employers.

I hadn’t heard of a lot of the companies on the list but followed some of the links and came across a company looking for a delivery driver. I had the skills and experience and clicked onto their online application form. One of the questions asked if I had a ‘police record’ but even when I selected ‘yes’ it still allowed me to continue to the end of the form. A week later I was invited to attend an interview and two days after that I started work.

A year on, I’m loving my job. I’m pretty much my own boss when I’m out and about in my van. The company know about my conviction – they employ many people like me but they don’t make a big deal about it. They’ve been on the Sunday Times Best Employer List since 2012 and their office is really close to the job centre. So I find it even more extraordinary that an expert at the job centre didn’t point this company out to me at my very first visit.

My experiences with the job centre have been pretty bad and I’m sure there are some good advisers around. I really believe that all job centre staff need to be trained in how to deal with ex-offenders and have a much better understanding of the problems that are very specific to them.

The only thing that helped me get my job was my own motivation and, of course, a little help from Unlock!

 

By Pat (name changed to protect identity)

 

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