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, Co-director of Unlock, 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

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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Reforming the criminal records disclosure regime – Have you a sentence of over 4 years in prison?

We’ve published an updated briefing on reforming the criminal records disclosure regime and we want to hear from you if you have a conviction that can never become spent. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) means that most convictions can become spent after a period of years. Changes implemented in 2014 (through focused mainly on
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Prison philanthropist Edwina Grosvenor talks to Unlock’s co-director Christopher Stacey

Prison philanthropist and prison reformer Edwina Grosvenor talks to Christopher Stacey, Co-director of Unlock as part of  her Justice podcast series. They discuss how people often face stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record – long after they have served their sentence. Chris explains that in the UK, I in 6 people have criminal

What is the rationale behind the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974?

In a week where the Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, said that he was preparing a policy that looked at making changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA), we’re pleased to publish a paper by Dr Andrew Henley (Assistant Professor of Criminology at the University of Nottingham) on the rationale behind that piece of
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Government responds to Supreme Court ruling with plans to change criminal records disclosure regime

Responding to government plans to change the criminal records disclosure regime to address the Supreme Court judgment in the case of P and Others v SSHD & SSJ (the ruling on the filtering system and the disclosure of criminal records), Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, said: “We welcome the government’s intention to fully comply with the Supreme Court ruling on filtering. Unlock
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MP puts #FairChecks on Boris Johnson’s radar

Boris Johnson was called out this week for “dithering” in sorting out our “damaging and discriminatory” criminal records system. At Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, John Spellar MP, who represents Warley constituency, called for Boris Johnson to “sort out this scandal now”. The Prime Minister conceded there are issues with the system that need looking at
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