New report highlights impact of criminal records on women

While women overall are less likely to have a criminal record than men, those women who do are more likely to face barriers when accessing employment according to the report, “Angels or witches”: The impact of criminal records on women, published today by Unlock.  Read the full report Read a summary The report, which brings together the voices and experiences of women

Monthly update – January 2021

We’ve just published our update for January 2021. This months update includes: An advice post on changes to immigration rules and travel to Europe from 1 January 2021. A personal story from an individual who has benefitted from changes to the filtering rules which came into effect in November 2020 and now has a clean DBS certificate. 

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped. We hope they give a good idea of how we help people. However, more importantly than our role, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers

Looking back at 2020 – A month-by-month review of developments for people with criminal records

With Christmas nearly here and 2020 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the last 12 months and some of the key moments for people with criminal records.    It’s certainly been a year like no other, but once again it’s been an incredibly busy year for Unlock, with lots of positive news and progress that benefits

Unlock Annual Report 2019-20

We are delighted to publish the Unlock Annual Report 2019-20. Compiling our report this year was quite a task as we had so much to say about our work and achievements – from developing our trustee board to supporting volunteers, and from providing direct support to individuals to fighting for system change and a society

Co-director Chris to move on from Unlock and join Clinks

After 12 years at Unlock, and over seven years as co-director, Christopher Stacey will be leaving the charity at the end of January to take up the role of Director of Support and Development at Clinks.   Mark Rowe, Chair of the board of trustees, said:  “Chris has been a terrific colleague and asset to Unlock, and has made

Pardons for historic gay convictions: a call for evidence

It is quite rare for any government to admit to some historic wrongdoing, and even more so to take some concrete efforts to tackle it. When the government announced that it would be creating a process for gay and bisexual men to have their certain convictions removed from the record, this was a unique opportunity

Unlock and Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service collaborate on resource for young people with convictions

We are pleased to publish a new resource we’ve created in collaboration with Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Service. The booklet, produced for young people and the professionals supporting them, is designed to help a young person understand when they need to disclose their convictions, and how to do so. Download the booklet Christopher Stacey, Co-director of
Tagged under: , ,

Unlock responds to the Ministry of Justice sentencing white paper

Unlock have today published our full response to the government’s recent white paper proposing amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Read our full response here After many years of campaigning for real reforms, the MoJ white paper is a frustrating read both for Unlock and for anyone who is concerned about criminal records. The
Tagged under:

Monthly update – November 2020

We’ve just published our update for November 2020. This months update includes: New guidance explaining the rules on what is disclosed on (and removed from) standard and enhanced criminal record checks following changes to the filtering rules which came into effect on 28 November 2020. A personal story from Roger describing his experience of volunteering

A momentous day for tens of thousands of people with old and minor criminal records

Today is a momentous day for tens of thousands of people with old and minor criminal records.  The stigma and embarrassment of a criminal record means many people simply don’t apply for jobs or voluntary roles that would require them to disclose their old and minor convictions or cautions. It’s a toxic form of punishment

Unlock wins ‘outstanding national organisation’ at CJA Awards

Last night we were delighted to win the award for ‘Outstanding National Organisation’ at the Criminal Justice Alliance awards.  The online awards ceremony celebrated the amazing work of inspiring individuals and organisations working across the criminal justice system, in what has been a particularly challenging year. It was an honour for Unlock to even be nominated alongside such