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THE NEWS

Writing competition open to former prisoners

Article: Debbie Sadler Date: 08 June 2017
he Prison Reform Trust have just With the prison and probation service
Tlaunched their 2017 writing compe- at a crossroads, this year’s topic for the
tition. comment prize will be:

The competition is open to prisoners, All in it together: fixing the prison
prisoners’ families and friends, and to community!
former prisoners. There are three catego-
ries: Download the competition leaflet which
has more information on the categories,
A comment piece rules and guidelines.
A short story
A lyric/rap. Entries close on Monday 7th August.

Is ‘sealing’ criminal records the best way to help people

turn their lives around?

Article: Christopher Stacey Date: 30 August 2019

any ex-offenders’ prospects of employ- criminal records?
ment is created by public policy: the
criminal records regime.’ It locks people In a section looking at rehabilitation and
with convictions out of the labour market employment, he looks at the current rules
and has a considerable financial cost to on disclosing criminal records (name-
society through out-of-work benefits. ly the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974), as well as recent efforts to change
It is undoubtedly in desperate need of things, and concludes that they’re not
reform. enough.

As Lammy says, ‘people can change David Lammy rightly draws on the
quickly but their criminal record does systems elsewhere. ‘In other countries,
not’. It unnecessarily anchors people to there is much greater flexibility built into
their past, and young adults in particular the system,’ he says. ‘In the US State of
can find a criminal record holding them Massachusetts, for example, offenders
back at the key period in their working who believe that they can demonstrate
lives. At the launch of his report, Lammy that they are reformed and are no longer
spoke about how people ‘need a chance a threat to others can petition to have
to take responsibility for their own lives’. their criminal records expunged.’
Following David Lammy’s review of
disproportionality in the criminal justice Despite recognising the importance of As part of my Winston Churchill Trav-
system, the spotlight is rightly on how to the ‘ban the box’ campaign (that deals elling Fellowship in 2014, I looked at the
address the embedded inequalities and with when criminal record checks are system of ‘legal rehabilitation’ in France.
discriminatory practices that are driving made during the recruitment process), It can apply to all types of sentences,
the over-representation of black and he tackles what he regards as ‘the bigger including prison sentences and all types
minority ethnic groups. question of whether criminal records of offences (even those classed as ‘crimes’
are relevant and need to be disclosed as in the French system). People who have
As part of this though, he has recog- often as the current system prescribes’. more than one conviction must apply for
nised the broader significant negative He concludes that ‘our criminal records the rehabilitation of all; judicial rehabil-
impact that the current criminal records regime is making work harder to find for itation concerns their entire life and the
disclosure regime has on people’s chances those who need it the most. The system is conditions are very strict; not only must
of finding work after they’ve turned their there to protect the public, but is having they have totally stopped committing
lives around. Referring to it as a ‘second the opposite effect if it sees ex-offenders crime, they must have effectively be-
sentence’ in his open letter to the Prime languishing without jobs and drawn back come a ‘near perfect citizen’. If granted,
Minister, David Lammy highlights how into criminality.’ the record is removed from the French
‘one of the most significant barriers to equivalent of DBS checks.
So what does Lammy recommend on

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