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Government announce ROA reform (again!)

julie hARmswORth

Yes, we’ve heard it all before – Min-isters say reform is on the agenda for this ancient millstone of an Act but it has so far failed to jump the final hurdle of Prime Ministerial agreement. Once heralded in Justice Minister Ken Clarke’s “Rehabilita-tion Revolution” Green Paper, there has been no action and little comment from whitehall on the matter. Pressure has been met with tired expressions.

Hopes had been high that the Pro-tection of Freedom Bill would act as a legislative vehicle for any reform but the Bill remains silent on the ROA. Mean-while, supported by UNLOCK, Lord Dholakia’s ROA Amendment Bill to cut rehabilitation periods has moved steadily through the House of Lords.

what a welcome alleluia-moment then to hear during the third reading debate

on the Legal Aid, sentencing and Pun-ishment of Offenders Bill (LAsPO) on 21st November, Minister of state, Lord McNally state, “I can also announce today the Government intend to introduce reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offend-ers Act 1974, the outdated operation of which inhibits rehabilitation. we intend to bring forward amendments to achieve the right balance between the need to pro-tect the public while removing unneces-sary barriers to prevent reformed offend-ers contributing to society” [Column 823 Hansard]. (Continued on p.2)

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Issue 7

www.unlock.org.uk December 2011 forum.unlock.org.uk

Happy cHrIstmas! letter from the editor

eRiCA CROmPtON

ROA ReFORM rears its head in Parlia-ment again this month and Julie Harms-worth is hot on the case: keenly reporting, on the bill’s movements.

Among the many features we’ve included in The Record we’ve not yet featured alter-native perspectives on reformed offenders.so this month we’ve decided to be more inclusive. The family and friends of those with criminal records are silent victims of crime. This is timely due to the release of we Need to talk About Kevin, portraying the harrowing experience of eva, mother of sociopath and every parents’ worst nightmare, Kevin the über-con.

while we can see it’s a shame that Holly-wood’s screenwriters and producers – those who dictate the conversation of the global media at large – focus on yet another mass murderer with deep psychiatric problems as the criminal – the shift in perspectives is of note. we’ve also had our own contribu-tion to said conversation in several quality newspapers this month, including The Mail on sunday and the Observer.

we’re pleased to bring concrete news that times are changing and we’re keen to move with the tide. Naturally, we feel there’s a quite lot to celebrate, so expect a little break from us over New Year and we’ll be back with a special bumper issue on the 1st February. In the interim, wish-ing everyone a warm, hearty Christmas. Hopefully Parliament will provide us with the appropriate present sometime soon!

reform, on repeat

p1 editor’s letter, Reform on repeatp2 Clarke Cracks Down, Design skillsp3 Balls Needed for Better Behaviourp4 my Brother: The Brit in a us jailp5 Book extract, On The Forump6 second Chancep8 Press & media

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Issue 7

2

longer determinate sentenceseRiCA CROmPtON

JUstICe seCRetARY Kenneth Clarke has announced a new sentencing regime. This will see more “dangerous” criminals given life sentences and end to the indeterminate sentencing system, to be replaced by long determinate prison terms and mandatory custodial sentences to be available for both adults and 16-17 years olds convicted of aggravated knife and offensive weapon offences. The new regime will include: -• Mandatory life sentences - a ‘two

strikes’ policy so that a mandatory life sentence will be given to anyone convicted of a second very serious sexual or violent crime. This will mean that mandatory life sentences can be given for crimes other than murder. extending the category of the most serious sexual and violent offences to include child sex offences, terrorism offences and ‘causing or allowing the death of a child’ so that the new provisions will apply to them.

• The Extended Determinate Sentence (eDs) – all dangerous criminals convicted of serious sexual and violent crimes will be imprisoned for at least two thirds of their sentence, marking an end to the regime which allowed the release of these offenders at the half-way point. Offenders convicted of the most serious sexual and violent crimes in this category will not be released before the end of their sentence without Parole Board approval.

• Extended licence period – criminals who complete an eDs must then serve

extended licence periods where they will be closely monitored and returned to prison if necessary. The courts have the power to give up to an extra five years of licence for violent offenders and eight years for sexual offenders on top of their prison sentence.

• Mandatory custodial sentence for aggravated knife possession - 16 and 17 years olds, but not younger children, convicted of using a knife or offensive weapon to threaten and endanger will face a mandatory four month Detention and training Order (DtO). The Government has already announced proposals for a mandatory six month sentence for adults convicted

of the same offence.The new measures if passed, will be

added to the Legal Aid, sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament.

clarke cracks down

Reform, on repeatjulie hARmswORth

we eagerly await details of the amend-ments; therein lays the devil as we all know. Meanwhile on 23 November, just two days after Lord McNally’s announce-ment, Lord Dholakia’s Bill was read for the third and final time. Unopposed, it moves now to the House of Commons, its eventual passage bolstered by the appar-ent support of the Government if Lord McNally’s stated intention is realised.

we are certainly encouraged by recent events to think that maybe at last there is a real hope of much needed reform to bring some relief to the job prospects of mil-lions of people. Rest assured UNLOCK is working hard to see it happen.

cont. from p.1

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3

balls needed for better beHavIour!

jobs for the boys?P’Nut

I see the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in its current form as contrary to providing rehabilitated offenders with opportunities to remain reformed, by allowing them access to employment as if they were regular members of the community.

There is documented proof that gainful employment provides ex-offenders with a level of self-esteem that assists them in avoiding recidivistic behaviors. Gaining validation by being gainfully employed is vital in ensuring that persons, who have fallen foul in the past, have a lifestyle which is conducive to them remaining offence free.

As it is written now, many ex-offenders are left to survive on a meagre offering from the government in the form of a Job

seekers Allowance. Regardless of the fact that many are essentially unemployable due to this Act, they are required to face the daily challenge of submitting job applications in order to comply with Job Centre requirements, well aware that they are unlikely to be successful. Failure to follow the guidelines as set down by the Job Centre results in sanctions which may involve the ceasing of payments.

The Government needs to make a stand here, and either change the requirements of disclosure or provide alternative funding to support ex-offenders in the form of a pension, as is done in other countries, where their unfortunate criminal history precludes them from almost any form of employment, or, where upon investigation by Job Centre, these people are in fact deemed unemployable.

A vast number of those in unemployment queues are not there because they want to be, rather because

government officials do not have what it takes to get these people back into employment. I, for one, a highly skilled electrician and business manager, am unable to secure employment even after 20 months. As with many, the longer a person is out of work, the less likely they are to be selected for a position.

For goodness sake, will someone please grow some balls, and make a stance, repealing the Act in its current guise, and putting something in place which is legitimately designed to allow ex-offenders an equal chance at gainful employment?

On the other hand, if politicians are doing their best to ensure jobs for the boys, as in prison guards, judges, lawyers etc., then leave things as they are, so that ex-offenders will fail in their attempts to remain rehabilitated, and end up providing jobs for the boys again, by offending time and time again.

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4

inside OutKAReN AttwOOD

MY FAMILY’s ordeal began in May 2002, with a phone call from my Aunt Ann, who lived in Arizona, UsA. she called to tell my mother that my older brother, shaun, had been arrested.

shaun and I come from an ordinary, loving home in Cheshire. But at the age of 21, shaun was eager to spread his wings and he followed other members of the family by emigrating to the states.

For many years he enjoyed a successful career as a stockbroker and our parents had been proud of his achievements. But he had been living a double life. He had

been involved in organizing drugs sales at the raves he ran around Phoenix. His criminal activity finally caught up with him and led to a swAt team knocking down his door in a dawn raid.

After his arrest shaun spent two years on remand in some of the toughest jails in America. This was a horrendous time for my family stuck on the other side of the Atlantic. At first my parents didn’t tell any of their friends as, despite the fact they had brought shaun up well, my mother was consumed with guilt and they both felt deeply ashamed. My parents used up their life savings to get shaun a lawyer and we flew several times a year to visit him in jail.

we are used to hearing stories of life

inside prisons but rarely do we hear what it is like for the families. Yet family mem-bers and loved ones serve the sentence alongside the prisoner and the impact of an arrest is devastating for everyone.

After a local Phoenix newspaper ran a sensational article painting shaun as a vampire-like gangster, my mother had a nervous breakdown. My father started to have panic attacks. I was full of con-flicting emotions. I was angry with my brother for being so stupid and selfish but I also loved him and wanted him to be safe. I had nightmares of terrible things happening to him while inside.

eventually we told all our friends and neighbours and everyone was incredibly supportive, many writing letters to the judge about shaun’s previous good character.

In 2004, two dozen friends and family members gathered in an Arizonan court room where shaun was to be sentenced after pleading guilty to drugs offences. Both of my parents, my two aunts and I, all spoke in mitigation, pleading with the judge to be lenient. This was the most stressful day of all of our lives.

shaun was sentenced to almost 10 years but he came out after five and three quar-ter years. My parents and I were there once more to welcome him back to the UK where he has - slowly but surely - rebuilt his life.

Karen Attwood is a freelance journalist and has written a book about her experi-ence ,details of which can be found on the english shaun Facebook page.

shaun’s book hard time: A Brit inside America’s toughest jail is also out now.

my brotHer, tHe brIt In a us jaIl

5

Book extractDAviD hONeywell

POPPING MY head out, I see lines of men wearing blue tee shirts and blue denims, sleepily dragging themselves along the landing at six thirty in the morning. I see they are all carrying plas-tic chamber pots to slop out their waste that had accumulated through the night, bowls from which to wash their grubby hands and faces and white plastic jugs to collect water to wash with and to drink.

In those days we didn’t have toilets and wash basins in the cells, so we had to do all our toilet needs into these plastic chamber pots. Three times a day we were unlocked to dispose of its contents in the daily ritual known as ‘slop out’ where we emptied our pots into large sinks situated in the recess area, also the place where we collected water.

I found twelve years on is a different beast entirely. The cells now had plug sockets for radios whereas in the past, we were only allowed battery operated radios and when your batteries began to run out, we chewed them which made them last a bit longer – at least until pay day.

Light switches were now inside the cells, so we turn our own light out whenever we pleased, as opposed to them being outside the cells when we used to be plunged into darkness at exactly ten O’ Clock each night.

Pay phones were now available for prisoners at the end of each landing, as opposed to the two letters a week we were once allowed to send and receive.

And now stabbings were rife. Oddly enough, it was this more relaxed regime that made me never want to return. I felt constantly in danger and paranoid. There had been a definite shift in culture and I was never to return.

The above is extracted from David’s new book, Never ending Circles available to own now. For your copy contact David directly on info@davidhoneywell.org or visit davidhoneywell.blog.com/bookstore for more information.

from sloppIngs to stabbIngs

on tHe forumuNlOCK memBeRs

1) News & Current Affairs: Government to introduce ROA changes in LAsPO Christopher stacey brings relevant news hot of his desk, to the forum! Click here

2) employment: Mental health on Criminal Record Bureau checks? madmitch highlights the madness of CRB checks which are now applicable to mental healthers too. Click here

3) education & training: education funding help Orangeman charts and discusses the ironies of education and the Cjs. Click here

4) Finance: Home insurance BmC probes home insurance & members tackle a typical riddle. Click here

5) travel: Ian’s personal views ianC polls for members feedback on forum moderating. Click here

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contrIbutorsThe Record needs you!

eRiCA CROmPtON

tHe ReCORD is always looking for contributions from members and other reformed offenders. we’d love to hear your ideas for contributions.

All is welcome, from photographs to fiction, hard news to encouraging success stories.

send a brief outline of your idea to newsletter@unlock.org.uk and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible to discuss your idea further.

6

OK ComputerRON BeNNett

After years spent underachieving, on the street and in prison, Ron’s second chance ended with a tragic accident. undeterred, he built his life a third and final time.

tODAY I live in Cambridge, in a little village with my wife. I love it here. But it wasn’t always so nice.

I was born in a working class family in Lambeth. we were normal, honest people. Mum was a cleaner, my Dad was a lorry driver. I wasn’t an achiever in school. I couldn’t tell the timestables at 13. I couldn’t read and write. My Mum died of cancer when I was 9 and I think I started to go a bit off the rails then.

Underachieving, I used to bluff things and I started to smoke cannabis as it was a big thing then. I was drinking at 14, and fighting and getting in with the wrong people. Then I went in the army. But it wasn’t for me as I was drinking to excess. I left the army with two medals, nowhere to live and PtsD.

I was very angry back then and I got into drugs too. I was living on the street at one point. The only people I had were on the street – so I started to get into violence and went on to armed robbery.

As my life opened out, it seemed I was always going back to prison. But it made me feel part of something. when I was in prison I learned: I started to read (self-taught). You know Readers Digest word association? I enjoyed doing that. It was a good way to expand my vocabulary and I realised that I sounded less like an idiot when talking to people.while inside, the education system was still going in prison. so I started to do courses although only to pass the time.

Afterwards I went to the housing asso-ciation and they got me a flat in Hackney and I started to work. I was out of trouble for 5 years but was still drinking when I met my wife, a beautiful lady from Cam-bridge. Then I made the decision to move to Cambridge, with a normal job and paying my rent, contributing to what was

my first family. we’re still together to this day, making a good team.

I was doing a normal job. But then I had an accident at work – I got knocked up in the air and nearly died! It left me disabled. I had to learn everything again and, annoyingly, was laid off for 4 years - with memory problems to boot!

I was talking to someone I was at school with and he said to me, “Do you want to come and work with me for a few days?” so I went for a few days. I’ve been on and off with him for the last few years, working and designing sterilisation units despite being written-off.

More recently I wrote a press release and did some online promotion. Then I got published in a number of publica-tions including International Labmate magazine. I also got into select science magazine and I did a deal with an Amer-ican company. Then another deal was

started – which I set up over the internet. But there was a conflict of interest with my partner – I could get deals cheaper than him but he was a friend. so I gave it up (but I never regret it).

I went from nothing to getting deals done and designing scientific units. today I do loads of things such as electronics, restoring laptops, etc. scientific equip-ment is really expensive but I discovered that if I could fix disused equipment I could sell it on as ‘reconditioned boards’ for good money and it’s only cost me a fiver. This is a profitable transaction which helps scientists too – they can carry on their research and I’ve made some money. I know more about science and electronics than today’s graduates!

As my partner says of me: “when one door closes, you always find another one open.”

second cHance

7

second cHance

excelling on the open roadDRiviNGeDGe

since being released on licence, ‘driv-ingedge’ has made use of an altogether more lucrative licence, his driving license – he’s even given his pad mate a lift too!

I wAs released from prison on licence on the 4th Aug 2011 and put my plan into operation.

After reporting to probation and sign-ing the register, my next port of call was the Job Centre, not to sign on but to gain information about furthering my qualifi-cations as an HGv driver. I asked them to fund ADR (dangerous goods certificate and a HGv refresher) as I hadn’t been behind the wheel for a while. The advisor dug into his computer and found a whole string of jobs not requiring ADR or any other training for that matter. with a great look of satisfaction on his face he more or less told me “you don’t need fur-ther training to get a job” and handed me a load of slips to check out and contact.

so my ‘Plan A’ went up the wall. I then phoned an agency whom I had done a bit of work for in the past and arranged an interview. I disclosed fully, as to where I had been for the last 18 months verbally

and on CRB check forms in writing. This was to be my last disclosure to anyone, apart from the bank.

The following day my telephone rang: “Hi, can you work tonight?” “Yes!” I replied, and he gave the customer details to me. Ater putting down the phone I thought “oops, I don’t have work boots or hi-viz clothing or more importantly money.” so off I went cap in hand to the Job Centre, who kindly lent me the money for a pair of boots and a hi viz vest, a total of 27 quid.

so there I was. I could still taste my last prison breakfast and had work already. I had studied the benefits of going self-employed from literature in the Prison Library and decided that the benefit of not having to disclose to all and sundry far outweighed the safety of a normal PAYe employment. Again I researched the pos-sibilities from the Prison Library prior to release and decided to set a Limited services Company. It took 24 hrs and was so easy.

I worked a week before I set up the company so that I had the funds to do it - £16 + vAt! I then opened a business account with Barclays. Again I made the necessary disclosure, my business man-ager at Barclays, a young woman, believe

it or not did not really care if I had 3 heads and eight legs and bad BO (not that I have!) she just focused on selling the whole package to me: the account, some software, some business insurance. she pointed me in the direction of an accountant and sold me a training course, and pointed out the benefits of a credit card! All of which I graciously accepted and opened the account.

An ex pad mate of mine got in touch so over a cup of coffee I told him of my rather good fortune and encouraged him to do the same. He had driving experience as courier driver (white van man) but no HGv qualifications and was putting up negative barriers as to why he couldn’t do it. so with a bit of cajoling from me, off he went to the Job Centre to make enquiries, they told him that as there was such a demand for HGv drivers, there may be a chance of getting Government funding and asked him how he would gain employment if they were to fund a course for him. He answered them posi-tively, and with enthusiasm. The upshot is they have funded a course for him starting late November this year. what a result! He too will go down the self employed route. My mate is 61 years of age! Now there’s hope for you all.

equality for reformed offenders

8

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press & medIaRelevant news this month

***

• The Sunday Times – Paying twice for crime – click here

• Evening Standard – London’s most influential people 2011: Faith and Phi-lanthropy – click here

• Mail on Sunday – Prisoners to bank with the Halifax – click here

• The Observer – Sins of omission, ex-offenders get help on knowing when to own up to insurers – click here

• MailOnline.com – Prisoners to get Halifax bank accounts as they prepare for release – click here

• Cause4opinion.co.uk – Daily update: Unlocking the future – click here

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