1

Hypocrisy at the NoTWANDY H

The phone hacking scandal which has engulfed news International is made all the more remarkable by the blatant hypocrisy that was exercised by the now defunct news of the World

Amongst those who think that crime is rising the majority say that itrsquos because of what they read in newspapers or see on television Violent and sexual crime accounts for 45 of media coverage of crime compared to only about 3 of actual recorded crime The news of the World in particular was ever anxious to run scare stories about lsquocriminal gangsrsquo lsquoyobs on our streetsrsquo or lsquopaedophiles in YoUR neighbourhoodrsquo and in doing so increased the stigma inflicted upon pretty much all those with a criminal record The wider public anxiety about lsquocriminalsrsquo which they encouraged easily translated into discrimi-nation against people with a tick in the box next to ldquoDo you have any criminal convic-tionsrdquo on a job application form

Former editor Rebekah Brooks was only too happy to associate both herself and her newspaper with victims of crime and as a champion of the police Yet it now seems that for a large proportion of the last decade the newspaper was itself routinely involved in criminal behaviour in order to gather information on what it deemed to be newsworthy The fact that in their desperate attempts to get a story they were prepared to hack into the voicemail accounts of crime victims says everything about how much they really cared about these people The new police investigation into news International and the forthcoming public inquiries will be well worth keeping an eye on

InDex

The Record The free newsletter for law-abiding people facing discrimination and inequality as a result of a criminal record

Issue 3

wwwunlockorguk August 2011 forumunlockorguk

WELCOME Letter from the Editor

ERICA CROMPTON

The ReCoRD is a free monthly news-letter produced for reformed offenders

This month Andy h discusses the excit-ing new changes in the Membersrsquo Forum as well Rebekah Brooks and the hypocrisy of the news of the World entrepreneur Simon Long has a Second Chance success story with his new project in Grimsby In other news The Record asks some special-ist insurance brokers about the lsquopros and consrsquo of selling insurance for reformed offenders online

every month The Record also provides a round-up of job vacancies that are cur-rently being advertised for people with convictions helping you find the right employment opportunites Therersquos also a summary of whatrsquos been firing you up on the Membersrsquo Forum this month

Therersquos also the usual look at interest-ing things in the media Wersquore especially pleased about UnLoCKrsquos splash in the Guardian this month as it was written by author and fellow reformed offender erwin James

You may notice that we have some advertisers joing us this month This is great news as it will help us to keep The Record as a free publication

Remember The Record stands as a record of your achievements (and chal-lenges) Itrsquos a newsletter about reformed offenders for reformed offenders and is defined by your contributions We always love to hear from you about your stories too so please do get in touch

HACkEd Off

P1 Welcome Hacked OffP2 ROA Playwriting VacancyP3 Forum ChangesP4 Zahid Mubarek Offender BillP5 Insurance Online VacancyP6 Second Chance UNLOCK VocalP7 Media Round-up

JoIn US to receive your copy directly at the end of the month sign up as an UnLoCK Member for free

Click here

Issue 3

2

Amendment Bill will progress through Lords after Recess

ERICA CROMPTON

The ReCoRD has learned that in response to the Governmentrsquos lack of momentum on reform of the Rehabili-tation of offenders Act (RoA) The Rt hon the Lord Dholakia pC oBe DL will press ahead with his private Members Bill seeking amendments to the Act

There will be a small technical correc-tion to the Bill known as the Rehabili-tation of offenders (Amendment) Bill however this will not delay its passage through the house of Lords

A spokesperson for Lord Dholakia told The Record ldquoI have checked and there are no amendments proposed other than a short technical correction Itrsquos likely to be a quick exercise and wersquoll then move to proceed to the Report Stage after the Summer recessrdquo

ROA MOvIng tO REPORt StAgE

tALES Of tHE unExPECtEdPlaywriting for ex-prisoners

ADVERTISEMENT

ldquoDrama is life with the dull bits cut outrdquo - Alfred Hitchcock

Everyone has a story to tell Whatrsquos yours

Synergy Theatre project can help you bring your stories to life no previous writing or theatre experience necessary just a passion for telling stories and a commitment to developing yourself as a writer

Tales of the Unexpected is a FREE playwriting project for ex-prisoners by Synergy Theatre project You will work with professional playwrights meeting on Wednesday evenings (from 12 october to 14 December) at the Royal Court Theatre ending with a presentation of your work performed by a professional company of actors

To apply please send us one of the following-bull a 4-page scene or dialogue which can be on any subject with any number of

characters oR bull a 4-page short story or story extractemail neilsynergytheatreprojectcouk or post Tales of The Unexpected

Synergy Theatre project Riverside Studios Crisp Road London W6 9RL

For more information email or call neil on 020 8237 1177Deadline 5pm on 21 September

vACAnCyProgramme Manager

USER VOICE

ReFoRMeD oFFenDeR led charity User Voice is looking for a programme Manager responsible for working directly with offenders delivering projects in pris-ons probation areas youth offending teams and other criminal justice agencies

Applications from reformed offenders are particularly welcome The salary is between pound20-25000 depending on expe-rience and the deadline for applications is 5pm on 5 August

For more information click here

3

Recent changes to the Forum should make it easier to to use

ANDY H

ReGULAR USeRS will have noticed the recent restructuring of the UnLoCK Membersrsquo Forum This was done with the intention of creating a more simple structure making it very obvious where discussion can be found on the various issues which concern you

The new lsquoGeneral Information Forumrsquo includes a Welcome Forum for new mem-bers to make their first post an area for extracts from The Record to encourage discussion of articles that you may have read here and a Latest news and Cur-

rent Affairs section which allows you can highlight and debate topical issues that may be of interest

The restructured public Forums include categories which focus on the areas of employment education amp Training

Finance and Travel with which UnLoCK members frequently encoun-ter difficulties because of their criminal records Further to this is a new section callled lsquoGetting through your sentencersquo which enables discussion of membersrsquo experiences of passing through the crimi-nal justice system or in dealing with sub-sequent legal proceedings such as court orders that were made at the point of sen-tence Also a Support encouragement and success stories section is added pro-

viding a place for sharing good news and bad and where other members can offer advice based upon their experiences

one further change is the addition of an Information and Advice forum with an Ask the community a question section This provides an opportunity for members who have been unable to find an answer to their query through the UnLoCK web-site or other sources to throw it open to other Forum members to see if they have any ideas or suggestions

We hope you find the new structure user-friendly and easy to follow As ever there are still opportunities for you to add your comments and suggestions on the Forum through the Feedback amp help on the Forum section

MEMBERSrsquo fORuM MAkEOvER

COn-tRIButEThe Record needs you

ERICA CROMPTON

The ReCoRD is always looking for contributions from members and reformed offenders Wersquod love to hear your ideas for contributions ndash all is wel-come from photographs to fiction hard news to encouraging success stories

Send a brief outline of your idea to newsletterunlockorguk and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible to discuss your idea further

4

5 Years OnERICA CROMPTON

on TUeSDAY 21 March 2000 19 year-old Zahid Mubarek was murdered at Feltham Young offenders Institution

Three and a half years later Lords took the unprecedented step of directing that

there should be a public inquiry into the murder and In 2004 the Rt hon David Blunkett Mp announced the establish-ment of a non-statutory public inquiry into the murder

UnLoCK Ceo Bobby Cummines was appointed as a Specialist Advisor to the judge Justice Keith in a case which turned the tables by putting her Maj-estyrsquos prison Service in the dock

Since the case the national offender Management Service has fully imple-mented 71 of the 88 recommendations made in the report of the Zahid Mubarek inquiry According to Lord Mcnally the Liberal Democrat Minister of State for Justice and Leader of the house of Lords ldquoTwo recommendations were rejected at the time of the publication of the report The remaining 15 recommendations were either partially implemented or have become obsolete as a result of other

developmentsrdquo however the Zahid Mubarek Trust has

argued that there is no mechanism in place by which to monitor the implemen-tation progress success or otherwise of public Inquiryrsquos recommendations They argue that this kind of failure was recently spotlighted by the conclusions of the Inquest into the 77 London bombings where it was revealed that many recom-mendations arising from the Kings Cross Fire public Inquiry had been ignored

The Trust also argues that many of the achievements produced as a result of the Mubarek Inquiry and Campaign over the last 11 years stand to be eroded by a new equalities policy currently being phased into prison establishments They argue the new policy will remove a number of criti-cal mechanisms designed to manage and ensure the safety and welfare of those held in prison from minority backgrounds

ZAHId MuBAREk InquIRy REPORt

OffEndER BILL Call for your views on crucial

Criminal Justice Bill ERICA CROMPTON

Do YoU have relevant expertise and experience or a lsquospecial interestrsquo - one in or out of prison - in the Governmentrsquos Legal Aid Sentencing and punishment of offenders Bill

Recently the house of Commons debated the main principles of the Bill and decided that the Bill should be given its Second Reading Itrsquos now being sent to a public Bill Committee for scrutiny and you can submit your views in writing to the house of Commons public Bill Committee

The closing date for posting your views is Thursday 13 october The sooner you send in your submission the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration

Your submission should address matters contained within the Bill and concentrate on issues where you have a special interest or expertise and factual information of

which you would like the Committee to be aware Your submission should be emailed to scrutinyparliamentuk in a Word document

A summary should be provided and paragraphs should be numbered but there should be no page numbering

essential statistics or further details can be added as annexes which should also be numbered To make publication easier please avoid the use of coloured graphs complex diagrams or pictures

You should also include a separate cov-ering email containing the name address telephone number and email address of the person responsible for the submis-sion The submission should be dated As a guideline submissions shouldnrsquot exceed 3000 words

The written evidence will be circulated to all Committee Members to inform their consideration of the Bill Most sub-missions will also be published Theyrsquoll be posted on the internet as soon as possible after the Committee has started sitting and will also be printed in hard copy at the end of the Committeersquos delibera-tions

The bill can be viewed here The Scru-

tiny Unit can help with any queries on 020 7219 8387 scrutinyparliamentuk or snail mail Michelle edney Senior executive officer Scrutiny Unit 7 Mill-bank London SW1p 3JA

5

The pros and consERICA CROMPTON

AnYone WITh a record knows it can be hard to get a good insurance deal Until fairly recently all specialist brokers believed the only way to work was to deal personally with individuals on the phone and using paper forms More recently some established and brand new providers began offering instant quote and buy services online saying there is no reason to treat people with convictions differently The Record ask some experts what they think

Online

by John Coxell of Fresh Start Insurance

ldquoFresh Start Insurance Services do offer an online service to people with crimi-nal convictions We have for the past ten years been specialising in providing home Insurance cover for those who have an unspent criminal conviction no matter what type

We recognise that some people prefer to buy their policies online which is why we took the decision last year to launch our quote and buy website

however itrsquos fair to say that 95 of our clients prefer to speak to us even if they may have entered their details online and we actively encourage them to do this

We do not act as judge and jury and we treat all clients in the professional and friendly manner they deserverdquo

wwwfreshstartinsuranceservicescouk

Offline

by David Child of SIS Insurance

ldquoWe donrsquot do online services Most people donrsquot do online services when it comes to criminal convictions and insur-ance for motors and liability Whilst Irsquom sure the technology is there itrsquos still one of these acts of business thatrsquos probably better off touchy feely however while the per-sonal touch so much better when dealing with criminal convictions itrsquos not enjoyable bringing them up with anyone in person But because we speak plainly because wersquore courteous and respectable we hope to make the process less painful

I think we offer fantastic facilities offline and bare in mind computers canrsquot pick up on everything Irsquod advise people to shop around though Go online but also speak to a broker You really have to search to find out the best insurancerdquo

wwwsaleinsurancecouk

OnLInE InSuRAnCE

1 In 5 HAvE A COnvICtIOn

ADVERTISEMENT

Insurance policyholders must dis-close unspent convictions within their household or risk throwing away the premium If you support ex-offenders please highlight this to them We provide fast effective affordable compassionate solutions for most types of insurance for all criminal convictions covering clients in the UK amp n Ireland Contact neil Cook head of Specialist Risks email neilcooktryoungscouk or Direct Dial 0207 1939984

vACAnCyUNLOCK Volunteer

CHRISTOPHER STACEY

UnLoCK is looking for a Volunteer Information amp Advice Service Devel-oper who has a conviction and enjoys researching new issues and producing information and guidance If yoursquore a confident person with experience in a customer-facing role and have a passion for making a positive difference and chal-lenging inequality then get in touch You can find more details online here

6

The Intelligence ProjectSIMON LONG

Mover and shaker Simon Long provides support where itrsquos needed with his new proj-ect Here he talks about his work which aims to provide services to prisoners and ex-prisoners within the community

The InTeLLIGenCe project is a local project in the Grimsby area The objective is to offer support to offenders in areas such as education training and also adopting pro-social modelling when engaging with people

As an ex-prisoner I had first hand expe-rience with the model we are adopting I was a peer support inmate and an oU student studying law so I can mentor open University students when they start studying

The idea was born in the prison estate and I took the first step by asking for help from an organisation called e factor which is a charity funded by the euro-pean Social Fund and others

The main objective is to be a social identity that offenders can recognise Using the skills of prisoners who have been trained in the estate by ldquoToe by Toerdquo - offenders helping other offend-ers to read - and the listenerrsquos scheme in the community The idea is employing

offenders to deliver a peer support service to offenders in the community

There have been hurdles of course The local probation services are of the opinion that they canrsquot accommodate any interac-tion by my project and their clients whilst one is on license I see the argument how-ever the whole point of the project is to encourage pro-social modelling give pos-sible employment to released offenders and help them back to law abiding lives Luckily the barrier was planned for and Wersquod already been in contact with several charities - so our reach is wide

The princes Trust are a wonderful team of people and their help and direction has been great Also the Shannon Trust whom have a real interest in adopting the ldquoToe by Toerdquo model in the community

The charity prison Reform Trust have been my research and statistic backbone a Miss Katy Swaine-Williams (head of

outreach) has been helping me with up to date information and research whilst I was in the estate and always encouraged my project now Irsquom in the community which is merit of the pRT ideology of reform

Also on the projectrsquos journey we were directed to a lady who has done the same thing with drug and drink dependant people She was a user But she changed that She set up a model similar to that of The Intelligence project her name is Clair McDaid and her project is called the Roundabout I find her story inspir-ing and remarkable

I aspire for my own project to be a national scheme and with the help of those highlighted and others that we will be a major employer of offenders

For more information about The Intel-ligence project email simonlong18yahoocouk

SECOnd CHAnCE

unLOCk vOCALYou have your say in the Membersrsquo Forum

UNLOCK MEMBERS

1) Information amp Advice online Advice needed for a job application Members help GSandar with her job application Click here

2) employment Which industries are moreless likely to do a CRB check Chris Bath speculates on which industries are least likely to CRB check Click here

3) Getting through your sentence Travel and working abroad during a Co Travel and working abroad during a Community Order Click here

4) Support encouragement and success stories Donrsquot give up hope people MenaceToSobriety shares his employment success story Click here

5) other areas of life Mental health and CRB checks Alistair Campbell on mental health records on CRB checks Click here

Equality for reformed offenders

7

SuBSCRIPtIOnS

bull The Record is distributed to all UnLoCK Members who subscribe with an email address and are happy to be contacted by UnLoCK via email

bull To subscribe to receive The Record you can register free of charge as an UnLoCK Member here

bull To unsubscribe email with the sub-ject line ldquoUnsubscribe The Recordrdquo to chrisbathunlockorguk

PRESS amp MEdIARelevant news this month

bull Daily Mail - Teacher hid conviction using daughterrsquos fingerprints ndash click here

bull Daily Mail - Clarersquos law right to check partnersrsquo criminal records ndash click here

bull Guardian - Why Clarersquos Law wonrsquot pre-vent domestic violence ndash click here

bull Guardian - Former bank robber dreams of academies ndash click here

bull Guardian - Key probation services to be put out to tender ndash click here

bull Guardian - Nine prisons put up for tender in mass privatisation ndash click here

bull Inclusive Employers - Hidden Society (by Bobby Cummines) - click here

bull Working in advice amp counselling - Reformed offenders ndash click here

bull Virgincom - Employing more ex-of-fenders ndash click here

bull BBCcouk - Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton lsquoholidayed in USrsquo ndash click here

bull Civil Exchange - Civil Dialogue (feat Chris Bath) ndash click here

EdItORIAL bull Email newsletterunlockorgukbull Web wwwunlockorgukbull Forum forumunlockorgukbull Post 35a high Street Snodland

Kent Me6 5AG

bull Editor erica Cromptonbull Designer Chris Bath

bull The Recordrsquos content may be repro-duced providing UnLoCK is refer-enced as the source

bull We welcome submissions to The Record sent to newsletterunlockorguk how-ever publication is not guaranteed

AdvERtISIng bull To discuss advertising opportunities in

The Record please contact Chris Bath at chrisbathunlockorguk