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Newsletter Date: 4th February 2011 Volume 1, Issue 6

MAKING A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY

In this Issue:

• Fair cop for offenders at police station.

• Community payback by LRPT.

• Works for Freedom interview with CJA on breaking the cycle

Find Us At:

Blog Account: http://bit.ly/ftGLHD

Facebook Account: http://on.fb.me/g6pbDf

Twitter Account: http://twitter.com/#!/InoMaguk

Youtube Account: http://www.youtube.com/inomaguk

Welcome to the sixth issue of Ino Mag.

New for 20011 is a bi monthly magazine instead of the quarterly edition.

We cover all Leicestershire and Rutland Probation establishments, Leicester City Libraries, Leicestershire County Libraries and we are now going into 26 prisons up and down the UK. The magazine can also be viewed at http://issuu.com/communitymediahub

We are on Facebook Group which can be found at:

We have a Facebook, blog and twitter page. Come and have a look and make a comment or start a discussion.

If you are interested in adding your link to our blog, please contact me. Why not check us out and add us as friends on facebook and twitter

We are currently looking for articles from prisoners/offenders or their families about positive experiences/interests they have had or experiencing of/about the Criminal Justice System. Also needed is articles

or adverts from NOMS, Governors, Prison Officers, Probation Staff and third/voluntary sector Criminal Justice Organisations.

Remember it is free to send in articles but there is a small charge for placing an advert.

Charges are as follows:

Quarter Page — £40

Half Page — £75

Full Page — £144

Anyone who is interested in making contact for an article, advert or just to get further information about what we are about ; please contact me using the contact details at the back of this magazine.

Mark

INSIDE ‘N’ OUT MAGAZINEINSIDE ‘N’ OUT MAGAZINEINSIDE ‘N’ OUT MAGAZINEINSIDE ‘N’ OUT MAGAZINE

• Ministry of Justice Article of Breaking the Cycle.

• Inside Art Exhibition.

• Turning the tide of youth offending

• Naco’s change the record campaign.

Fair cop for offenders at police stationFair cop for offenders at police stationFair cop for offenders at police stationFair cop for offenders at police station Just one Community Payback project run by Wales ProbationJust one Community Payback project run by Wales ProbationJust one Community Payback project run by Wales ProbationJust one Community Payback project run by Wales Probation

It’s been a fair cop for a team of offenders in Swansea.

They have been ordered to give a police station a facelift with a brand new car park for the officers’ vehicles.

For years the parking space in front of Penlan Police Station has been a sea of mud after heavy rain but not any more.

A team of offenders on a Community Payback project with Wales Probation have transformed the area with the help of over 30 tons of material and plenty of hard graft.

A delighted Sergeant Bob Sanders, of South Wales Police, said: “I’ve been here for ten years and we’ve always had this problem.

“It was a grassed area but vehicles park on it and after rain it just becomes a pond.

“It’s been on our ‘to do’ list for years but there’s never been enough money in the budget to get it done and in the current fi-nancial climate I wouldn’t have expected it to be done anytime soon.

“So we asked the Probation Service to help and they’ve come up trumps thanks to Community Payback which has proved an excel-lent option and I can see us coming back to them for more in fu-ture.

“The offenders here have done an excellent job and have really worked hard to get it done – this is a community project and it’s a community police station.”

One of the offenders working on the car park was Gavin, from Swansea, who said: “It’s hard work but it’s been good and very worthwhile – it’s better than the alternative and maybe working at the police station will earn me some bonus points.”

Ashley, also from Swansea, said: “It’s some-thing we’ve got to do but it’s giving something back to the community so it’s worthwhile and it keeps me active and doing something dur-ing the day.”

Wales Probation Supervisor Laurence Uzzell, from Bonymaen, in Swansea, said: “We’re very busy here with the Community Payback and a lot of good work is being done.

“We’ve got recycling schemes and school painting and we do a lot for charities as well.

Simon Morse-Jones, Community Payback Placement Officer for South Wales, said: “The police asked if we could have a partnership and we were delighted to do so and we had previous experience in doing a car park.

“We had a contractor dig the site out with a JCB and then we’ve put down over 20 tons of hardcore and spread it and used whacker plates and put down 13 tons of stone dust and when that sets it will be perfect.

“We do work with lots of partners on a variety of schemes includ-ing one where we’re starting painting at a local secondary school and we helped with the Schools Challenge at Gnoll Park in Neath.

“These guys have realised they’ve done wrong and this is a way of paying something back to the community by doing something posi-tive. In this case, you might say it’s been a fair cop.

“We’re doing a lot of work with recycling and last year we collected over 65 tons of paper in a partnership with Neath/Port Talbot Council and we hope to extend that to collecting cans and plastics as well.”

To nominate a project please visit www.walesprobationtrust.gov.uk

Community Payback at Penlan Police Station in Swansea with, front, Community Payback at Penlan Police Station in Swansea with, front, Community Payback at Penlan Police Station in Swansea with, front, Community Payback at Penlan Police Station in Swansea with, front, Sergeant Bob Sanders, of South Wales Police, Wales and Simon Sergeant Bob Sanders, of South Wales Police, Wales and Simon Sergeant Bob Sanders, of South Wales Police, Wales and Simon Sergeant Bob Sanders, of South Wales Police, Wales and Simon MorseMorseMorseMorse----Jones, Wales Probation Community Payback Placement Offi-Jones, Wales Probation Community Payback Placement Offi-Jones, Wales Probation Community Payback Placement Offi-Jones, Wales Probation Community Payback Placement Offi-cer for South Wales, and Probation Supervisor Laurence Uzzell, left, cer for South Wales, and Probation Supervisor Laurence Uzzell, left, cer for South Wales, and Probation Supervisor Laurence Uzzell, left, cer for South Wales, and Probation Supervisor Laurence Uzzell, left, at work with offenders.at work with offenders.at work with offenders.at work with offenders.

NEWHOPE There are harsh facts you must face on release from prison

THE BAD NEWS When you return to the family home, any insurance on the property Building or the Contents may become invalid as

soon as you step through the door!!

All that training will be pointless as you will not be able to get the PUBLIC LIABILITY insurance needed to

safely run your business nor EMPLOYERS LIABILITY needed if you trade as a limited company or take on staff!!

THE GOOD NEWS We offer a complete package of insurance policies for ex offenders. On full disclosure, we will offer you a sensible premium and will not penalise you, unlike the rest of the insurance industry who will probably say NO!!!! As

soon as you mention a conviction

TELEPHONE: 01206 821330 The Insurance Centre Clacton Road, Elmstead Market, Colchester Essex CO7 7AT

Allstyles is a Trading Style of T R Youngs Insurance Brokers who are authorised and regulated by the Financial

Services Authority.

Community Payback Leicestershire & Rutland Probation Service talks how they see Community Payback

Community Payback provides the opportunity for local people to have their say on how men and women on Probation supervision should make amends for the harm they have caused.

The Community Payback scheme enables the public to select projects of work that can be undertaken by teams of supervised offenders completing unpaid reparation work. The LRPT strives to ensure that its range of work reflects the cultural diversity of our modern society.

In a recent 12 month period local offenders undertaking Community Payback completed a total of 203,439 hours of work. This labour has benefited communities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The range of projects can include:

• graffiti removal

• street clean-ups

• ground clearance

• recycling projects

• building maintenance and landscaping

• improvements to park and community facilities

• environmental preservation programmes

• general gardening projects

• painting and decorating in community centres and meeting places

• making wooden furniture for sale in charity shops.

The Courts make the order

Sentencers refer to this particular intervention as Unpaid Work, one of the 12 requirements in the Community Order. Magistrates and Judges can order offenders to undertake a specified number of hours, which can vary from 40 hours to 300 hours.

In the past this sentence has been called Community Service or, more recently, Community Punishment.

Offenders are expected to undertake a minimum of six hours a week and to have completed their ordered hours within 12 months. The Probation Service supervises this work and provides opportunities for offenders to work during the week, at weekends - and in evening workshops.

Each offender is carefully assessed before they are assigned to a project of work. This assessment looks at an offender's criminal and personal history, the crimes they have committed - and the risk they pose to the public.

The Probation Service's number one priority is the protection of the

public. Men and women who are assessed as being unsuitable for work in the community, are managed in Probation Centre workshops. However, not all offenders in the workshops are high risk, they may have mobility issues.

Small teams of offenders who work in the community are always supervised by fully trained supervisors working for the Probation Service. They are transported to and from the project of work.

The Probation Trust provides the free labour, we ask that the community group or charity provide the materials for the job such as paint, plants or building materials.

The Community Payback campaign has been promoting the benefits to local communities of reparation work.

These are the rules that govern Community Payback:

We can only do work that would normally be undertaken by voluntary labour

The work must provide a service to the community

No-one must make a profit from the work

It must be challenging and demanding

It must be worthwhile and constructive

Offenders must be seen to be putting something back into the community.

The Community Payback team will assess the project for suitability and for health and safety implications.

New way to consult for city resi-dents

The Probation Trust is working with the Leicester City Council to man-age the Citizens’ Panel Scheme that enables residents living in cer-tain inner-city estates to request additional support from the Community Payback programme.

Members of the public consult with council housing and Probation representatives to identify and prioritize work that supervised offenders can undertake in their neighbourhood to improve public safety and the environment.

Local people can also go to the neighbourhood housing offices and leave their suggestions, which are passed on to the Probation team. The scheme is also regularly highlighted at community meetings.

During 2009-2010 LRPT agreed to initially provide supervised teams of offenders on 240 days for the Citizens’ Panel Scheme. However, the flow of work has actually generated 281 days of work, which translates into 8,988 hours of unpaid reparation work for the benefit of local communities.

AN EXHIBITION OF ART AND CERAMICS

28TH JANUARY TO

25TH FEBRUARY 2011

THE TOGETHER OUR SPACE GALLERY

12 OLD STREET, LONDON EC1V

Release is an exhibition of work by mental health service users from HM Pentonville Prison and St Ann’s Hospital featuring a variety of media from the Creative Therapies programmes of both institutions. It aims to promote the therapeutic value of art in the rehabilitation, recovery and

management of mental health problems.

Art is a fundamental part of the clinical regime and is uniquely placed to address some of the complex and challenging problems facing service users. In addition

Creative Therapies offers a safe space in which to build a sense of wellbeing, social engagement and self esteem.

Working within increasingly challenging budgetary restraints, this exhibition is particularly remarkable. We hope it will serve to illustrate the quality and energy of our programmes and testify to their vibrancy and relevance in supporting some of society’s most vulnerable and

marginalised members.

One service user, Mr G, comments “Many thanks for the wonder-fuelled space and energy. This place is like a

garden of Eden, an oasis in the desert.”

Mr F adds “Without daycare I don’t know how I would cope with prison. Pottery lets me escape into my own

little world and make gifts for my children.”

Another Service User from St Ann’s stated that “Pottery is the one time each week where I can be myself, it puts me

in touch with my own humanity.”

“ It’s all about being yourself within the clay, making something precious and gentle enables me to make

something serious with inner qualitites.”

All work will be for sale, with proceeds designated to the continued running of Creative Therapies as HM

Pentonville and St Ann’s Hospital.

Camden and Islington Name: Lisa Cohen Daycare Manager

Telephone: 020 7023 7368 Email: lisa.cohen@nhs.net

Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

Name: Samantha Miller Telephone: 020 7023 7368

Email: mushdweez@gmail.com

Further information:

Healthcare services at HMP Pentonville are delivered by Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I). Barnet, Enfield and Haringey provide the

forensic element of this healthcare.

These services are commissioned by NHS Islington.

St Ann’s Hospital is operated by Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust

Breaking the cycle?Breaking the cycle?Breaking the cycle?Breaking the cycle?

plans: prisoners will be expected to work up to forty hours a week

and, for those serving their sentences in the community, there will

be an intensive form of unpaid work. Diversion from the criminal

justice system for offenders with mental health problems is

marked out as a priority, and a national liaison and diversion

service, as recommended by the Bradley Report, is proposed, to

be in place by 2014. Payment by results – the Green Paper’s

flagship initiative – will, it is hoped, encourage innovation and

drive providers to deliver services that more effectively reduce

reoffending. Restorative justice, recognised as having a positive

impact on reoffending, as well as providing high levels of victim

satisfaction, is also included, and identified as deserving a

“fundamental part” in the sentencing process.

So are the proposals a blueprint for success, or a recipe for

disaster? We know that employment can play a significant part in

reducing reoffending, and giving those in custody the opportunity

to do a full working week is, on the whole, a good idea: to be

rehabilitative, however, the work must be meaningful, not

monotonous, and allow prisoners to acquire skills of real value.

The same applies to unpaid work in the community. Alongside this,

the proposals to reform the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and

reduce the length of rehabilitation periods are important, and

could make a real difference to the employment prospects of

many who have criminal convictions.

Diversion to healthcare services for those with mental health

problems is, without question, a sensible measure, and should be

encouraged. As a mechanism for driving improvements in

rehabilitation services, payment by results is as yet untested. It is

clear, though, that if it is to succeed, considerable thought needs

to be given to the outcomes that will be rewarded, and how these

will be measured. Increasing the use of restorative justice across

the criminal justice system is a wholly welcome proposal which, if

enacted, would add a truly revolutionary aspect to the reforms. A

quick nod is, finally, due to plans to limit remand to those who are

likely to receive a custodial sentence. This should contribute to a

modest reduction in the prison population, and will restrict, to

some extent, the disruptive effects of custody.

In his speech last week, Crispin Blunt suggested that we are now presented with a unique opportunity to make wholesale changes to the criminal justice system, and he encouraged the Criminal Justice Alliance’s members to seize it by promoting the value of rehabilitation. In turn, the Government needs to stand firm on its commitment, and ensure that the proposals that make the final cut are those actually capable of ‘breaking the cycle’.

Contact us: info@worksforfreedom.org

http://www.criminaljusticealliance.org/

What should we make of Government promises of a ‘rehabilitation revolution’?, asks Jon Collins, Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance It should come as no surprise that the full title of the recent criminal justice green paper, ‘Breaking the Cycle’, gives top billing to the punishment of offenders. In a speech last week to Criminal Justice Alliance members, however, the Prisons and Probation Minister Crispin Blunt took as his theme the Green Paper’s second objective: rehabilitation. Rehabilitation, he emphasised, is central to the Government’s proposals – and, he insisted simply, “we must get better at it”.

How, then, does ‘Breaking the Cycle’ propose to bring about a

‘rehabilitation revolution’? Employment lies at the heart of the

Breaking the cycleBreaking the cycleBreaking the cycleBreaking the cycle A public consultation on effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders

About this Green Paper This Green Paper sets out how the Ministry of Justice propose to break the destructive cycle of crime and ensure more offenders make amends to victims and communities for the harm they have caused. This is an exciting programme of reform, and we want eve-ryone to be a part of it. We will draw on the expertise of everyone who can make a contribution, whether they work in the public sec-tor or elsewhere. Ultimately it is local people not central govern-ment who know what will work in their area, and we must harness this knowledge for the wider public good. Read more...

Why we're reforming the way we punish, rehabilitate and sentence offenders Despite record public spending and the highest ever prison popu-lation we are not delivering what really matters: improved public safety through more effective punishment and rehabilitation that ensures offenders are not allowed to reoffend. This Green Paper sets out how we propose to break the cycle of crime, based on four principles:

• Protecting the public

• Punishing and rehabilitating offenders

• Transparency and accountability

Decentralisation

Find out more Explore the Green Paper summaries & commentExplore the Green Paper summaries & commentExplore the Green Paper summaries & commentExplore the Green Paper summaries & comment Download the full Green Paper [600KB PDF]

How to respond You can respond to this consultation in various ways. Remember the closing dateclosing dateclosing dateclosing date is 4 March 2011

Click here to respond online and read more: http://sentencing.cjsonline.gov.uk/?id=5&id2=14

Email your response to: breakingthecycle@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Or send your response by post to:

Breaking the CycleBreaking the CycleBreaking the CycleBreaking the Cycle Ministry of Justice 10.08, 10th Floor 102 Petty France London

Inside Art Inside Art Inside Art Inside Art – creative responses to the col lection by creative responses to the col lection by creative responses to the col lection by creative responses to the col lection by young of fendersyoung of fendersyoung of fendersyoung of fenders

7 February 7 February 7 February 7 February –––– 1 May 20111 May 20111 May 20111 May 2011

Learning GalleryLearning GalleryLearning GalleryLearning Gallery

Admission FreeAdmission FreeAdmission FreeAdmission Free

The National Gallery is to display artworks created by young men detained in Feltham Young Offenders Institution. The 48 works in the show are inspired by the Gallery’s collection and include paintings, prints, sculptures, drawings and collages. They were produced during the second successful year of the National Gallery Outreach programme Inside Art, which is undertaken by groups of 15 to 21 year-old men at Feltham.

During 2010, 30 young men completed an Inside Art project. Those who attended the workshops had either been sentenced or were on remand and awaiting trial, and were therefore often in situations of stress

and uncertainty. Feedback showed that engaging with art enabled participants express themselves in different ways, and furthermore helped them gain confidence and develop communication skills.

The National Gallery is the first organisation to deliver a visual arts programme at Feltham’s Art Academy. This began in 2009 with an initial series of projects followed by a display at the National Gallery in 2010.

The Art Academy provides a wide range of creative and performing arts courses, which aim to encourage rehabilitation and improve communication skills in preparation for release. It is part of the Prison Service’s approach to reducing reoffending, helping young people re-integrate into society by gaining qualifications and developing personal and social skills.

Inside Art consists of four week-long practical art projects per year. National Gallery freelance artists select paintings from the Gallery’s collection and use high quality large-scale prints of them as a starting point for discussion and hands-on activities, which are focused on a particular theme or practical technique. The 2011 display features work inspired by National Gallery paintings by Turner, Degas, Uccello, Sassetta, Titian, Giordano and Massys. Themes explored in the workshops included the body, landscape, light and perspective.

National Gallery Outreach Officer, Emma Rehm, explained the motivation behind the project:

‘Our aim is to make this national collection central to people’s lives by exploring ways of making it accessible and meaningful for those who cannot visit the Gallery independently. Using these paintings as a starting point for discussions and creative

activities encourages participants to enjoy learning and achieving, to build positive relationships and to improve their listening and communication skills, empathy and self control. Such experiences and insights are enriching for the young men involved and can help to reduce the risk of reoffending.’

Participants’ responses to their experience of Inside Art will also be included in the display. These illustrate that talking about paintings and creating art helped the young men to enjoy developing their knowledge and skills, to use their imagination and to gain a better understanding of themselves and other people.

The participants’ comments include:

‘I enjoyed the sense of achievement’

‘The most important thing I got out of this project was seeing things come together

and actually achieving something.’

‘I learnt to look at paintings in a different way and see that there is a lot going on

and that a painting gives you a message.’

‘Come again: other prisoners would love this!’

The Koestler Trust, a prison arts charity that awards, exhibits and sells artworks made by offenders, has also recently recognised the success of Inside Art. This year Inside Art participants received nine Bronze Awards from the Koestler Trust for individual and collaborative artworks they made during National Gallery projects at Feltham in 2009.

The Inside Art programme is funded by The LankellyChase Foundation for three years, from 2009 to 2011, and it has been developed in partnership with HMYOI Feltham, a juvenile prison and young offenders institution for young men aged 15–21.

For press information please contact Nicola Jeffs at nicola.jeffs@ng-london.org.uk / 020 7747 2532

Dates and opening hours

Open to public: 7 February – 1 May 2011

Open daily 10am – 6pm, Friday until 9pm

Last admission 5.15pm (8.15pm Friday)

For public information, please contact 020 7747 2885 or information@ng-london.org.uk

Turning the tide of youth offending Ex-offender Charles Young tells Lynne WallisLynne WallisLynne WallisLynne Wallis how he's trying to give young people the chances that he never had Charles Young, arriving smartly dressed at his office in south Lon-don's Blackheath, is the epitome of respectability. He straightens the collar on his black leather coat, under which is a crisp white shirt. Young, who is fast becoming one of London's most well-known ex-offenders, finds it hard to take a compliment. "Christ, black coat and white shirt, I look like a screw," he says with a toothy laugh.

It has been 17 years since Young'slast stretch inside, six months in a single cell at Elmley prison in Kent. With over 40 convictions for robbery, fraud and burglary, he clocked up around 15 years behind bars between the ages of 19 and 40. Since his release, and in-spired by a television programme he saw inside about an ex-con in Glasgow talking to schoolchildren about jail, Young has used his experiences of prison life to steer young people who may idealise and glamorise the criminal lifestyle towards a more fulfilling exis-tence.

He conveys the brutality of prison life through presentations he takes to youth clubs, schools, colleges and, most recently, a naval college, during which an "inmate" sits locked in a mocked-up cell on a stage while Young hammers home what prison is really like. "Inmates" have included a former drug dealer, a vicar and a magis-trate. Young shouts, uses raw language and doesn't pull any punches, and by the time his talk is over, some of the hardest-looking, most defiant kids look visibly shaken.

Young has been delivering his "prison's not worth it" message on a shoestring since 1995. Now his efforts are starting to bear fruit. Last year, Young secured £30,000 of Home Office funding for his Laces (London Anti-Crime Education Scheme) project. A community interest company, Laces helps to educate young peo-ple at risk of offending about the realities of prison, the conse-quences of crime and how to make changes to avoid the wrong path.

RespectRespectRespectRespect

Analysis conducted for Young by Mango Communications calcu-lated that in the 10 years to 2005, the project had made 2,000 presentations to young people, and deterred 1,290 potential of-fenders, thereby saving the public an estimated £6.2m in criminal damage and the criminal justice system approximately £1.2m.

But Young wants to do more. "I still feel so frustrated," he says. "There are people out there [in the criminal justice system] who have never been to prison and who talk to young offenders like they understand them, but they don't. You need to be patient and understanding, but a lot of people alienate these youngsters. You need to show respect to them, give respect to teach respect, and

lots of these kids don't respect anyone or anything because they have never had any respect themselves.

"I saw a kid who resisted a caning being whipped when I was at school, and the modern-day equivalent is a teacher with a face contorted with anger jabbing a finger right into a kid's face. That just makes them feel more hopeless and useless. When I see these kids with all the attitude, wanting attention and recognition but not knowing how to get it legitimately, it's like seeing myself at that age."

Young grew up in the London borough of Greenwich in a big family with parents who he feels did not encourage him enough.

"They never pushed me to achieve," he recalls. "I was the second fastest swimmer in the whole of London, but they never ever en-couraged me, even though I could have probably been Olympic standard. My mum always was very critical. Kids need to be coached and helped to develop, and that's what I try to do for the kids I work with. I'm a bit of a surrogate parent, giving them the care and support I never had."

Perhaps Young's biggest success story is a 19-year-old man, Ja-son, a former drug dealer who was recently referred to Laces by a crown court judge in Woolwich, south-east London. Jason has been crime-free ever since, has held a job down for a year, is in a steady relationship and has a baby named Lacey as a tribute to the project that turned his life around.

Young is incredibly proud of Jason and admits that when the judge agreed to revoke the youth offending team order and entrust Young to mentor Jason and keep him out of trouble, his eyes filled with tears. "I knew Laces was going to be a success and that one day this would happen, but it was still a big moment," Young says.

He has since been asked to address a group of six crown court judges about his work and a London probation team recently in-vited him to work with a newly released high-profile lifer who wants to turn away from crime for good.

So what does Young make of the government's plans for probation

and prisons? Young says that while he is in favour of justice secre-tary Ken Clarke's prison and sentencing reforms, he does not be-lieve that shorter sentences are going to reduce reoffending. "Recidivism is still high because most prisoners learn nothing in-side and come out with no qualifications, no work experience and no realistic goals, so they end up falling back into the same old routine in spite of any initial good intentions. There are no avenues open to them to live a different life.

Channelling aggressionChannelling aggressionChannelling aggressionChannelling aggression

"Without parental guidance or a teacher to spot a talent and egg them on, what hope have they got? They need to be shown how to channel their aggression into something worthwhile. Instead, we've got kids who will kill over a postcode, a girl, a look, all be-cause they want to be noticed. 'Look at me,' they are saying.

"We have to encourage our young people to self-motivate, to be-lieve in themselves, with parents and teachers working together. Instead, we've got parents and teachers blaming each other and teachers speaking to these kids with attitudes like shit."

Young says much more could be done to improve the job pros-pects for ex-prisoners. "Halving sentences just means career crimi-nals can commit heavier crimes knowing he or she will get a more lenient sentence. It's no deterrent."

"Prisoners need to be made to go to work full time like we do, but there have to be employment opportunities when they come out. Someone has to give them a chance."

He would like criminal justice agencies such as youth offending teams, police, probation and the youth justice board, as well as social services, to work with chambers of commerce to persuade community-minded businesspeople to give ex-offenders a chance.

Young lives, breathes and sleeps Laces, but he does have a dream for his future. "I'd like to be filmed swimming an Olympic length, and then I'd get a mathematician to calculate my speed, take my age into account and work out what it would have been when I was 18 and tell me whether I'd have won a medal."

Nacro’s Change the record CampaignNacro’s Change the record CampaignNacro’s Change the record CampaignNacro’s Change the record Campaign. The facts and recommendations.

What is Change the Record?

Change the Record is a new campaign from Nacro, the crime reduction charity, to help ex-offenders back to work by tackling discriminatory practice and laws that prevent them finding a job. The campaign focuses on amending the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

What is the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act?

The 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders

Act was an important piece of legislation, designed originally to

help people with criminal convictions move on from their past.

The act allows people to stop declaring a past conviction to

potential employers (except for jobs working with children,

vulnerable adults or in some legal or financial positions) after a set

period of time. This means the conviction has become ‘spent’.

However, since the law was passed in 1974 the world has

changed. Sentence inflation means that people are now getting

longer sentences for the same offences, which means it takes

longer for that offence to become spent.

Because employers are so reluctant to

employ people who they know have a

criminal record, it greatly reduces the

chances of ex-offenders finding

employment.

Why should it be changed?

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act is widely

accepted to be out of date. It discriminates

against ex-offenders and is compounded by

CRB checks which are often used

unlawfully to expose spent crimes or non-

disclosure where people have been to

worried to admit their past.

A Government Review of the act published

in 2002 stated: “There are no winners...not

those with a criminal record denied the

opportunity to put their past behind them.

Not employers who lose out on committed

and conscientious employees, and on

resources and skills that otherwise may not

be on offer. And certainly not our

communities, because denying employment

opportunities to people with a criminal

record increases the risks of re-offending.”

The problems are:

• People who have committed offences, usually minor ones, are put off from applying for jobs because they feel they will be rejected if they admit their unspent records

• The amount of time it takes for a record to be spent is disproportionate

‘Sentence inflation’ means that sentences are getting longer and as a result more people are having to wait longer before their offences are spent

How does this impact on the general public?

The act doesn’t just affect ex-offenders. The

current legislation also has a negative

impact on wider society.

This is because:

• Employment offers the strongest protection against reoffending. Reform will

reduce reoffending creating a safer society for everyone.

• One in four people in the working population have a criminal record[i], so the costs of their exclusion from work are substantial.

There are no winners: employers and employees alike lose out.

How should it be changed?

The Change the Record campaign launched

a detailed report at the House of Commons

on 13 September 2010 making the case

for the act to be amended.

Put simply, we would like to see the length Put simply, we would like to see the length Put simply, we would like to see the length Put simply, we would like to see the length

of time it takes for a conviction to become of time it takes for a conviction to become of time it takes for a conviction to become of time it takes for a conviction to become

spent to be reduced, so that it is spent to be reduced, so that it is spent to be reduced, so that it is spent to be reduced, so that it is

proportionate to the crime committed and proportionate to the crime committed and proportionate to the crime committed and proportionate to the crime committed and

brings us into line with the rest of Europe.brings us into line with the rest of Europe.brings us into line with the rest of Europe.brings us into line with the rest of Europe.

What have criminal records bureau (CRB) checks got to do with Change the Record?

In theory, CRB checks are carried out for

posts where people are working in an

unsupervised capacity with children or

vulnerable adults. Some other posts

including some legal, financial and national

security roles.

CRB checks means that the employer has

access to an applicants records including

spent records. The trouble is that CRB

checks are so widespread, that the

principle of the ROA - which is that people

who have committed offences can reform

and after a while should be given a second

chance - is undermined. Nacro has come

across examples of CRB checks being

carried out on dog walkers, administrators,

plasterers, car park attendants and many

others.

Very often, when a CRB check discloses a

spent offence, the applicant is rejected.

This undoes the principle of rehabilitation.

So many reformed offenders are finding it

increasingly difficult to find work because of

the growth of CRB checks.

Between 2002-2009, 19m CRB checks

were carried out.

The most commonly disclosed offences were for shoplifting and driving offences that didn’t result in third party injury. These are offences that most people grow out of.

• 75% of employers would treat a candidate with a criminal record less favourably. One in seven said they would reject any applicant with a criminal record, whatever the offence.

• Half of male offenders and three quarters of female offenders have just one conviction. 55% of men and 80% of women have an offending history of under one year.

By the age of 25 43% of men who have been offenders are classified as ‘desistors’ meaning that they have not offended for five years.

To download your copy of the report, click here:

http://www.changetherecord.org/facts-and-stats/campaign-report,705,NAP.html

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