Commenting on today’s announcement (15 July) by the Ministry of Justice on plans to make changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said: “Unlock very much welcomes and supports today’s announcement by the Justice Secretary. If his commitment proceeds to statute, it will mean more people with criminal records

Unlock, the country’s leading charity for people with convictions, has today published research on the impact of criminal records as perceived by people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. New data in the report, Double discrimination?, shows that over three-quarters of people surveyed (78%) felt their ethnicity made it harder for them to

Today we’ve published research on the impact of criminal records as perceived by people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. New data in the report, Double discrimination?, shows that over three-quarters of people surveyed (78%) felt their ethnicity made it harder for them to overcome the problems they faced as a result of

Commenting on a report published today by Onward, Unlocking a Better life, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said: “As things stand, although a prison sentence can end, the impact of a criminal conviction can be felt far beyond the conclusion of any sentence. People with convictions, and especially those leaving prison, face significant stigma and

Bloomsbury Institute becomes the first higher education provider to Ban the Box for all. Bloomsbury Institute in London is the first higher education provider in the UK to adopt Ban the Box principles for staff as well as students, a move that could encourage other universities to follow suit. The Ban the Box campaign is

This blog is the lived experience of a charity working within the criminal justice system that was recently successful in getting a waiver from the Charity Commission for a Trustee applicant that was “disqualified” because of their criminal record. The blog has been written by the charity itself (including input from the charity’s chief executive

The 28th March saw a Westminster Hall debate on the disclosure of youth criminal records (read here or watch here). This followed the publication of the Justice Select Committee’s report on the subject, back in 2017. The report itself was a result of the Committee’s inquiry into disclosure of youth criminal records, launched in 2016,

Update – The request for participants is now closed. See the message below from Nicola, the researcher: “Thank you to everyone who has been in contact with me with their generous offer to take part in my PhD research. I have been overwhelmed with responses and now have enough participants that fit the criteria, so

  There has been a significant amount of press and media attention on the judgment of the Supreme Court which ruled that the criminal records disclosure scheme as it applies to multiple convictions and childhood warnings/reprimands was found to be disproportionate. Our co-director, Christopher Stacey, gave interviews on the day of the judgment which were featured

Unlock, the leading charity for people with convictions, has today responded to the judgment of the Supreme Court on the criminal records disclosure regime. The charity provided an intervention to the court to highlight the unjust consequences of the current regime and the alternative, fairer systems available. Commenting on the judgment, Christopher Stacey, co-director of

Elli has been actively involved in our work to push for changes to the DBS filtering rules and she featured in a BBC Newsnight piece that aired the night before the Supreme Court hearing started in June 2018 (watch again). Here, she responds to the news about the judgment in that case… I’m pleased with

On Wednesday 30th January at 9.45am, the Supreme Court will hand down its judgement in the case of R (on the application of P, G and W) and R (on the application of P) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and others. The criminal records disclosure scheme has twice been ruled unlawful –