Reforming our criminal records system Penelope Gibbs guest blogs on reforming our criminal record system for childhood offences. #Fairchecks via @transformjustice.bsky.social & @unlockcharity.bsky.social www.russellwebster.com/reforming-ou...

Reforming our criminal records system

Penelope Gibbs guest blogs on reforming our criminal record system for childhood offences.

russellwebster.com

🚨🔊 In a newly-published youth justice white paper, the government have announced a commitment to ‘set out a targeted, proportionate package of potential reforms for the childhood criminal records regime, by the end of 2026.’

"We need to adjust the ETA policy to reflect that people are much more than their prison sentences." - Lena Patel, RBIJ Blocking anyone who has served a prison sentence - even for a decades-old, non-violent offence - from entering the UK isn't fair or productive. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Tough travel rules locking ex-offenders out of Britain al...

Critics including Richard Branson say Home Office ban on visas for ex-offenders is short-sighted and bad for the economy

observer.co.uk

🎉Government review of childhood criminal records disclosure will be happening by the end of this year! A brilliant step forward towards a fairer system. ➡️Keep up with the FairChecks campaign - sign up to join us: fairchecks.org.uk

Home - #FairChecks

A fresh start for the criminal records system We’re fighting to ensure that people with criminal records have a fair chance to find work and fulfil their potential. Will you join us? SIGN UP Sign the ...

fairchecks.org.uk

Penelope Gibbs @penelopegibbs.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Thanks to some great peers & to www.fairchecks.org.uk supporters, gov has committed to propose reforms to childhood criminal records by end of year. Lets support people who got into trouble with the law as children to wipe the slate clean of old/minor records www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=20...

"I can absolutely testify to the incredibly difficult journey of living in the long shadow of the criminal record." Paula Harriott speaks at the Justice Select Committee on criminal records and rehabilitation last week. Will you join us in pushing for change? Sign up now ➡️ fairchecks.org.uk

FairChecks was invited to speak at a Select Committee session on criminal records and rehabilitation. Here @penelopegibbs.bsky.social explains how criminal records impact social mobility. 💙We need fair criminal record checks - join the campaign today! fairchecks.org.uk

FairChecks was invited to speak at a Select Committee session on criminal records and rehabilitation. Here @penelopegibbs.bsky.social explains how criminal records impact social mobility. 💙We need fair criminal record checks - join the campaign today! fairchecks.org.uk

A welcome and long overdue announcement from David Lammy. 👏 Childhood records can be a significant and lasting barrier for people who are simply trying to move forward with their lives and contribute to society, years after their offence. www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

UK Justice Secretary David Lammy ‘considering wiping childhood criminal records’ to prevent harm to future job prospects | #CriminalLaw #law | www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Why Lammy is ‘considering wiping childhood criminal records’

The move is designed to help simplify the criminal records check system, reports claim

independent.co.uk

"There was loads of grown men egging the kids on to chuck stuff at the police." Should a child caught up in the 2024 riots have their entire future defined by that moment? Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza reminds us how a broken system shapes young lives. @longfordtrust.bsky.social

After hundreds of FairChecks supporters wrote to Lord Chancellor David Lammy calling for fairer criminal records checks, we received a response from Lord Timpson. 🔗Read the full letter here - and join the movement, if you haven't already! fairchecks.org.uk/lord-timpson...

A criminal record, even for a minor offence, can hold you back from work opportunities for a long, long time. We need a more proportionate system - for people with records, for their families, for our society and economy. Help us secure a fairer future, join our campaign today - fairchecks.org.uk

Following heartbreaking insight from Jade, a victim of grooming gangs who was convicted for sexual offences as a child, Paula Harriott explains our campaign for wider change regarding childhood criminal records on Woman's Hour. 🔗Catch up on the full segment here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

The brilliant Paula Harriott will be on Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4) to talk about childhood criminal records, some time between 10am-11am this morning. Tune in to catch her live! 🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The brilliant Paula Harriott will be on Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4) to talk about childhood criminal records, some time between 10am-11am this morning. Tune in to catch her live! 🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, 23/06/2025

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

bbc.co.uk

Baroness Casey has asked for gov to wipe the slate clean of criminal records of those who were sexually exploited as children by grooming gangs. Great recommendation. But when they review how to do this can they also look at wiping the slate clean for other childhood offences? www.fairchecks.org.uk

Home - #FairChecks

A fresh start for the criminal records system We’re fighting to ensure that people with criminal records have a fair chance to find work and fulfil their potential. Will you join us? SIGN UP Sign the ...

fairchecks.org.uk

♾️A lifetime of punishment for one moment in time? It's time for change, and the best way you can help is to write to your MP and ask to set up a meeting to discuss criminal records reform. 🔗We've made it easy! Take a few minutes to send a quick email here: lnkd.in/euQwFpQH

This cyber attack www.theguardian.com/law/2025/may... is one of the worst ever in that apparently people's criminal records have been hacked. These records in the hands of hackers could do terrible damage to people who have long moved on and risk people being subject to blackmail

Legal aid hack: data from hundreds of thousands of people accessed, says MoJ

Data including criminal records downloaded in ‘significant’ cyber-attack at Legal Aid Agency in April, ministry confirms

theguardian.com

FairChecks supporter Steve met with his MP to talk about criminal records reform. 🎥 Hear Steve’s reflections and why he thinks meeting your MP matters ⬇️ 💙 Ready to take action? Use our handy tool to send off an email to your MP in a matter of minutes: 🔗https://fairchecks.org.uk/write-to-your-mp/

FairChecks supporter Steve met with his MP to talk about criminal records reform. 🎥 Hear Steve’s reflections and why he thinks meeting your MP matters ⬇️ 💙 Ready to take action? Use our handy tool to send off an email to your MP in a matter of minutes: 🔗https://fairchecks.org.uk/write-to-your-mp/

💡What motivated the children who were swept up in the riots of summer 2024? And what should have happened to them? 🔗 Read our Insight by @penelopegibbs.bsky.social here: www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight...

“I just went to be nosy”: children, punishment and the 2024 riots - Transform Justice

transformjustice.org.uk

How long should a 13-year-old convicted of affray have to disclose their conviction? What about someone given a short prison sentence for possession of ketamine? Find out what the public thinks in @penelopegibbs.bsky.social's article in @justicegap.bsky.social www.thejusticegap.com/does-the-pub...

Via FOI we'd found out that people who committed childhood offences (under age 18) have to declare them in DBS checks decades later - a 70 year old had to declare obstructing a constable as a teenager & a 67 year old to disclose shoplifting committed before 1973 www.thetimes.com/article/291a...

DBS checks force pensioners to disclose childhood crimes

Call for reform of criminal record disclosures as people who have not transgressed since the 1960s are made to explain minor offences

thetimes.com

@fairchecks.bsky.social – Judge's Choice Winner (£100,000 - £250,000 category) 🥇 Directed by Jordan Pitt, supported by Criminal Justice Alliance and Crucible Foundation, and Executively Produced by Tolu Stedford: smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/fairch...

FairChecks

We’re so pleased to share with you our brand new FairChecks short film, highlighting the experiences of those facing the life-long barrier of a criminal…

smileycharityfilmawards.com

🎉What an incredible night at the Smiley Charity Film Awards! We are thrilled to announce that our film won its category! @fairchecks.bsky.social Fantastic to see the hard work of Jordan, Lee, Tolu and the entire cast & crew recognised and shared. Watch the film: fairchecks.org.uk/fairchecks-a...

⚠️Just one week to go until our briefing at the House of Lords. This is a huge opportunity for us to communicate directly with decision-makers - and we need as many MPs in the room as possible! Will you help by inviting your MP today? It takes less than 2 minutes⬇️ 🔗 fairchecks.org.uk/invite-your-...

A group is absent from the narrative re why people are not in work. 1 in 4 adults of working age in England & Wales has a criminal record, many for minor crimes committed decades ago. Having a record is a huge barrier to getting jobs, or even applying & a driver to ill health www.fairchecks.org.uk

Home - #FairChecks

A fresh start for the criminal records system We’re fighting to ensure that people with criminal records have a fair chance to find work and fulfil their potential. Will you join us? SIGN UP Sign the ...

fairchecks.org.uk

⚠️ In March, we're hosting a briefing to inform MPs and Lords of the issues surrounding criminal records disclosure and how they can help. Let's make sure we have as many MPs as possible in attendance - can you take two minutes to invite your MP? 🔗➡️ fairchecks.org.uk/invite-your-...

⚠️ In March, we're hosting a briefing to inform MPs and Lords of the issues surrounding criminal records disclosure and how they can help. Let's make sure we have as many MPs as possible in attendance - can you take two minutes to invite your MP? 🔗➡️ fairchecks.org.uk/invite-your-...

Criminal records have always been a barrier for visitors to USA. Now UK has set up similar barrier. Our new visa waiver scheme asks anyone applying - have you been convicted of a crime in last 12 months? Visitors who've travelled to UK fine until recently are now rejected www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...

New Travel Rules Snag Visitors to the U.K.

A new approval process for visitors to the U.K. is tripping up some travelers, especially for those with a prior criminal conviction.

wsj.com