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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Type: Advice Update

Help us create digital stories

As part of our policy and campaign work, we always have to make the case for why people with convictions should be treated fairly. An effective way of doing this is by using real stories and voices that are rarely heard.

That’s why we’re looking for volunteers to help us with some work we’re doing to create ‘digital stories’. Digital storytelling is a short form of media production that allows people to share aspects of their life story. It can involve the use of video, sound, animation and photos.

We’ve set aside some time in October to create some digital stories, covering some of the key issues that people with convictions face. It will be led by someone who has themselves spent the last 16 years coming to terms with their own story.

And that’s where we need your help.

Find out more about this on our main site.

Summary of updates – July 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.

Travel

  • Travel to USA – We’ve updated the tables in the simple and detailed guides with some revised costs and timescales when applying for a visa, and included a link to additional information we produced recently on the ESTA form and moral turpitude.  Tell us about your experiences of applying for a visa for travel to the USA on the forum.
  • Travel to the UK – Some new information has been added about the need for individuals looking to apply for a visa to come to the UK to provide an overseas criminal record certificate from any country they have lived in continuously for 12 months or more over the past 10 years. For further information, see here.

Insurance, Banking and Finance

  • Benefits – We’ve developed some new information which outlines the main sources of financial help that are available which includes links to eligibility and how to claim.

Specific Occupations and Professions

  • Becoming a solicitor – We know that a lot of people think that, with a criminal record, you can’t become a solicitor. We came across a Daily Mail article which featured the case of somebody with a conviction who, after being sentenced to a custodial sentence in 1993, went on to successfully qualify as a solicitor in 2005. We’ve added a link in our information on becoming a solicitor.

What does the Hub cover? Areas we provide information/advice on

  • We’ve added some further information about the Hub which explains the areas that it covers. It also makes the distinction between subjects we can only provide information on (and not advice), and subjects that we simply don’t cover. For example:
    • We provide information/advice on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
    • We provide useful links (i.e. information) on prison issues, and points to others that can provide advice
    • We don’t provide information or advice on appealing a conviction.

Forum survey

  • Many thanks to everybody that responded to our forum survey. The winner of the £25 Amazon voucher was randomly selected and has asked that the £25 goes to a charity of Unlock’s choosing.  The results have been extremely helpful with many responses being really positive about what is currently available. However, some members felt that the forum needed to be more user friendly, especially for people who are not so computer literate. This feedback will be hugely helpful to us as we continue to develop an improved forum.

General links

  • We’ve added some new organisations to our list and updated the details of others. If you come across any organisation that you feel have been particularly helpful and who don’t appear on our list, please drop an email with their details advice@unlock.org.uk.

 

 

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

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. 

 

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.

Complete the survey here

For those that don’t know, our forum is an online community which was set up to offer people with convictions the opportunity to:-

  • Seek and provide information, peer support, advice, encouragement and experiences about dealing with the ongoing effects of a criminal conviction.
  • Share their views and experiences of living with a criminal record and what needs to change to achieve a fairer and more inclusive society.

We want your ideas of how it can continue meet these objectives, so we’ve put together a survey which has been sent to all forum members, as well as being promoted on our main website and information site.

We’re keen to get as much input from people with convictions as possible, so please share the link with others who may be interested in giving us their opinions.

As a way of saying thank you to contributors, we’re offering a £25 Amazon voucher to one randomly selected survey who provide an email address when completing the survey before 10th July 2015.

All responses that we receive are held confidentially by Unlock and not shared with any third party. More details about our confidentiality policy can be found here.

Complete the survey here

DVLA scrap paper counterpart of driving licence next week

A week today, on the 8th June 2015, the DVLA will be scrapping the paper counterparts for driving licences and issuing photo card driving licences only.

Any new penalty points (endorsements) issued from that time will be recorded electronically only. This information will be held on your DVLA driver record and can be viewed online via the DVLA’s Shared Driving Licence service.

Employers will no longer be able to ask to see the paper part of your driving licence for evidence of endorsements and/or categories of vehicle you are entitled to drive.

However, with your permission, an employer can access the DVLA Shared Driving Licence service. The employer will be able to see details of any ‘active’ endorsements, even if the motoring conviction is spent.

Please note: We have put a number of questions to the DVLA about how this process will work in practice, especially with spent convictions. We’ll update this page with the answers as/when we get them.

What does this mean for people with motoring convictions?

There’s a couple of key points to note:

  • In the short-term, nothing really changes. As we understand it, the DVLA’s Shared Driving Licence service will continue to hold information for the same length of time as paper licences did. The length of time that a motoring offence stays on your licence is governed by road traffic legislation and will generally be either 4 or 11 years. This is entirely separate to the time it takes for it to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
  • If you’ve got motoring convictions on your record, it’s more likely that you’ll get found out if you don’t disclose a motoring offence when you’re required to, particularly if the conviction is unspent and you’re applying for insurance, as some insurance companies and brokers may ask for permission to access your driver records from the DVLA’s Shared Driving Licence service to validate any information you provide to them.
  • During 2015, many insurers will roll out the MyLicence service, a database containing the driving history of every licensed driver in the UK. MyLicence will give insurers independent access to your driving records including all endorsements, penalty points and driving convictions. It’s our understanding at this point that MyLicence will not share the details of spent convictions (even if they’ve not been removed from your licence).
  • Remember – you do not need to disclose spent convictions to an insurer, even if they remain on your driving record.

What next?

Our view

Online access to motoring offences is still relatively new, and we’re watching closely how this works in practice. We have been told by the DVLA that ‘MyLicence’ will not share spent convictions (once it starts being used more widely). In the meantime, it’s not clear how the DVLA Shared Licence record will work in practice.

We’re continuing to push for the DVLA to ensure that they do not share the details of spent convictions.

To help us with this, we’re particularly keen to hear from anybody who has convictions for drink or drug driving, where the offences are recorded by the DVLA for 11 years. Are these still available on your DVLA Shared Licence record once they are spent?

Given what we know about the DVLA in sharing spent convictions on paper driving licences, we expect this latest development to increase the number of cases that come to light where the convictions are spent but an insurance company or employer becomes aware of them.

For more information

Get involved

Help us to add value to this information. You can:

  1. Comment on this update (below)
  2. Send your feedback directly to us
  3. Discuss your views and experiences with others on our online peer forum.
  4. Share your personal story by contributing to our online magazine, theRecord

Summary of updates – May 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.

Disclosure Calculator

  • Following feedback from some of our users, we have made some minor changes to the calculator. In particular, we’ve made it clear on the front-page that it only applies in England & Wales. We’ve also highlighted the need to select ‘motoring endorsement’ as well as any sentence or disposal received when working out when your motoring conviction becomes spent.

Travelling Abroad

  • Travel to America (USA) – We’ve made some minor changes to our detailed guide to make it easier to navigate your way around.
  • The ESTA form and moral turpitude – Anybody considering travelling to the USA will need to consider the questions asked about convictions on the ESTA application form. These changed in November 2014 and we have produced some new information which focuses specifically on how to answer these new questions.  If you’ve got a caution or conviction and travelled to the USA using an ESTA, tell us about your experience on the forum.

Insurance, Banking and Finance

  • Insurance and Convictions – We’ve added an index to our detailed guide to make it easier to find specific information.
  • Funding opportunities – For anybody with a conviction seeking help with funding, we’ve updated the link to the latest edition of the Prisoner Funder Directory .

Work

  • Support getting into work – We’ve made some minor changes to this information which provides details of national organisations who specifically help people with a criminal record get back into work.  If you’ve used any of these organisations, how useful have you found them? Share your thoughts and experiences on the forum.

 

Summary of updates – April 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.

Work and Volunteering

  • ‘Relevant orders’ and when they become spent – We get quite a lot of enquiries from people looking to find out how ‘relevant orders’ (i.e. referral orders, restraining orders, SOPO’s) affect the time it takes for their conviction to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. So we’ve added a section on the Hub page ‘Long list of sentences/disposals and how long it takes for them to become spent under the ROA’ which explains this in more detail.  If you’ve been affected by a ‘relevant order’ post a comment on the Forum.
  • Detailed guide to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act – We’ve made some minor changes to the detailed guide to make it easier to navigate your way around – it was quite a long guide, so we’ve created an index with some quick links.
  • Volunteering – We’ve developed some new information on volunteering which covers where to find volunteering opportunities, how the Rehabilitation of Offenders act applies to voluntary roles and some links to useful websites and resources.

About Criminal Record Checks

  • Out of court disposals – We’ve put together some new information setting out details of disposals available to the police as alternatives to the formal justice system. This information sets out how and when out of court disposals are disclosed on criminal record checks and is a useful tool for anybody supporting individuals in police stations who want to know the impact of accepting an out of court disposal.  What experience have you had of out of court disposals, let us know on the Forum.

Travel

  • Travel to Australia – Anybody travelling to Australia must pass the Australian government’s ‘character requirement’, which includes criminal records. We’ve added a link to our travel to Australia page which provides additional information about the Character and Police Certificate Requirements for entry into Australia.  If you’ve travelled to Australia, share your experiences on the Forum.

Summary of updates – March 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.

Work and Volunteering

  • Friendly employers – We’ve developed some new information, identifying a number of employers who, either as a result of their recruitment process or company ethics, have a positive attitude towards people with convictions. Many individuals will feel more confident applying for jobs with companies who they believe are more ‘friendly’ towards people with convictions. Further information can be found here. If you know of any companies who are not on this list, please drop us an email to advice@unlock.org.uk or put a post on the Unlock forum.
  • Support getting into work – We have expanded this section of the Hub by including details of some social enterprises who specifically assist people with convictions in getting back into employment. Have a look at who they are here. If you’ve had any dealings with any of these organisations, post your comments on the forum.
  • Disclosure and Barring Service – The DBS have finally changed their Helpline telephone number – it’s now 03000 200 190. Calls to 03 numbers will cost the same as calls to geographic numbers (starting 01 or 02), and be included as part of any inclusive call minutes or discount schemes in the same way as geographic calls.

Looking for ‘friendly’ employers

A criminal conviction doesn’t have to be the end of your career but many people with convictions feel anxious about disclosing details of their past fearing that they will be judged and discriminated against.

For many people, knowing that an employer is ‘friendly’ towards people with convictions helps them to apply for jobs with more confidence.

We have therefore developed some new information, identifying a number of employers who, either as a result of their recruitment process or company ethics, have a positive attitude towards people with convictions.

If you know of other companies we could add to this list, please let us know by contacting our helpline.

Finally, ‘enforced subject access’ becomes a criminal offence

From tomorrow, 10th March 2015, a practice known as ‘enforced subject access’ will become a criminal offence, as section 56 of the Data Protection Act comes into force.

As we originally reported in an update to our Information Hub in June last year, this is an important step in making sure that employers and organisations don’t take part in the unsavoury practice of requiring individuals to provide a copy of their police records through their rights of subject access.

Today, to help people understand what this means in practice, we’re:

  1. Publishing brief guidance for individuals on our self-help Information Hub
  2. Providing a news update for employers, as well as brief guidance for employers and organisations
  3. Highlighting the technical guidance that the Information Commissioners Office has published.

Download our guidance on enforced subject access request for people with convictions

A more detailed news update is available on the main Unlock site.

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12.5 million people have criminal records in the UK. We need your help to help them.

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