Details of the Supreme Court hearing

As part of our work to wipe DBS clean of old and minor criminal records, I wanted to post the details of the Supreme Court hearing. (We’ll update this post with more specific details as and when we have them.) The case is listed to be heard over 3 days, starting Tuesday 19th June. The

Help us to wipe DBS checks clean of old and minor criminal records – We need your help to challenge the government in the Supreme Court

We’ve launched a CrowdJustice appeal to help us raise money to pay for our legal costs in intervening in the Supreme Court next month. In June, the Supreme Court will hear the appeal of the Government which is arguing that their current approach to disclosing old and minor criminal record on standard and enhanced DBS checks, often
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New research finds thousands of people every year struggle because of youth criminal records from decades ago

Unlock, the country’s leading charity for people with convictions, has today published research on the impact of criminal records acquired in childhood and early adulthood. New data in the report, A life sentence for young people, shows that hundreds of thousands of people are being affected every year, and often many decades later, because of
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Support our CrowdJustice case to intervene in the Supreme Court next month

We have recently undertaken an important legal effort to intervene in a Supreme Court case which is due to be heard next month and which challenges the government’s approach to disclosing old and minor criminal records on standard and enhanced DBS checks. The government is arguing that the current criminal records disclosure regime is fair.

Case of Wesley – Disclosure of old convictions means people continue to be haunted by past mistakes

At the onset of puberty Wesley had a lot of mixed feelings about his sexuality. Although he can remember attending sex education classes, he says there was very little information about being gay and this made him feel ‘lost and alone’. For a while, he explored his sexuality with a friend of his brothers who
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Case of Marcus – Disclosure of convictions given to youths continue to punish and prevents them from reaching their full potential

In 1995 Marcus was convicted of 6 offences although he appeared in court only once. The six offences were committed between 1992 and 1994 when Marcus was aged between 14 and 16. He was arrested and charged when he was 17 years old but by the time he appeared at the magistrate’s court for sentencing
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Unlock letter to Justice Committee on Government’s response to report on youth criminal records

Unlock and the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ) have written to the Justice Select Committee (JSC) regarding our concerns over the Government’s response to the JSC’s inquiry into the disclosure of childhood criminal records. Christopher Stacey, Co-director of Unlock, sets out our concerns that the Government is using the Supreme Court case on DBS
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New briefing published – “Criminal record checks: is the volume of disclosures proportionate?”

Three-quarters of a million criminal records that are more than a decade old are being revealed to employers on DBS checks each year. That’s one of the findings of a new briefing published by the Centre for Criminal and Justice Studies (CCJS). The research, which we have supported, was featured in The Observer on Sunday

Press release – Criminal records regime is failing children and young people and anchoring them to their past for decades

Unlock responds to Justice Committee report into disclosure of youth criminal records In response to today’s Justice Committee report into the disclosure of youth criminal records, Unlock, a leading independent charity for people with convictions, is calling on the government to drop its legal appeal and get on with reforming the criminal records regime. Christopher
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Blog – Is ‘sealing’ criminal records the best way to help people turn their lives around?

The latest blog by Christopher Stacey looks at David Lammy’s recommendation to ‘seal’ criminal records and explains why it’s a good idea and how it could work. Read it here.
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Case of Diana – Disclosure of convictions from 25 years ago threaten chances of fostering

Whilst she was still at school, Diana was convicted of seven counts of theft from the school changing room and was sentenced to a 12 months conditional discharge and fines ranging from £1 to £14. Up until then, her childhood had been very chaotic having been taken into local authority care following regular abuse and
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Case of Hilary – Reliving old convictions stops people from pursuing their dreams

When she was 19, Hilary was found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon and prohibited ammunition after her then boyfriend forced her to hide them in her handbag as they travelled in a car together and were pulled over by the police. When the case went to court, she received a 2 year conditional
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