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

Scottish Government Reforms criminal record disclosure

The Scottish Government has passed a significant reform to their criminal records regime. The Scottish system is separate from the one that applies in England and Wales, and had fallen behind the rest of the UK after Westminster made significant updates in 2014.   The reforms that Holyrood have now passed make for interesting reading. The Scottish reforms, which come

Criminal records: a comparison between England and Israel

We know that in the UK, people with criminal records can face stigma, discrimination and barriers which prevent them from being able to move on from their past and make a positive contribution to society. These barriers most commonly relate to employment, but people with convictions can also find themselves locked out of volunteering, access

Open letter to Ministers Victoria Atkins and Chris Philp

Back in July, the government responded to a Supreme Court ruling from January 2019, requiring changes to the filtering system. This week these changes have finally gone through parliament – but we have learned that there will be a delay of several months before they are signed into law, ostensibly due to time needed for

‘Anchoring, everlasting, uncertainty, resilience’: Researching the impact of criminal records acquired in youth

Nicola Collett, a PhD student at Keele University, is currently researching the potential influence of a criminal record acquired between the ages of 10-25, later on in adulthood. Here she blogs about some of her findings so far. Almost three years into my PhD I am spending much of my time surrounded by scribbles, highlights
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The Law Society Gazette – White paper promises ‘smarter’ sentencing to cut crime

In this article regarding  the Government’s newly announced sentencing white paper, Christopher Stacey welcomed the proposals to reduce disclosure periods but highlighted the fact that  around two-thirds of the 8,000 people every year who receive sentences of over four years would be excluded from the proposals. Christopher said: ‘The risk of reoffending is consistently lower

Unlock’s response to Ministry of Justice plans to make reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Commenting on today’s announcement (16 September) by the Ministry of Justice on plans to make changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the disclosure of criminal records, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said:  Unlock very much welcomes and supports today’s announcement by the Justice Secretary that disclosure periods for criminal records will be reduced. If these
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Better advice and information could increase employers’ confidence in hiring people convicted of sexual offences

Over half of employers would feel more confident hiring people with sexual convictions if they had access to management advice, or if they believed that the applicant wouldn’t reoffend, a joint report by the Prison Reform Trust and Unlock reveals. Almost half of employers surveyed would be reassured by knowing the person would be under

Introducing two new team members

We’re pleased to welcome two new colleagues to the team

Taxi! New guidance for licensing authorities recommends exclusions for even minor convictions

In July 2020 the Department for Transport published new guidance
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Monthly update – August 2020

We’ve just published our update for August 2020. This months update includes: New information to address some of the issues people face in telling a partner, family member or friend about their criminal record. A personal story from an individual who, as a victim of domestic violence, received a conviction but, has gone on to

New report highlights potentially hundreds of unlawful criminal record checks by employers each year

Unlock, a national advocacy charity for people with criminal records, has today published Checked out?, a report on so-called ‘ineligible’ criminal record checks, submitted by employers and processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 allows some criminal records to become spent after a crime-free period. This means they are no
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