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Nathan* is 28 years old. He was released from prison in September 2013 having served 18 months of a 3-year sentence for Burglary (Domestic). It was his second conviction for Burglary and his 10th conviction overall. Nathan is estranged from his mother, having left home at the age of 14. He suffered mental health issues…

Nacro argues that vocational education should be the pinnacle of our education system.

Next week, Nacro, together with the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and supported by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), is launching an essential new publication for employers, ‘Recruiting Safely and Fairly: a practical guide to employing ex-offenders’. Over 10 million people in the UK have a criminal record. That’s over…

By Working Chance

This blog illustrates why it is important for employers to consider disclosure statements when interpreting criminal record information. For many years criminal record information has, legitimately or otherwise, been shared with employers and organisations. Criminal record information can be obtained legally from Disclosure Scotland, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or from the individual to…

An example of a ‘strong’ disclosure. In our previous blog, What not to say when making a disclosure, we provided an example of what a ‘weak’ criminal record disclosure might look like. Using some of the elements of that disclosure we are now going to highlight how the disclosure can be improved so that the…

It was exactly one year ago today, on the same date that the changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) came into effect, that the government announced its intention to implement section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). This makes it a criminal offence to require a person (or a third…

In my last blog I looked at the case of Vanessa George; a nursery worker who systematically abused young children in her care. While offences of this nature are always shocking, there was something about her being a female, a mother, an upstanding person within her local community, a popular member of staff; she didn’t…

An example of what may be considered a ‘bad disclosure’. In our previous blog, I have a criminal record. What more can I say? we provided you with helpful tips and hints on how to prepare a written criminal record disclosure. To illustrate how important it is to get disclosure right, we have provided an…

The key factors that can lead to a failure in safe and acceptable behaviour in the workplace. You’ll probably remember the 2009 case of nursery worker Vanessa George (VG), who was handed an indeterminate sentence after pleading guilty to a string of child abuse offences committed against young children in her care. A married mother…

10 million people in the UK have a criminal record. A minimum of 20% of the working-age population has at least one conviction. And these figures are pretty conservative. They don’t include, for example, all foreign nationals who might have an overseas criminal record that has not been recorded in the UK. My point is…

We have previously mentioned Jack* and Katie*, two people with very different experiences of the recruitment process and employment. Their experiences differ for one reason – disclosure. You will see from our previous blogs that our position is clear: you should disclose your criminal record at the point at which you are asked to declare…

Sharon* contacted me via our public helpline with a problem faced by millions of people in the UK. She was applying for a job and was required to make a criminal record declaration on the application form. “They won’t touch me with a bargepole once they hear about my convictions”. “Hang on a minute” I…

Last week I was contacted by Owen* via the public helpline who was applying for a job with a large, well-known national organisation. He had recently spent some time in prison and was explaining to me how difficult he was finding trying to turn his life around on the outside. Applying for work was a…

This webinar was originally broadcast in 2014 to NHS Employers, which provides advice and guidance to NHS organisations on DBS requirements. For further information about disclosure, DBS and resettlement issues, see our advice section.

With approximately 200,000 police cautions being issued each year, what effect, if any, will the Ministry of Justice’s proposed changes to the current system have? Changes to the current cautioning regime are being piloted in three police areas: Leicestershire, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire. The pilot scheme began on 3 November 2014 and is expected to…

Chris Proctor has recently joined Nacro as one of the Resettlement Advice Service’s legal officers. Legal officers offer legal advocacy support to individuals and training and advice to employers and organisations on matters relating to criminal records. Upon joining Nacro I was surprised about the complexity of the law around criminal records. Despite my background…

Nacro has reiterated the vital role quality education plays in the rehabilitation of offenders, following a speech yesterday by the new Ofsted National Director for Further Education and Skills, Matthew Coffey, highlighting recent findings that showed no prison achieved an outstanding rating for its education and training provision. Speaking after the Ofsted event at Wormwood…