Monthly summary – July 2021

Welcome to our monthly summary for July 2021.

This provides a summary of:

• the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
• recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
• discussions on our online forum
• other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record

Have you stumbled across this? You can receive updates to your inbox every month for free by signing up to our mailing list (make sure you choose to receive ‘news for people with convictions’).

Updates to our information site

Here’s a summary of the updates we’ve made to the information hub. There are links within each update to where you can find more information.

Work and volunteering

• Working in the healthcare sector with a criminal record – We’ve produced some new information which pulls together some of the roles set out in our A-Z list of common occupations and professions.
• Call for evidence: the DBS Update Service and filtered convictions – We’re interested in hearing from anybody who subscribes to the DBS Update Service, has recently had conviction(s) filtered and has been sent a manual certificate by the DBS.

About criminal records

• Out of court disposals – We’ve updated this page to reflect the way in which out of court disposals are dealt with following the changes made to the filtering rules in 2020.

Banking

• Criminal convictions and a history of fraud – Following new information received from CIFAS (Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System) we’ve updated this page to highlight the type of data which CIFAS may hold about individuals with fraud convictions.

theRecord posts

Below are links to recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord. These are often linked to the practical information that we have, to help give some personal experiences.

Success – When everyone is included, everyone wins – “For the last 10 years I have worked for an organisation which supports people with a criminal record back into work. During the course of my work, I regularly engage with employers trying to get them to recognise the benefits of employing somebody with a criminal record …..”

Struggles and stigma – My conviction is spent but there’s no end to the ongoing consequences of my criminal record – “It’s probably important for me to say at the start that I have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and so writing articles like this is difficult for me. However, I’m going to give it a shot. At the age of 17 I was arrested for the offence of outraging public decency and in February 2019 received a 12-month referral order …..”

News – Have you been through the criminal justice system? Have you got a story to share? “For over 10 years, our online magazine, theRecord has given people with a criminal record a place to share their stories. Starting out as a monthly newsletter, theRecord has grown a lot since those early days. It shares the experiences of people with cautions and convictions – both good and bad …..”

Discussions on our online forum

Below are links to recent posts on our online forum. If you’d like to join the discussion but are not currently a forum member, find out how you can join here.

NHS job offer – M15788 shares his experience of applying for a job with the NHS and disclosing his criminal record. Have you applied to work in the healthcare sector? How was your application dealt with?

Name change to avoid DBS – What do you think about Labour MP Sarah Champion’s calls for the ‘flagging’ of driving licences and passports for individuals convicted of sexual offences. Let us know your thoughts.

Other news and developments

Below are links to other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. For more news, check out the news and media section of our main website.

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 our helpline has helped.