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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Type: Advice Update

Monthly summary – June 2017

Welcome to our monthly summary for June 2017.

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

  • Applying to a court to end a court order – We’ve produced some new information which sets out the impact of having a court order (for example a restraining order or sexual offences prevention order) and how you can apply to have it varied or discharged.

Criminal record checks for employment

  • When would you need to disclose your spent conviction to an employer – We’ve written an advice post which provides examples of some jobs which appear on the DBS exemptions list and which would usually require you to disclose a spent conviction.

Universities and colleges

  • Applying to university – We’ve updated this page to provide some additional information on disclosure and the different types of criminal record checks that universities can do as well as advice on appealing a university’s decision if you are refused a place as a result of your criminal record.

Insurance

  • List of insurance brokers – We’ve just updated our list and added a further two brokers who can assist people with convictions to get insurance.

Financial issues

  • Getting a mortgage – We’ve just updated this page to provide an example of the wording that banks/building societies can use when asking about criminal convictions on their application forms.

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 – From prison to probation officer – securing a job as a probation officer with a criminal record – ‘Back in 2005 when I was about 16 years old my mum made the brave decision to move me and my younger brother from London to Wales. Although I’d never got into any serious trouble, I’d been hanging around with the ‘wrong crowd’ and had started to get more and more involved in the whole gang scene …..’

Struggles and stigma – Historic convictions – I’m letting them stop me from working because I’m too ashamed to disclose them – ‘I don’t want to tell you what you already know, but young people do stupid things. You know what they say “Your convictions will always follow you around”, “You’ll never get a good job” …..’

Success – Timpson’s gave me the key to unlock my future – ‘My name is Michaela and I’m an ex-offender. When I was 21 years old I was convicted of a drunken violent offence, which happened whilst I was a teenager. In a second, a mindless act changed so many lives. My actions were out of character however I knew I had caused another person serious harm and for that I was sorry and I knew I had to be punished …..’

News – Writing competition open to former prisoners – ‘The Prison Reform Trust have just launched their 2017 writing competition. The competition is open to prisoners, prisoners’ families and friends and former prisoners …..’

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.

An ex-employer has disclosed my ‘spent’ conviction – MrsB1981 is looking for some advice after her previous employer disclosed her spent conviction in a reference. Do you have any advice you can offer her?

Library assistant job – Davinci1 is looking to apply for a library assistant job in a university but is worried about the type of criminal record check the university will do. Have you had any experience of this type of university job?

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.

Has a criminal record in early adulthood held you back? We want to hear from you?

We’re looking to collect evidence that will help us to better understand the structural barriers that people face in dealing with a criminal record they got as a young adult. Find out how you can take part in our online survey.

‘Criminal record disclosure’ workshop – book now for our workshop on 4th October

As experts on criminal record disclosure, we provide high-quality training to front line practitioners to ensure they have accurate and up-to-date knowledge and skills when advising people with convictions. Find out how you can book your place.

 

Has a criminal record in early adulthood held you back? We want to hear from you!

A criminal record at whatever age can be a real obstacle in getting on in life. But are there specific barriers that people face because of a criminal record that they got as a young adult?

In the last couple of years, we’ve worked closely with the Standing Committee for Youth Justice to look at childhood criminal records.

We’re now doing some work to focus specifically on problems people face from criminal records they got when they were a young adult. By ‘young adult’, we mean people aged 18-25.

We’re looking to collect evidence that will help us to better understand the structural barriers that people face in dealing with a criminal record that they got as a young adult. We know that the full impact of having a criminal record, of any sort, may not fully emerge until long after it was given, so we’re keen to hear from both people aged between 18-25 now, as well as those who are now older but got their record as a young adult.

We’re keen to hear from a wide range of voices, not just those that have been to prison. So, whether you’ve been to prison, given probation, fined or given a caution, we want to hear from you.

We also want to hear from practitioners and organisations that have experience in this area.

Your answers will be treated in confidence and will directly inform our recommendations for structural and practical changes. These recommendations will be shared with people who have the power to make things better.

So what do we want to know?

We’ve put together a short online survey for people with a criminal record – it should only take 5-10 minutes, and all responses will be confidential and no personal details shared externally.

You can fill out the online survey here.

Practitioners and organisations that want to contribute can share their thoughts by emailing them to policy@unlock.org.uk.

The initial deadline for responses is 5pm on Monday 17th July.

Thank you for your support.

Is it worth applying to have my court order varied or discharged?

Having a court order can have a devastating impact on your life, not just because of the prohibitions that they impose but because as long as they are in force, your conviction cannot be spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

We’ve produced some new information which sets out the impact of having a court order and how you can apply to have it varied or discharged.

If you believe that the conditions on your order are too restrictive, or your order has no end date, then it’s certainly worth considering applying to the court to have it varied or discharged completely.

Many people who have gone through the process have found that a successful outcome has made a significant difference to their quality of life and their ability to secure employment or college/university courses.

For more information

  1. For practical information – More information can be found on our section on applying to a court to end a court order, sexual offences and our page on long list of sentences/disposals and how long it takes for them to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
  2. Questions – If you have any questions about this you can contact our helpline.

When would you need to disclose your spent conviction to an employer?

Any organisation can apply for a basic criminal record check on members of their staff which will disclose unspent cautions/convictions. However, there are some jobs which would require you to disclose spent convictions.

Many people are aware that if they’re applying for a job which involves working with children or vulnerable adults, then they’ll need to disclose their spent convictions, unless they’re eligible for filtering. However, there are lots of other jobs where you’ll need to disclose your spent convictions which probably wouldn’t be immediately obvious.

Some of these jobs only ask that you disclose your conviction when entering the profession. Once you’ve qualified and start applying for jobs, employers will only be able to ask you about your unspent convictions and can only carry out a basic criminal record check. For example:

So, what other jobs might need you to disclose your spent conviction? The jobs we’ve listed below appear on the DBS exemptions list and will usually require you to undertake a standard Disclosure and Barring Service check:

  • Traffic wardens
  • Football stewards
  • Locksmiths who want to become members of the Master Locksmith’s Association
  • Mortgage brokers who have to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
  • Doorman/bouncers who require an SIA Licence.

If your employer is asking you to disclose your spent convictions or wants to carry out a check which you don’t believe they are entitled to do, then we’d like to hear from you. Find our further information here.

For more information

  1. For practical self-help information – More information is available on our criminal record checks for employment page
  2. Our policy work – Read about the policy work we’re doing on stopping unlawful/ineligible DBS checks
  3. Questions – If you have any questions about this you can contact our helpline.

Monthly summary – May 2017

Welcome to our monthly summary for May 2017.

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

  • Organisations that have access to the Police National Computer – We have produced some new information which sets out the range of non-police organisations which have access to the Police National Computer (PNC).
  • Criminal record databases – We’ve updated this page to explain the different types of criminal record databases and where details of any arrests, cautions and convictions may be recorded.

Work and volunteering

  • Security industry – We’ve updated this page to include a new section on getting a job in the security industry and the types of criminal record checks an employer can carry out if you already hold an SIA licence.

Other areas of life

  • Compensation as a victim of crime – We’ve written an advice post highlighting the impact of having an unspent conviction if you’re looking to claim compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Other

  • Important links and organisations– We’ve added a new section to this page with details of organisations who provide information, advice and support to families of people with convictions.

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.

Struggles and stigma – Why do Ofsted take so long in approving waivers for those who have been disqualified by association? – ‘I’d like to tell you about my disqualification from the primary school that I’ve worked in for the past fifteen years. In August last year, my 21 year old son was convicted of a sexual offence – arranging to meet a 13 year old girl and sending her explicit photographs. He received a suspended sentence, was put on the Sex Offenders Register and told he had to attend some courses …..’

Success – 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 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 …..’

Struggles and stigma – Lessons in disclosure – just because an employer doesn’t ask the question, you’ll still be seen as dishonest if they find out you’ve got a criminal record – ‘In 2015 I was sentenced to 16 months in prison for fraud against my employer. I was 33 years old when I was convicted and the offence was completely out of character. Up until that point, I’d had a completely clean record and had never had any dealings with the police or the courts …..’

Success – 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 experience 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 …..’

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.

Working for a local government admin job – Bambi was looking for some advice about a criminal record check she needed for a job in local government. Although it looked as though a basic check would be carried out, the wording provided by the employer was quite confusing. Have you had any experience of working in local government?

Advice needed – DBS check – Sue has been asked by her employers to undertake an enhanced DBS check for an office based job she’s had for three years. She’s worried about what’s going to be disclosed and whether her employers are allowed to carry out this level of check. Do you have any advice you can offer her?

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.

Landmark Court of Appeal ruling – Government loses appeal against DBS filtering regime

The Court of Appeal rejected the Government’s appeal to a decision made in the High Court in January last year, which ruled that the criminal records disclosure scheme was disproportionate and unlawful. You can read the full press release here.

Families of prisoners pay high insurance premiums and face more refusals

An article in The Independent this month reports that families of offenders face higher premiums and even flat refusals when it comes to getting insurance. This article quotes a report by Unlock which revealed that 37% of calls to its helpline related to insurance.

My top 4 priorities for the next government

Looking ahead to beyond the 2017 election, Christopher Stacey has set out his top four priorities for the next government. Read his blog here.

Please help us unlock funding so that we can help more people

We are looking to make some improvements to our self-help information hub. An independent funder, J Leon Philanthropy has guaranteed to provide half of the £6500 we need. If you’re able to contribute to the remainder of the money, find out how you can make a donation.

Do you know which organisations have access to the Police National Computer (PNC)?

Most people with a criminal record will be aware of the role that the Police National Computer (PNC) plays in being the source of information that is used to reveal criminal records on official disclosures, such as basic and enhanced criminal record checks.

However, many people will be surprised to learn that a wide range of non-police organisations have access to the PNC. We’ve produced some new information which sets out who these organisations are and what steps are taken to ensure that data about you is protected.

In 2016, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) carried out inspections on 10 non-police agencies who had access to the PNC. Between them they had carried out 50,000 searches of the PNC over a 2 year period. The majority of these were to investigate specific crimes or to vet job applicants taking on sensitive roles such as police officers, prison officers and some judicial appointments.

For more information

  1. For practical self-help information – More information is available on our sharing of criminal records section
  2. Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.

Has an employer wrongly checked your official criminal record? – Get in touch

As part of our Fair Access to Employment project we’re looking for examples of employers who have carried out inappropriate levels of criminal record checks. We’re gathering this information to feed into our legal strategy which aims to put an end to unlawful criminal record checks.

We’re especially keen to hear from anyone who believes that an employer has carried out a standard or enhanced criminal record check for a role that wasn’t eligible for that level of check and that employer has subsequently taken into account spent convictions or other information from the police that they were not entitled to see (so called “soft intelligence” or “local police information”).

The types of information we’re looking for

We’re interested to hear examples where:

  1. Employers have carried out a standard or enhanced criminal record check which revealed spent convictions or “soft intelligence” or both, AND
  2. The role in question was not eligible for that level of check (i.e. a standard check was carried out when the role was only eligible for a basic check, or an enhanced check was carried out when the role was only eligible for a standard or basic check).

We will review all of the evidence and advise you about your options, including potentially participating in legal action against the employer or umbrella body for submitting an ineligible check or against the DBS for processing an ineligible check.

For more information see our website

Have you ever tried claiming compensation as a victim of crime?

Last month The Independent published an article highlighting how rape victims with criminal records for minor offences were being regularly denied compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

The article explained how compensation for rape committed by one attacker is set at £11,000. However, if the victim has an unspent conviction for, say, failing to pay her TV licence, then this amount would be reduced, seeming to create ‘an idea of deserving and undeserving victims’.

However, women rape victims are not the only ones who fall foul of the rules of the scheme, which was designed to “compensate blameless victims of violent crime in Great Britain”. If you have an unspent criminal record, then the Government is of the view that this should have an impact on any compensation with payments either reduced or totally refused.

The worst affected will be anybody having an unspent conviction for an offence which resulted in:

  • A custodial sentence
  • A community order
  • A youth rehabilitation order
  • A sentence excluded from rehabilitation (for example an IPP sentence)

In these cases, no payments will be awarded.

Once your conviction becomes spent, your payments are not be affected.

The scheme has been challenged unsuccessfully through the courts many times and we’d like to hear from anyone who has gone through the process and either had their compensation refused or reduced. Please email the details to policy@unlock.org.uk.

For more information

  1. For practical self-help information – More information is available on our compensation as a victim of crime information page
  2. Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.

 

Do you live in Scotland? Do you have a criminal record? Can you help?

Disclosure Scotland is currently reviewing it’s Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and is looking for views.

We thought it was a great opportunity for people with a criminal record in Scotland to have their say and potentially make a difference to important legislation that will have a real impact on people with a criminal record that live in Scotland.

There’s more information about the review in its Terms of Reference.

The best way to help is to complete the online survey, which will take about 10 minutes. You can also send them an email if you’d like to get more involved.

Landmark Court of Appeal ruling – Government loses appeal against DBS filtering regime – Judgement will help thousands of people put their past behind them

For those of you that have been following the work we’ve been doing on challenging the DBS ‘filtering’ process, we’ve heard today that the Court of Appeal has rejected the Government’s appeal to a decision of the High Court in January last year. This ruled that the criminal records disclosure scheme was disproportionate and unlawful.

The judgement handed down today involved a number of cases that were heard in the Court of Appeal in February this year, including one from Liberty and one from Hodge, Jones & Allen, supported by Just for Kids Law.

The court heard the case of a man convicted in the 1980’s of ABH when he was 16 and received a conditional discharge. The President of the Queen’s Bench Division, Sir Brian Leveson, said in his judgement:

It is difficult to see how publication of this detail, 31 years on, is relevant to the risk of the public, or proportionate and necessary in a democratic society.

We’re delighted with the Court of Appeal’s judgement which will benefit thousands of people who have old or minor criminal records. The current system which was introduced in 2013, operates with inflexible rules meaning that, for example, someone with more than one conviction on their record will have them disclosed forever, regardless of the nature or circumstances. These shortcomings have now been recognised by the Court of Appeal.

We hope the next government will take immediate steps to respond to today’s ruling by reforming the current system and introducing a fairer and more flexible system.

More information

  1. Read Unlock’s full press release
  2. Find out more about our work on this issue on our policy page for challenging the DBS ‘filtering’ process
  3. For practical information on filtering, read our detailed guide
  4. Discuss this issue on our online forum.

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