UNLOCK, The National Association of Ex-Offenders
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
, established in 2000 to campaign for the equality of reformed offenders.
UNLOCK describes its vision of equality for reformed offenders as “A society in which reformed offenders are able to fulfil their positive potential through the enjoyment of equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities.”
Charitable objectives
- Achieve equality for reformed offenders (including anti-discrimination legislation and voting rights for prisoners)
- Decrease financial exclusion amongst reformed offenders (including education, bank accounts, insurance)
- Decrease social exclusion amongst reformed offenders
- Provide information, advice and support to reformed offenders
- Be a respected voice for reformed offenders in the United Kingdom
Membership
UNLOCK has over 4000 members and handles several thousand enquiries per year. The charity works with serving and former offenders who demonstrate a genuine commitment to lead a crime-free lifestyle, helping them become productive members of their local communities.History
The association was originally established in 1998 by a group of reformed offenders who had successfully rebuilt their lives after serving prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
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 Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Bob Turney and founding Chief Executive Mark Leech, who left the organization in May 2002 to pursue commercial interests. Unlock's first president was Sir Stephen Tumim
Stephen Tumim
Sir Stephen Tumim 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 College, Oxford...
a former judge and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her 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...
. 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.
Mark Leech, the group's founder, supported the continuing imprisonment of farmer Tony Martin in 2003.
The group has campaigned to give imprisoned criminals the vote.
Leadership
The current President is General The Lord David Ramsbotham GCB CBECBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
, formerly Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her 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...
and now a cross-bencher of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
The current Chief Executive is Bobby Cummines
Bobby Cummines
Robert "Bobby" Cummines OBE FRSA is the chief executive of UNLOCK, The National Association of Reformed Offenders. He was formerly one of the United Kingdom's most notorious bank robbers.-References:...
OBE FRSA, who served 13 years in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for serious offences. He began working for UNLOCK in October 1998 as an unpaid volunteer, quickly becoming Deputy Chief Executive and then Chief Executive with the resignation of Mark Leech. Bobby Cummines is now one of the most widely recognised and passionate advocates of penal reform in the UK, advising government and the judiciary and regularly appearing in the national media. In 2004 he was appointed to the public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
in the murder of Zahid Mubarek
Zahid Mubarek
Zahid Mubarek was a British Asian teenager who was brutally murdered by his cellmate on March 21, 2000, at the Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in southwest London. He was already inside Feltham when his killer, 20-year-old Robert Stewart - was transferred to his cell.-Family...
at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution
Feltham Young Offenders' Institution
HM Prison Feltham is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, located near Feltham town in the London Borough of Hounslow, in southwest London, England...
. He was also a member of the Home Affairs Select Committees for disabled prisoners and the review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past. The rehabilitation period is...
.
Funding
The organisation is funded by voluntary donations from both individuals and charitable organisations. Major projects are funded by grants from charitable trusts such as the Esmee Fairbairn Charitable TrustEsmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is a registered charity founded in England in 1961. It is one of the largest independent grantmaking foundations in England, making grants to organisations which aim to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the UK, both now and in the future.The...
, Big Lottery Fund
Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is a grant-making non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom created by the Government to administer the funding of "good causes" following the creation of the National Lottery. It has an annual expenditure of £630 million...
and the HBOS
HBOS
HBOS plc is a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group having been taken over in January 2009...
Foundation. Membership in the charity is free.