The BBC ran a story about figures they’d obtained about how the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (known as ‘Sarah’s Law) has worked during the pilot.
We contributed to this news piece. You can read the article here.
Type: Unlock General
Updates to the DBS filtering process
This update has been taken from our Information Hub
December has seen a couple of updates from the Disclosure & Barring Service regarding the filtering process.
Nothing has substantially changed – it’s simply that the DBS are trying to improve the way that they’re explaining how the filtering process works.
So what has changed?
Firstly, the DBS has updated their list of offences that will never be filtered. This increases the list of offences to over 1,000, as well as those offences such as attempting or conspiring to commit the offences listed). This update isn’t the result of a change in the law – it comes from the Home Office, who are trying to produce a list that is more accurate and easier to use. Unfortunately, they still haven’t produced a list of offences that would be eligible for filtering so long as they meet the other criteria (which we’ve suggested would be useful).
Secondly, the DBS has updated their filtering guidance. Helpfully, they’ve given some advice to employers on how they should change their application forms to ask a more accurate question which takes into account filtering.
Although we’re not the publishers of these two pieces of information, we always appreciate feedback on what you think about them, and particularly in raising any issues that you find, so that we can raise them with the Home Office and DBS. Please get in touch.
Webinar for Employers – The Legal Stuff
Today we delivered a webinar in partnership with Business in the Community, titled ‘Ban the Ban – the legal stuff’ where we briefly covered the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Read more about the webinar and download a copy of the slides.
Successes in getting visas to travel to the US
This is taken from an update to our Information Hub
As part of our attempts to make sure this Hub reflects the genuine experiences of people with convictions, we want to make sure that were highlighting some key examples which we think are relevant to people making use of this site
One particular update that we’ve made today is to include a couple of positive experiences that we’ve had reported to us, where people have been granted a visa to travel to the US.
We have updated the Travelling to America section, but have copied their experiences below;
“I received a caution for possession of a controlled substance (Class A) in 2009. By mid-2010, I had applied for and been granted a visa which was valid for 10 years. I went suited and booted and they just asked me whether I was still misusing drugs. I think possession is extremely minor in the spectrum of drugs-related offences”
“I had visa interview this morning (Paris Embassy) and was granted. Passport coming back end of week. My record – 2 arrests – 1 caution for D&D in 2005, 1 for ABH in 2010 which resulted in 10-week tag, 260 hours community service, £400 fine from Magistrates.
I applied for B1/B2 visa from US Embassy in Paris, as currently at university in France. Filled in standard visa application, whereby I declared both caution and conviction. I also got ACPO certificate but this is not mandatory for visas from France. Booked appointment online, and turned up with confirmation of payment, Stamped Addressed Envelope, photos, etc.
Arrived at 0730 (smartly dressed in suit and tie!), given a number, and gave all docs for registration. about 20 mins later, was called to a screen with US immigration officer. There was no private room, just a rank of booths not unlike a bank branch. She asked me what I was doing in France, what I wanted to go to the US for, and how was I going to finance it. I gave her a copy of my uni course confirmation, and my bank statements.
She then asked me to give more detail about the 2 arrests / convictions which I did, and also handed over the ACPO certificate. After she tapped away on a computer for a bit, she then said “I just have to go and check something”, and 5 minutes later she came back and said, “Everything is fine, and you’ll get your passport back with the visa in 2-3 days”.
Total time at Embassy – 1 hour. Obviously there will be some minor procedural differences between Paris and London, but the key takeaway is that the system can work, and the bureaucracy not be so bad. Clearly it’s not all quite there, as I won’t believe the final hurdle is overcome until I set foot on American soil. It’s a major weight off my mind, however.”
Changes to motor insurance disclosure
Today we took part in a Radio 4 Money Box discussion about changes to motor insurance disclosure, as well as what people need to disclose under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
You can listen to the interview below.
Response to Scottish Consultation on reforms to the ROA
We’ve published our response to the Scottish Governments’ consultation on changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
Our response can be downloaded here.
Launch of unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/
Today, we’re announcing the launch of unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/, our brand new online Information Hub. It aims to be the country’s most comprehensive source of online self-help information on wide range of issues that criminal convictions can affect.
The site builds on the information we’ve had on our main website for a number of years. We’ve wanted to establish a self-help information site specifically for people with convictions. We’re also working on a new main website for the charity, and this will be launched shortly. You may also notice that we’ve also created a new ‘look’, which is shown in our new logo on this site.
Through the Hub, people with convictions will now have access to easy-to-use information that is specifically designed for them. Given the way that we work as a charity, we believe it is critically important that individuals, and those that work with them, have access to accurate, reliable, up to date information on issues that affect them because of their convictions. This will be backed up by our confidential peer advice helpline.
Hopefully, the site is much more user friendly and easier to navigate. For those who want to familiarise themselves with the site, please see the user guide.
In short, the Hub is made up of three main areas;
Knowledge base
This section is the main part of the site. The Knowledge Base contains details information, advice and experiences relating to specific areas of life that a criminal conviction can impact on. It is broken down into different sections.
Frequently asked questions
This section is regularly updated and is designed to provide specific advice to specific situations, based on the kinds of questions that we receive from people who have used the Hub but have further questions about their own situation.
Latest updates
This section provides a summary of the latest updates to the site. You can also sign up to receive updates by email so that you are sent the details of the updates as and when they happen.
Feedback
We hope you like the site. Now that it’s been launched, we’re trying to get as much feedback as possible, so that we can continue to develop and improve it. Please let us know what you like, what you don’t like, and what you think can be improved. Click to leave your feedback.
Unlock reception at the House of Lords
“I’ve got to run soon,” says Lord Ramsbotham, life peer in the House of Lords and president of Unlock. Speaking at Unlock’s reception, he adds: “But before I do I have to say, this is one of the nicest rooms in the House of Lords. It was a drawing room for the Lords Chancellor and now it’s the Lord Speakers room. He stipulated that the only people who could use it would be do-ers organisations. Organisations like Unlock. This charity represents to me something very remarkable because the people have been there and are coming and doing it for other people.”
We’re gathered in this plush room in the House of Lords tonight to learn about the new direction of Unlock. Now known as Unlock – for people with convictions, the new name has a double meaning. It’s not just criminal records that the new title eludes to. It’s also people’s convictions to reach their full potential.
Political freedom fighter and playwright, Charlie Ryder says: “I welcome Unlock’s name change to ‘people with convictions’. Ex-offender is so offensive. I feel it’s a permanent label based on the worst thing you’ve ever done. It focuses on the past rather than the future. None of us would like to be judged at the lowest point in our lives.”
Unlock trustee Carlotta Allum can relate: “I am someone with a conviction from 16 years ago and the ignorance and prejudice I have faced shocked me. Immediately after my crime I kept my head down. I trained to be an art teacher. But lots of people started judging me on my conviction even though I was doing well at my placement in school.”
But charities like Unlock can help with this. They’re currently responding to social and political climate. It isn’t enough to make a difference, they say, and so they prove it day in, day out.
“We hold true to the ethos that our charity should be led by people with convictions. This makes all the difference.” says Julie Harmsworth Director of Operations at the charity.
Unlock are looking forward. They have their new terminology. They’re launching a new website at the end of the year. And they’ve launched their new information hub – the most comprehensive source of self-help information, reaching a quarter of a million people every year, and growing.
One such person Unlock has reached out to is Steve Smith, a former Unlock volunteer. Steve discovered Unlock at the end of a custodial sentence. He soon became the charity’s first volunteer.
Steve says: “When I arrived at Unlock, I wanted to get back into the construction industry. But my mind was open to take on what I could and resettle back into the community. After volunteering with Unlock an opportunity came up for an Office Manage post at Changing Paths, helping people with convictions back into employment. I went to the interview and they gave me the job. I soon started in the role. Today I am the Project Manager at Changing Paths.”
Pictured above: Judge John Samuels QC (Unlock Vice President), Stephen Smith (Project Manager at Changing Paths) and Linda PIzani-Williams (Chair of Trustees at Unlock)
Thanks to Unlock, many people, like Steve, have succeeded in finding work or fulfilling goals. “I’m thrilled to be an Unlock trustee today” says Carlotta, “As I’m sure you’ll understand, it’s a cause close to my heart.”
Then, before tonight’s ensemble of trustees, supporters, peers and legal eagles, Julie concludes: “You’ve just heard some of the reasons I work for Unlock.”
Written by Erica Crompton, published in theRecord
Unlock endorses ‘Ban the box’
Unlock has today lent its support and endorsement to the ‘ban the box’ campaign, which is being led by Business in the Community. The aim of the campaign is to increase the opportunity for people with convictions to compete for jobs.
Christopher Stacey, Co-Director at Unlock, said “We believe that that, by banning the box, employers are better able to consider convictions at a more appropriate stage in the recruitment process, and at the same time are able to give people with convictions a better opportunity to compete for jobs. Far too often we hear from people who are unable to get past the application part of a recruitment process simply because they have to tick ‘yes’ to the questions about convictions. For employers, the end goal has to be to try and find the best person for the job, and with over 9 million people in the UK with a criminal record, banning the box about convictions is one simple step towards this goal.”
“Critically, we believe that it’s important for this campaign to be led by the business community itself, and that’s why we are wholeheartedly behind BITC in their efforts to take this campaign forward. Behind the scenes, we are able to provide confidential advice, support and training to employers on how they can best put the principles of this campaign into practice in their company, using our knowledge and experience of working with both individuals who have convictions as well as employers who are actively looking to improve their recruitment policies and practices.”
“In so far as our own recruitment process, Unlock has banned the box for both paid and voluntary opportunities. We have a specific policy on the disclosure of convictions, where we explain to applicants that we do not ask about convictions at application stage. We provide individuals who are invited to interview with a self-disclosure form, which we ask them to complete and bring with them to their interview. At the end of the interview, we have a separate discussion where we ask questions about the information they have disclosed on this form, and we make it clear that this will only be considered once we have made a decision about whether they are the right person for the job.”
More information about Ban the Box from BITC is available from bitc.org.uk/banthebox and #BantheBoxUK
Ban the Box Interactive Video
Did you skip? Watch the film again to see the story a different way.
Support for the Ban the Box campaign
As part of our support for Ban the Box, we spoke on Radio 5 Live about the campaign.
You can listen to the interview below.
