Unlock National Association of Ex-Offenders, commonly referred to as Unlock, is an independent

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

-based

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

, established in 2000 to campaign for the equality of reformed offenders. Unlock describes its vision as "A fair and inclusive society where people with criminal records can move on positively in their lives".

Charitable objectives

* People moving on positively in their lives - individuals have the knowledge, skills, confidence and support to overcome the long-term disadvantages caused by their criminal records. * A fairer and more inclusive society - government, employers and others have policies, practices and attitudes that support fair treatment of people with criminal records.

History

The association was originally established in 1998 by a group of reformed offenders who had successfully rebuilt their lives after serving

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

sentences. They wanted to use their experience of the great difficulties faced by those coming out of prison to assist others who genuinely wanted to "go straight". This group included

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, Bob Turney and founding Chief Executive Mark Leech, who left the organization in May 2002 to pursue commercial interests.

Bobby Cummines Robert Cummines (born 23 November 1951) is an English former gang leader, protection racketeer, armed robber, and criminal enforcer who was chief executive of Unlock, The National Association of Reformed Offenders from April 1999 until March 2 ...

was Chief Executive until he stepped down in March 2012 to pursue private business interests and he was succeeded by Chris Bath who held the role of Executive Director until March 2013. Unlock’s first president was Sir

Stephen Tumim Sir Stephen Tumim (15 August 1930 – 8 December 2003) was an English judge, and was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons from 1987 to 1995. Tumim was the son of a barrister, and was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford and Worcester Colle ...

a former judge and former

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief insp ...

. Unlock gained charitable status in the year 2000. In 2007 it rebranded as Unlock, The National Association of Reformed Offenders in order to emphasize the journey which its members had been on. In 2013, the charity adopted the slogan "for people with convictions", changing this in April 2021 to "for people with criminal records".

Activities

The charity delivers charitably-funded services for people with criminal records. This includes a peer-run helpline that deals with over 5,000 enquiries a year, and a range of online services, including a self-help information site and a disclosure calculator. The charity also works with government, employers, insurers and others, to challenge and support so that people with criminal records are treated fairly.

Leadership

The office of president is currently vacant. The most recent president was

David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham General David John Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, (6 November 1934 – 13 December 2022) was a British Army officer, who later served as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. He was awarded a life peerage in 2005, and later sat on the crossbenches of ...

, former

and a cross-bencher life peer of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

who served as president until his death in December 2022. The CEO of Unlock is Angela Cairns, who has held the position since May 2021.

Funding

The organisation is funded by voluntary donations from both individuals and charitable organisations. Major projects are funded by grants from charitable trusts.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteDisclosure calculator
Charities based in Kent Imprisonment and detention