Summary of updates – June 2015

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update on our Hub. 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 members of the forum.

About Criminal Records

• Harassment Warning – We’ve developed some new information about Harassment Warnings which can be given by the police to anyone who’s had an allegation of harassment made against them.

Insurance, Banking and Finance

• Insurance Brokers – We’ve added a further three companies to our List of Brokers who are able to assist people with convictions access insurance products. The latest downloadable list can be found here.

Travelling Abroad

• Travelling to Canada – We’ve added a link on our ‘Travelling to Canada‘ information to the Collateral Consequences Resource Center website which recently posted an interesting article setting out how a criminal record could restrict travel to Canada. If you’ve travelled to Canada, let us know about your experience on the forum.

Specific occupations and professions

• Becoming a solicitor – If you’re considering going into the legal profession, this new information looks at the screening process for entry.

Other areas of life

• Executors of a will – After some questions we’ve had recently, we’ve added an FAQ which looks at whether a criminal conviction could disqualify somebody from acting as an Executor to a will.

New posts, stories and experiences on theRecord

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These often go hand-in-hand with the practical information we have on the Hub.

Successes – Dating someone with a serious criminal record –  I met Wes at my gym. We got talking and decided to go for a drink. Both in our 40’s, he wasn’t my usual type but there was something about him. Over the next three weeks we met numerous times. I was beginning to really like this.

Struggles and Stigma – From temp to permanent – learning the hard way, but still persevering – I had my disciplinary meeting the day before yesterday. At the end of the meeting I was offered the chance to resign rather than face dismissal and for the good of my “Permanent Record”, I took it.

News – Help Unlock challenge employment discrimination –  We wanted to post a piece to get readers of theRecord involved in a project that Unlock is running to challenge the employment discrimination faced by people with convictions. As part of this work, alongside supporting and challenging employers to develop good practice, we’re also looking for input.

News – Help us improve our online forum – Now that it’s 7 years old, we are working on giving our forum a bit of an update and we want to hear from people with convictions about what an updated forum would look like, and how it would work.

Have you got a story or experience that would work well posted on theRecord? Get in touch.