Change the Record was launched in September 2010 with a Parliamentary report sent to all MPs calling on the government to reform the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and Criminal Records Bureau checks.

The report called on the government to remove barriers preventing people who have turned their back on crime from finding a job.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Reform of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 has been a key demand of Change the Record since its launch. Reforms proposed by Nacro will remove some of the barriers to employment faced by people who want to put their past behind them.

The government’s openness to reforming the Act was evidenced in its 2010 green paper, Breaking the Cycle, which included proposals for reforming the Act. There was no mention of reforming the Act when the government published its response to the green paper consultation and because of this, Nacro is now stepping up its campaign. We are supporting Lord Dholakia's Private Member's Bill, the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Act, and are identifying other legislative opportunities for reform.

Reducing CRB checks

To start with we focused on CRB checks, highlighting how the complicated system was being misapplied. An estimated 11% of all CRB checks are unlawful, affecting hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Unlawful checks mean that people who committed minor offences (some up to 40 years ago) and have since turned their back on crime, are failing to find employment because these offences are unlawfully being disclosed to prospective employers.

We uncovered cases of students who had been refused places on courses for minor offences they had committed in their teenage years.

In early 2011 we presented our arguments to the government, and the current Protection of Freedoms Bill includes proposals to reduce the number of CRB checks. They don’t go as far as we would like, but they will make a difference if the Bill is passed.

The Protection of Freedoms Bill has now completed its passage in the Commons and is due to be debated in the Lords.