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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Type: Advice Update

Monthly summary – February 2020

Welcome to our monthly summary for February 2020.

This provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record.

Have you stumbled across this? You can receive these updates 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 updates that we’ve made recently to the information hub. 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 links to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people.

About criminal records

  • Using the General Data Protection Regulation to protect your personal data – We’ve written an advice post highlighting what employers need to have in place before collecting criminal record data from job applicants and, what you can do if, having supplied this information to an employer, your application is unsuccessful.
  • GDPR and data protection – Guide for individuals – We’ve updated this page to include some frequently asked questions.
  • Police certificates – This page has been updated to reflect the price increase for police certificates. The cost of an International Child Protection Certificate (for working overseas) has also increased by £15 to £75.

Criminal record checks for employment

  • Basic criminal record checks – We’ve included a new section on this page which sets out details of how employers can now pay the DBS directly for basic check for their employees.

Insurance

  • List of insurance brokers – Our list of insurance brokers that provide specialist insurance to people with convictions has been updated.

theRecord posts

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

Success – A journey from entering the Koestler Awards to studying at the Royal Drawing School – “I found my creative side about 12 years ago whilst I was serving a six-year sentence in a young offender institution. I was locked up for 23 hours a day, in a single cell, in HMYOI Brinsford and had minimal contact with anyone outside of the prison walls. But, I did have a pencil, and after seeing other people’s artwork on the wing, I began to draw on any odd scraps of paper that I could acquire …..”

Struggles and stigma – If employers aren’t willing to give people with convictions a second chance how can we ever prove that we’ve changed – “In 2016, I was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for a violent and sexual offence. This means that as things stand, my conviction will never become spent …..”

Success – My life has been enriched since challenging my SOPO – “Back in 2009 I was convicted of a downloading offence which resulted in a community sentence and an indefinite SOPO. In the years following my conviction I started to rebuild my life and was doing very well working in finance as well as doing some freelance writing on the side until one of my colleagues found out about my conviction …..”

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.

How to disclose to friends and family after arrest? – Following his arrest last year, lotsofquer is keen to hear how others disclosed their conviction to friends and family. Can you help.

Differing recruitment polices and standards of risk assessment – 30sell is keen to hear about people’s experiences of applying for voluntary roles with non-profit making organisations. You can post any comments here.

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.

Unlock speaks to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about the launch of its #Fairchecks campaign

Following the launch of the #FairChecks movement, Unlock’s policy and practice lead, Rachel Tynan, spoke to Radio 4’s Jenni Murray about the need for the movement and how people can support the campaign.

Unlock raises concerns as Charity Commission grants just six criminal conviction waivers

Unlock’s co-director, Christopher Stacey has called for the Charity Commission to publish an independent review on their decision making process after an article on the Civil Society website highlighted how the Commission has refused more than half the applications it has received from people with convictions wishing to serve as trustees or senior managers.

New trustees appointed to Unlock

Unlock have recently appointed four new trustees to join its board. Find out more about them here.

Using the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect your personal data.

From the outset of the recruitment process, employers will ask you to share a lot of personal data to enable them to contact you and assess your suitability for a role.

It has become common practice for employers to ask prospective employees about their criminal convictions and many will also carry out formal criminal record checks.

If you’re being asked to disclose details of your conviction, then an employer should be able to provide you with details of the lawful basis and condition they rely on when asking. You should also be able to access a copy of or link to their privacy policy which should set out the purpose of processing your data, how it will be used and stored, the data retention periods and who you data could be shared with.

But, what should you do if you’ve given this information to an employer and your application is unsuccessful?

The information you’ve disclosed is extremely sensitive and personal and you should expect that an employer will handle your personal information responsibly and in line with the law and good practice. However, to be sure that an organisation is not holding onto your information unlawfully, you have the right to ask that an organisation deletes all information they hold about you. This is officially referred to as ‘the right to erasure’.

GDPR significantly strengthens the rights you have over the processing of your personal data and we’d recommend that you use it to your advantage by always requesting that an organisation delete your personal data if an application you’ve made for a job is unsuccessful.

For more information

Help us plan our future work

As a small charity rooted in the experiences of people with a criminal record, it’s really important that our work is shaped by the needs of the people that we exist to help.

We are developing our plans for Unlock’s work in the next few years. We want to make sure that they reflect what people with criminal records want and need from us. Let us know your views through this short survey. Every single response will help shape Unlock’s plans for the future.

Complete the survey here

This year, we come to the end of our current strategic plan. Strategy can sometimes feel detached from the day to day experiences of people dealing with the effects of a criminal record. That’s why we want to hear your thoughts about what we should focus on over the next few years. A lot has changed since the planning for our current strategy that started in 2015 and we want to use this opportunity to have a really good look at:

  1. what the problems people face are
  2. what we think we can do about them
  3. what our objectives are
  4. how we’re going to achieve them

The end result will be a plan that is both ambitious and realistic, where we’re clear on our purpose, our objectives and how we plan to achieve them.

We’ve put together a set of questions so we can find out what matters to you. The answers are completely confidential, although there’s an option at the end to sign up to learn more about the next steps of this work and get involved in other ways.

We’re using Google Forms to collect responses to this survey. No personal details are required, and all responses are completely confidential. We will store survey responses safely and securely on our systems. Find out more about how we look after your data in our privacy policy.

As a way of saying thank you, we’re offering a £25 Love2Shop voucher to one randomly selected person who provides an email address when completing the survey before Friday 28th February 2020.

Complete the survey here

Monthly summary – January 2020

Welcome to our monthly summary for January 2020.

This provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. discussions on our online forum
  4. other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record.

Have you stumbled across this? You can receive these updates 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 updates that we’ve made recently to the information hub. 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 links to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other people.

Work and volunteering

  • ‘Do I need to disclose my criminal record?’ tool – We’ve produced a new tool which aims to help individuals work out whether they need to disclose their criminal record to employers if they’re applying for jobs which require a basic DBS check or a standard/enhanced check.
  • Volunteering – We’ve updated this page to include new links to the list of useful contacts/websites.

About criminal records

  • Moving on: The seven criminal record stages – leaving prison – We’ve written a further article for InsideTime providing information on the key things people should be aware of at this stage of their journey through the criminal justice system.
  • Disclosure calculator step-by-step video – We’ve produced a new video which provides a step-by-step guide to using our online disclosure calculator.

Finance

  • Recently left prison – claimed Universal Credit? What do you think of the DWP’s guidance? – We’ve provided a link to a DWP survey which is looking for feedback on how effective the DWP’s guidance is for people looking to claim Universal Credit on leaving prison.

theRecord posts

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

Success – Reflections on the last decade from a person with a criminal record – “Stepping into 2020, I’m sure you can’t have failed to notice the huge amount of people that joined in the Instagram 10-Year Challenge, posting photographs of themselves in 2010 and then in 2020. Don’t worry I’m not going to join them, because unlike Reese Witherspoon or Tyra Banks I actually do look older not younger than I did 10 years ago …..”

Struggles and stigma – Isn’t 45 years long enough to disclose a criminal record? – “I’m 65 years of age. Forty-five years ago, when I was 20 years old, I was arrested and received a conviction for two counts of possession of cannabis and was given a community order and a fine. My record has been clean ever since then …..”

Success – I had to face the consequences of breaking the law, why shouldn’t local councils? – “Last year I reapplied to go on the councils housing list as in 2017 I’d been refused due to my criminal conviction which was classed as ‘antisocial behaviour’. Not long after I’d made my application, I received a letter from the council saying that they were unable to process my application until I could provide evidence that I had no further convictions …..”

Discussion 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.

Differences in approach – newstart has set out his experiences of dealing with both probation and social services and the different approach they’ve taken to his reintegration into his family. Has anybody had any experiences they could share?

Universal Credit – paying loans, surviving – As a result of his conviction, khafka lost his job and has recently started to claim Universal Credit. He’s looking for any tips/guidance people can give him on surviving on benefits whilst continuing to repay his solicitors fees. Is there any advice you can offer?

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.

Winter 2019/20 Newsletter – What we’ve been up to

We’ve published our winter 2019/20 newsletter which provides an update of the news at Unlock in the last 3 months.

Launch of #FairChecks – A fresh start for the criminal records system

Together with the charity Transform Justice, Unlock has launched the #FairChecks movement which is calling for the government to launch a major review of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records to reduce the length of time a record is revealed.

Blog – Join the #FairChecks movement to help get a fresh start for the criminal records system

Unlocks co-director, Christopher Stacey has written a blog setting out examples of why the criminal justice system needs to change and the importance of asking MP’s to get the government to review the current disclosure system.

New step-by-step video for Unlock’s Disclosure Calculator

Our Disclosure Calculator is a web tool that makes it simple to calculate when convictions become ‘spent’ and no longer need to be disclosed to employers and insurers.

Feedback from users highlighted that our calculator user guide could be improved with the use of images to help individuals navigate their way through the Disclosure Calculator form. With this in mind, we’ve produced a step-by-step video which talks you through the various fields on the form which need to be completed to calculate your result.

Let us know what you think!

We’d like to know whether you think the video is helpful or if it can be improved in any way. Email us at feedback@unlock.org.uk.

More information

New tool to help work out if you need to disclose your criminal record

“Do I need to tell them about my criminal record?”. That’s one of the most common questions that our helpline receives when people are applying for work or volunteering roles.

But it’s not a question that has a straightforward answer. The starting point is:

You only have to disclose if you’re asked.”

But then it can get complicated. If you’re being asked, whether you need to tell them depends on (1) what type of role you’re applying for, and (2) your specific criminal record.

So to help with this, we’ve developed a simple tool. This brings together all of the things you need to answer the question “Do I need to tell them about my criminal record?”. It also signposts to one of our other tools, our disclosure calculator, where this is needed.

Try out the tool

Let us know what you think!

As this is a new tool, we’re keen to get feedback. Is it useful? Could it be improved? Email your thoughts to feedback@unlock.org.uk.

More information

New service for hearing and speech impaired callers

To help improve the reach of our helpline, people with hearing and/or speech difficulties will now be able to contact us using the Relay UK service.

Callers can download the Relay UK app to their mobile phone or tablet or use it via their textphone (Minicom or Uniphone) by adding 18001 before our helpline telephone number. There are no costs involved in using the service, you only have to pay your normal call charges.

If you use the service we’re keen to find out what you think about it. Let us have your feedback by emailing us at feedback@unlock.org.uk or completing our feedback form.

Recently left prison and claimed Universal Credit? What do you think to the DWP’s guidance?

Last year the Department for Work and Pensions created some new guidance to help people leaving prison understand how to claim Universal Credit.

To look at how effective the guidance has been and to help the DWP improve future products, they’re looking for feedback.

We wanted to share this across our networks, so that people with direct experience of recently leaving prison and using the guidance can provide their feedback.

You can find a link to their online survey here; the closing date is Friday, 7th February 2020.

The first question in the survey asks “Which organisation do you work for?”. We suggest that if you’re responding on a personal basis you identify yourself as “an individual claimant”.

Whether you’ve seen the guidance or not, if you’ve recently left prison and have applied for Universal Credit, take some time to read through the guide and let the DWP have your thoughts – be they good or bad.

Evaluation survey

Launch of #FairChecks – A fresh start for the criminal records system

Together with the charity Transform Justice, Unlock has launched the #FairCheck movement to help push for a fresh start for the criminal records system.

Our outdated criminal records regime is holding hundreds of thousands of people back from participating fully in society. Even a minor criminal history can produce lifelong barriers to employment, volunteering, housing and even travelling abroad, many years after people have moved on from their past. The system needs to change.

The #FairChecks movement is calling for the government to launch a major review of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records to reduce the length of time a record is revealed.

Commenting on the site, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock said:

People who have made mistakes in the past find themselves locked out of jobs and opportunities, unable to fully contribute to society or to achieve their potential because of a criminal record that is effectively a life sentence. Helping people to secure employment, support their families and contribute to the economy is one of the best ways of making communities safer. Yet the law as it stands means people are forced to reveal criminal records to employers and others for many years – sometimes for the rest of their lives.

Unlock is delighted to be partnering with Transform Justice to launch the #FairChecks movement to help push for a major review of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records. Everyone should have the opportunity to unleash their potential and make a positive contribution to society. Everyone should have the opportunity of a fresh start. The #FairChecks site is a crucial way for people to show their MP that they support reform of the criminal record disclosure system.”

Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice, said:

People want to move on from their past but our criminal records disclosure system is a barrier. Transform Justice is pleased to be partnering with Unlock to launch a movement for reform of the system. We know that everybody who has been in trouble with the law should have the opportunity of a fresh start.”

How can you help?

Use the #FairChecks site to get the support of your local MP.

Because it is the government that has to make changes to the law, we need the support of MPs. You can help by getting the support of your local MP. The first step is to use the #FairChecks website to send them a letter letting them know that a fair criminal records system is important to you.

Share the #FairChecks site on social media.

Please tweet a link to the site using the hashtag #FairChecks, share it on Facebook and LinkedIn and highlight it with your networks, directing people to the website www.fairchecks.org.uk.

Support it as an organisation

Alongside encouraging individuals to use #FairChecks to write to their MP, we are keen for organisations to be part of this too. We want to encourage organisations to show their public support for #FairChecks through Twitter, other social media and blogs, and please do get in touch with us if your organisation is interested in showing its support in other ways.

For more information about #FairChecks, visit unlock.devchd.com/fairchecks.

Moving on: The seven criminal record stages – leaving prison

This month we’ve written a further article for InsideTime ‘Through the Gate’ section which provides information on one of the seven criminal record stages – leaving prison.

A copy of the article can be found below.

Many people who contact our helpline are looking for answers to specific questions. However, some say “I’ve just been cautioned/convicted at court -what do I need to know?” To help those people, we’ve identified the ‘seven stages of a criminal record’ and developed information on how to deal with the consequences of having a criminal record at each stage. You can find out more information here.

  • Stage 1 – You’ve just received a caution;
  • Stage 2 – You’ve just received a conviction;
  • Stage 3 – You’re leaving prison;
  • Stage 4 – You’re on probation
  • Stage 5 – You have an unspent conviction;
  • Stage 6 – Your conviction is spent
  • Stage 7 – Your caution/conviction is filtered.

In this article, we’re concentrating on stage 3 – leaving prison. We’ll look at some of the other stages in future articles.

Being released from prison is a significant step in going back to a ‘normal life’. However, many people leaving prison are totally unprepared for dealing with the practical impact of living with a criminal record in the community. This can often leave them feeling extremely stressed and anxious and in the worst case scenario could see them losing their job or even getting into further trouble with the police. We’ve set out below some of the things we think you need to know.

Employment and criminal record checks

When you leave prison, your conviction will be unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act for at least 2 years (the time will depend on the length of your sentence). This means it will be disclosed on all levels of criminal record check, and when applying for jobs you’ll need to disclose it to an employer if asked. If you have previous convictions, you should check whether these are spent.

Recruitment practices vary – many jobs will ask about criminal records on application, but there are a growing number of employers who have ‘banned the box’. They delay asking questions about criminal records until interview or after offer, which gives you a better chance to be assessed on your skills and abilities first.

When it comes to disclosing your conviction/s, be prepared. Some people find that a disclosure statement can help them get their thoughts in some kind of order. The statement can be shared with the employer or used as a prompt when disclosing face-to-face. It can also be used as evidence of what’s been disclosed.

While you’re on licence, you may need to get permission from your probation officer before undertaking any paid or voluntary work. If your probation officer doesn’t feel that the role you’ve applied for is suitable for you, they can refuse you permission. If you’re subject to MAPPA (due to a violent or sexual offence), your probation officer may feel that it’s necessary to disclose information about your conviction to a potential employer. If this is the case, make sure you are informed of the employer’s policy on criminal records and share this with your probation officer. If the employer has a policy of not asking but probation insist that you do, you should ask for clear reasons, preferably in writing.

If you’ve been working for an outside employer whilst in prison, the prison should inform your employer of your release date. If you’re going to continue working for the same employer, make sure you give them your personal bank account details upon release. If you don’t, you may find that your wages will continue being paid into the central prison account.

Education

For anybody considering applying for a course at university through UCAS, you will no longer be required to disclose unspent convictions for the majority of courses (other than those leading to professions exempt from the ROA, for example teacher, nurse etc). However, individual universities have their own admissions policies and you may find that they’ll ask about unspent convictions, or about any licence conditions or restrictions that could affect your ability to complete the course.

Insurance

All the time your conviction is unspent you will need to disclose it to an insurer if asked. If they find out about a conviction that you haven’t told them about they’ll usually cancel your policy. If you make a claim, insurers may carry out a basic DBS check to establish whether your convictions were spent at the time you took out your policy. Your claim will probably be refused if you didn’t disclose an unspent conviction.

Travel

Licences generally include a standard condition which prevents you from travelling outside of the UK without the prior permission of your probation officer. Permission is usually only given in exceptional circumstances. If you do wish to travel abroad whilst on licence, we’d suggest speaking to your probation officer who should be able to give you an indication as to whether approval would be given and how to make a formal application.

Other

If you’re likely to be homeless on release from prison then you should make the prison aware of this at the earliest opportunity. The national shortage of housing stock means that it can be difficult to secure housing upon release, especially if you don’t have a connection with a local area. In many cases, you may need the permission of your probation officer to reside at a certain address. Whether you’re looking to rent from a local authority, housing association or privately, you will often be asked to disclose unspent convictions.

For many people prison offers stability and structure and coping on your own upon release can be stressful. However, there are many organisations that can offer information, advice and support to people leaving prison and we’d always recommend that you ask for help if you need it.

We want to make sure that our website is as helpful as possible.

Letting us know if you easily found what you were looking for or not enables us to continue to improve our service for you and others.

Was it easy to find what you were looking for?

Thank you for your feedback.

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

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