hi everyone my names jim and was concicted in 1972 for offences of forgery and fraud,i was sentanced to 5 yrs in prison,i was also convicted on two other occasions on similar offences and got two sentances of 4 yrs consecutively making a total of 13 yrs,all these offences occured over 40 yrs ago and recently when i applied to rent a property they asked if i have any convictions i replied yes and the look on their faces was one of horror,i can imagine that my application ended up in the rubbish bin after i left the office,The point i am trying to make is that even after you have paid yr debt to society that even over 40 yrs later and never been in trouble since that people still think you are some sort of monster ,i,m on the brink of being homeless and at nearly 70 yrs old its quite frightening,does anyone have the same probs as me ,any advice would be helpful thanks to anyone who replies [jim]

Hi Jim, sorry to hear of your issues. I`m fairly sure that after all that time you did not need to declare those offences after such a long time. I would advise keeping that to yourself and trying again. Best of luck with your search.

I would also add that not everyone thinks that being in prison should be the end of a persons life thereafter and will like Unlock not shy away from pointing this out to narrow minded people. Take a look at this post on You Tube and you will see what I mean. If something isn't right it should be bought into question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFv9mqY77jE  Rehabilitation and attitudes need to change.

thank you for yr advice i was wondering whether to tell anyone next time i apply for a rental and i dont think i will but am a little worried that they find out later and throw me out.When i was released from prison in1980 i got a job at a store called queensway and after 3 months they were going to promote me to warehouse manager,they found out i had a record and sacked me on the spot i remember phil harris who owned the store coming personally to tell me my work and timekeeping was exemplary but they have a policy of not employing ppl with criminal records ,luckily i learnt a trade as a painter n decorator at stamford hill on the last yr of my sentance and ive been decorating ever since right up until i had a couple of heart attacks and had to retire.

Hi again, there is a calculator on the Unlock main page to tell you when your convictions are spent I would give it a try although I`m fairly sure yours are well beyond that and you dont need to declare them. Just a word of advice if I may I wouldn't give out any info on here that can specifically identify you such as names or places, you never know who`s reading these. They may not be ex offenders so be careful. Unlock is a great resource for people post release but their site isn't secure HTTPS   (hint hint Unlock) and would probably be visible to your ISP should they be inclined to look.
Best of luck 

Unfortunately, Jim's convictions aren't spent, even after all this time. One got him five years, so it isn't spent. The other two got him two consecutive four year sentences, which are treated as one eight year sentence. Again, not spent, even forty years later.

On the subject of privacy, I believe that the Snoopers Charter means that ISPs have to keep a record of who visits which websites anyway. Recent legal challenges have tightened things up quite a bit, but they're still supposed to be keeping an eye on all of us. Just in case we're tempted to commit a serious crime, of course.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

Hi AB2014 thanks for clarifying that I am disappointed to hear that after all that time these convictions are still hanging around, sorry Jim I really thought after 40 years you would be free of them. Its ridiculous really. If someone has been "straight" for that length of time then they deserve a "clean slate".
On the subject of privacy this is really like trying to get a firm grip on a handful of sand. The world is full of very able code writers determined to keep the internet free. Hence TOR browser and Duck Duck go search engine to name a couple. Im still not sure why Unlock isn't secure though I did mention this to them quite a while back. Unless of course its deliberate?
Whilst I was in a hostel I used some of my time to help a guy there who was really struggling to find suitable accommodation that he could go to, he was in the end successful so keep trying Jim, I am sure you will find a place.
Dont know if these would be of any help  https://www.forwardtrust.org.uk/our-services/housing/

a big thank you to all for yr advice and understanding ive learnt throughout the yrs  and after a series of very hard knocks that there isnt any privacy anymore and my advice to my grandkids has been dont break the law because a criminal conviction will come back and kick you up the bum later in life ,sadly the modern world really isnt for ppl like us and we just have to accept things as they are no matter how hard it may be .