Skip to main content
For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Type: Advice Update

Monthly summary – December 2019

Welcome to our monthly summary for December 2019.

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.

Travelling abroad

  • Travelling to Russia – We’ve produced some new information on travelling to Russia and the impact a criminal record will have on your ability to get a visa.
  • Information contained on passports – We’ve updated this page to include some new information relating to green Interpol notices.

About criminal records

  • Chance to respond to the DBS customer satisfaction survey – We’ve provided a link to a new satisfaction survey launched by the DBS giving customers the opportunity to provide feedback on their services.

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.

Views and reviews – Teaching is facing a recruitment crisis; how can it be turned around – “Back in 2017, it was reported that a shortfall of trainee teachers was reaching crisis levels, with particular shortages in London and the home counties, and a significant drop over the last decade in women applicants. A number of factors were used to explain this …..”

Struggles and stigma – I thought the last people to judge me would be the solicitors I worked for – “Until August of this year I was employed in the accounts department of a large law firm being responsible for several European offices. My employment began in the early 1990’s and without being too boastful, I had an exemplary work record …..”

Struggles and stigma – Do the police believe in rehabilitation? –“I have been on the Sex Offenders Register (SOR) for five years during which time I have complied with everything and have never caused my police officer any concerns regarding my behaviour. I hoped that I had shown how I had moved on with my life and rehabilitated …..”

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.

What do you have to do to become an ex-offender – risk your life ….. – JASB has started an interesting discussion around the terrorist attack on London Bridge and the media coverage given to one individual with a criminal record. Let us have your thoughts.

Greetings folks! – Khafka is a new member of theForum awaiting sentencing early next year. He has posted details of his experiences to date as well as his fears for the future. Can anybody offer him any support?

Other news and developments

Looking back at 2019 – A month-by-month review of our work and criminal record developments

With the Christmas break almost upon us and 2019 coming to an end, Christopher Stacey, Unlock’s co-director, looks back over the last 12 months at Unlock and the developments relating to criminal records.

We’ve updated our recruitment policy for applicants with a criminal record

Unlock is committed to the fair recruitment and the inclusion of people with lived experience of the criminal justice system. We’ve recently reviewed and improved our ‘Applicants with a criminal record policy’ and wanted to share this in the hope that other organisations working in the criminal justice system will think about their own approach to actively involving people with criminal records.

Our priorities for government in 2020 – A fresh start for criminal records

We’ve published our priorities for government in 2020 calling for the government to commit to five priorities to bring about a fresh start for law-abiding people with criminal records.

The helpline is closed over Christmas

Our helpline will be closed for the Christmas holidays from 4pm on Friday 20th December and will reopen at 10am on Thursday 2nd January 2020.

Whilst we’re closed, you can drop us an email, text or WhatsApp message or write to us. Our contact details can be found here. We promise to respond to every enquiry we receive as soon as possible following our return to the office in January.

If you’ve got questions that you need answers to, you may find the answer on this self-help information site. In particular, check our quick links section which has answers to some of the most common questions we get asked. Alternatively, you may find the answer on our online forum.

The Christmas holidays can be a difficult time for some. If you’re feeling desperate and need to speak to someone while our helpline is closed, you can contact the Samaritans for free on 116 123. Or you can email them at jo@samaritans.org.

On behalf of everybody at Unlock, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Chance to respond to the DBS customer satisfaction survey

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) have just launched a satisfaction survey to give their customers the opportunity to provide feedback on their services. Any feedback you give will be anonymised and kept confidential.

Our helpline receives contact from many people who have contacted the DBS. Sometimes they’re really pleased with the information they received, other times they’ve been frustrated by the service they’ve been given by the DBS. This can be particularly the case where people have raised concerns about their employer doing a potentially ineligible check.

That’s why we think it’s important that people with a criminal record get a chance to have their say.

So, if you’ve been in touch with them recently and the service was good, or if you have some feedback for them to improve in the future, then let them know.

Complete the survey here

Monthly summary – November 2019

Welcome to our monthly summary for November 2019.

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 you need help challenging an ineligible DBS check? – We’ve provided some new templates which can be used to challenge an ineligible check being carried out by the DBS.
  • Ban the Box employers – We’ve updated our list of Ban the Box employers to include Redbridge Council, HSS Hire Group, The Old Vic and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

About criminal records

  • Disclosure and Barring Service – An overview – If you believe that the DBS have made a mistake on your DBS certificate and you’ve exhausted the appeals process, you may wish to consider taking your case to judicial review. We’ve added some new information about the judicial review process.
  • Disclosure of police intelligence on enhanced checks (approved information) – We’ve added details to this page of a Supreme Court case which considered the issue of disclosure of non-conviction information on enhanced DBS checks.
  • Barring (Children’s Barred List and Adults’ Barred List) – We’ve updated this page to include links to the legislation around automatic barring and automatic inclusion offences.

Universities, colleges and education

  • Tell us about … applying to higher education with a criminal record – We’d like to hear from you about your experience of applying to higher education if you have a criminal record.

Banking

  • Basic bank accounts – We’ve updated this page to include details of the nine largest banks who offer fee-free accounts and the ID you’ll need to open an account.

Information Hub

  • We’re listening – Tell us what you think about our Information Hub – We’re always looking to improve the look and content of our Information Hub and have put together a survey giving users a chance to tell us what they think of the site.

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 – Forgiving myself was harder than being forgiven by others – “If you ask the general public what offenders are the most dangerous or what the most heinous offence is, most would say ‘murderers’ and ‘murder’. Back in 1999, I became that person …..”

Struggles and stigma – A cautionary tale if you’re looking to start a relationship with somebody who has been convicted of a sexual offence – “My partner Stephen is a convicted sex offender. I’m divorced and until I met him neither I, nor anyone close to me, had met a person with a criminal record …..”

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.

Employment – Hockerill was released from prison approximately 6 months ago and is finding it difficult to get into employment due to his criminal record and gaps in his CV. Does anybody have any advice they can offer around his CV and friendly employers?

Success with Google effect – Harmless has recently seen his name disappear from page one of Google’s search results which seems to be due to the way that news articles are “tagged”. He’s also given some practical tips on how to push up your positive profile on search results. Read more 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 volunteer short-listed for helpline volunteer of the year award

One of our long-standing volunteers was short-listed for the Helpline Partnership’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award in recognition of his valuable contribution to the charity.

Unlock Annual Report 2018-19

We’ve just published our Annual Report and Accounts for the year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 which provides an overview of what Unlock has done during the year to make a positive impact on the lives of people with convictions.

Do you need help challenging an ineligible DBS check?

Despite the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, some employers try to seek a higher level of criminal record check than they’re entitled to. Sadly, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) don’t have any process in place to flag up potentially ineligible checks; they assume that any application submitted is eligible for the level of check applied for.

If you believe that an employer is trying to carry out an ineligible check then the onus is on you to challenge this; either directly with your employer or through the DBS.

We’ve updated our challenging an ineligible check page to provide templates which you can use to challenge an ineligible check through the DBS. These can be used as a guide to help you write your own email.

As part of our fair access to employment project, we’re working to reduce the number of unlawful checks being carried out by the DBS. We’re keen to hear from anyone who believes that an employer has carried out a standard or enhanced check for a role that wasn’t eligible for that level of check and an employer has subsequently taken into account spent convictions or other information from the police that they were not entitled to see.

More information

Tell us about … applying to higher education with a criminal record

Applying to higher education can be an exciting and nerve-wracking time, especially if you’ve been out of education for a while. If you have a criminal record, awaiting the decision after disclosing can create even more anxiety.

Unlock would like to hear from you about your experience of applying to higher education.

  • Was it clear why you were being asked about your criminal record?
  • Did you feel you were treated fairly?
  • What was the outcome?
  • Is there anything you’d change about the process?

Let us know at university@unlock.org.uk.

We will use your responses (anonymously) in our work with higher education providers. We want to make admissions fair.

Read more about our project Unlocking students with conviction.

Learn more about applying to university with a criminal record.

Are you a higher education provider wanting to offer a fair chance to students with convictions?

We’re listening – Tell us what you think about our InformationHub site

Our InformationHub regularly receives over 1.3 million visitors each year and is considered to be the most comprehensive source of self-help information on a range of issues that a criminal record can affect. However, we’re always looking to improve it’s look and content.

We’ve put together a survey as we’re keen to get input from users of the site.

Complete the survey here

The survey won’t take long to fill in and it’s your chance to tell us what you like about the site and, more importantly, how you think it could be improved.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Monthly summary – October 2019

Welcome to our monthly update for October 2019.

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 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 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

  • Disclosure and Barring Service checks – We’ve set out details of the new reduced cost of all DBS checks as of 1st October 2019.

About criminal record checks

  • The impact of court orders – We’ve written a further article for Inside Time which provides details of how court orders can impact on the time it takes for a conviction to become spent.

Travelling abroad

  • Travelling to the US – Applying for a visa – We’ve updated this page to provide further information about what you should take to your interview at the US Embassy if your police certificate shows ‘No live trace’.

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 – I fought the big guys and won – getting a newspaper article removed – “My conviction was 25 years ago but it had made the press and whilst it wasn’t that much of a big deal at the time, in the age of the internet, I soon found it to be a major problem. I found that I couldn’t apply for the jobs I wanted to because even though my conviction was spent, people could easily look me up on Google and see the press articles …..”

Struggles and stigma – “Second chances don’t feel like they exist if you’ve been convicted of a sexual offence” – “Back in September 2018 I applied for a job delivering and collecting courtesy cars. There was a box on the application form asking if I had any unspent convictions and then another box underneath asking for further details. This question filled me with dread as I knew that ticking the “Yes” box would always reduce my chances of success …..”

Success – An education, a job and a future; look how my life has changed – “My childhood sounds like something from a Martina Cole novel. I came from one of those families that you see on the Jeremy Kyle show. Dad left before I was born and my mum was an addict – drink, alcohol, controlling men!! There were many times I’d come home from school to find her passed out either drunk or coming down from a high …..”

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts on 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.

Can probation unilaterally disclose a criminal record to an employer – Having recently been offered a job in finance, PH has been told by his probation officer that he needs to disclose his conviction to his employer, even though they’ve not asked him to do so. Has anybody else been put in this situation? What did you do?

Conviction for fraud – McBee is interested to find out whether it’s possible to get work in the health sector with a conviction for fraud. If you’re working in health and social care with a conviction we’d like to hear from you.

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.

New 2020 dates announced for our criminal record disclosure training

We’ve set out new dates for our criminal records disclosure training for practitioners in 2020.

Blog – Government publishes summary of responses to call for evidence on the employment of people with convictions

The government has just published its summary of responses to their Call for Evidence on employment of people with convictions. Our blog looks at some of the promising signs, some areas for improvement and questions the lack of any recommendations from government.

Ten UK universities lead the way by signing the ‘Fair Chance for Students with Convictions’ pledge

Following a 12-month project conducted by Unlock and supported by the UPP Foundation, 10 UK universities have signed up to the pledge making a commitment to offer a fair chance to students with a criminal record. Read more here.

Blog – How can people with criminal records access higher education?

Rachel Tynan, Unlock’s policy and practice lead has written a blog which sets out what we’ve learnt as a result of our work on our Unlocking Students with Conviction project.

Fee changes for DBS checks

As of 1st October 2019, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will be reducing the cost of DBS checks.

The new fees will be as follows:

The cost of subscribing to the Update Service will continue to be £13 per year and an Adult First Check will also remain unchanged at £6.

Standard and enhanced checks will continue to be free-of-charge for volunteers.

If you’re applying for a check through an Umbrella Body it’s possible that you’ll be charged an additional administration fee on top of the cost of the check.

Moving on: The impact of court orders

This month, we’ve written a further article for InsideTime ‘Through the Gate’ Section which provides information on how court orders can impact on the time it takes for your conviction to become spent.

A copy of the article can be found below:

In addition to your prison sentence, convictions for certain types of offences could also result in your receiving an accompanying ancillary order. These orders include things like confiscation orders, compensation orders, restraining orders and sexual offences prevention orders (SOPO).

The purpose of these orders can be to redress the harm that has been caused, for example a compensation order, whilst others aim to prevent re-offending or repeat victimisation, such as restraining orders.

However, it’s fair to say that these types of orders can have a devastating impact on your life long after you’ve left prison. This may be because of the prohibitions that they impose (for example not being able to visit certain areas) but also because, as long as they are in force, your conviction cannot be spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. For example, a compensation order is only regarded as spent once it’s been paid in full.

If you were given an indefinite order, then this will never be spent until such a time as you’ve gone back to court to request that it is discharged. Additionally, it will also mean that any other disposal given at the same time will also never be spent.

For example: Robert was convicted of ‘stalking’. He was given a 2-month prison sentence, which would usually be spent two years from the end of his sentence. However, in addition to the prison sentence, Robert was given an indefinite restraining order, meaning his conviction would never be spent until the order was revoked or amended.

All the time your conviction is unspent, you will need to disclose it, if asked, when applying for jobs, university courses or purchasing an insurance policy. This means you could effectively end up disclosing for life something that was a relatively minor offence. If an employer carried out a formal criminal record check, your conviction would always show up.

Whatever order you’ve been given, there is legislation in place that allows you to request a hearing to have it varied or discharged. By varying an order, the court may decide to remove some of the more onerous conditions or add a date upon which the order should come to an end.

In most cases, you would need to apply in writing to the court in which the order was given stating that you wish to have your order varied/discharged. Your application should explain how your circumstances have changed since the original order was made and the reason why you believe it should be amended or revoked.

If you’ve been given an order that relates to the payment of monies, such as a compensation order or confiscation order, then your conviction would not be spent until you’ve paid all outstanding money in full.

Unfortunately, no record is kept on the Police National Computer of when compensation/confiscation orders are paid. Therefore, it’s important that you obtain proof of payment from the court as this will usually be needed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) when processing a request for a basic criminal record check. Remember to send the receipt to the DBS along with your application form as without it, you may find that the DBS will disclose your spent conviction on your basic DBS certificate.

If you feel 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’ve 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.

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.

Help support us now