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I have written about justice for the accused, and I have written about justice for survivors, but the third theme I would like to consider is prison leavers, and in many ways I think this is where the City and its constituent businesses can make the most tangible difference.

I have written about justice for the accused, and I have written about justice for survivors, but the third theme I would like to consider is prison leavers. In many ways I think this is where the City and its constituent businesses can make the most tangible difference. It's also an opportunity for companies to access talent that is often overlooked and under appreciated.

In the last few years there has been a lot of talk in businesses about diversity and inclusion, but how well those concepts translate into meaningful reality is perhaps a murkier subject. I think there can also be a lot of misconceptions when it comes to prison leavers, notably about what to expect both from the individuals and from their employers.

For my own part, in conversations with the likes of Kate Carr from the Fair Chance Business Alliance, I have found the statistics eye-opening and thought provoking. I have also had the privilege of meeting individuals who have lived experience of the justice system and become valuable members of the City's financial community. It would very much be our loss if they had not been given that chance.

I hope that in sharing some of the things I have learned so far, you too will find some inspiration.

What does someone with a conviction 'look' like?

Working in finance, I always find numbers a good place to start in terms of trying to understand the big picture. The overcrowding of our prisons has been much publicised over the last 12 months, not least with the government's early release scheme, which began in September.

What I learned speaking to Kate at the Fair Chance Business Alliance however, is that a startling one in four working age adults has a criminal record in the UK. The vast majority of those have not been to prison, but that means that a quarter of adults are in a position where a DBS check might exclude them from getting a job or promotion.

Other, fairly startling, statistics include:

• 90% of people with a criminal record haven't been to prison. Therefore, the vast majority of people who are struggling to find work because of a criminal record most likely do not fit a dangerous stereotype.
• Only a third of people serving a custodial sentence have been convicted of a violent offence.
• 61% of criminal records are for motoring offences, which doesn't make them irrelevant to an employer, but doesn't necessarily mean that they will present a risk in every workplace.
• A third of women with a criminal record have it for non-payment of their TV licence.
• 79% of convictions handed down are fines.

Even with that small window of context, it's clear that what a DBS check doesn't show, is anything that would help an employer to make an informed decision about whether or not recruiting someone with a criminal record poses a risk within their organisation. This is where more of us can do better.

Painting a clearer picture through the Fair Chance Business Alliance

Kate is a font of all knowledge and a passionate advocate for creating a level playing field in employment for anyone with a criminal record. She is Head of Operations and Membership at the Fair Chance Business Alliance, a not-for-profit, employer funded and founded alliance of businesses that have come together to share best practice on recruiting and progressing people with criminal records. It's the first organisation of its kind, featuring a gold, silver, and bronze tiered charter on what employers need to do to bring in people with records safely and sustainably, making sure there aren't risks to the organisation or the individual.

Kate is dedicated to countering stereotypes, and part of that is painting a more multifaceted picture of who we're talking about. She says:

"Many employers are committed to improving diversity and inclusion, and will often target particular groups of talent, such as neurodiverse people, ethnic minorities, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Given that a quarter of people of working age has a criminal record, and all of those groups mentioned are overrepresented in the criminal justice sector, employers who automatically exclude a person with a criminal record are indirectly leaving behind a significant proportion of their target group. Furthermore, a DBS check provides very limited detail and no context at all about the circumstances surrounding the initial incident or the journey that a person has been on since their conviction. Part of improving opportunities involves getting to know the person in front of us - you can’t know a person just because they have a criminal record."

Kate notes that businesses talk a lot about social mobility and diversity. However, with many of the people in those categories also being overrepresented in the criminal justice system, businesses have to be open to addressing barriers to recruiting those with criminal records if they are genuine about their Corporate Social Responsibility agendas.

She also points out that if one in four people have a criminal record, then the odds are that almost every business already has employees with criminal records on staff (perhaps as much as 25%) - they simply don't know about it. That might have the compounding impact of preventing those individuals from progressing by applying for promotions or being fully confident in the workplace, for fear that their record might be uncovered. Kate highlights:

"Employers talk a lot about building inclusive cultures, but if a quarter of your employees feel they have to hide their past it’s unlikely that you have the open culture you think you do."

A risk-based approach

The message from Kate and the Fair Chance Business Alliance is a clear one. She says:

“Businesses should have a risk-based approach in place for both the organisation and each role they recruit for. You need to consider whether someone with a criminal record poses a risk, and whether all criminal records pose a risk or just some. Think about the role and about the person. It's fine to ask about a criminal record if the role requires, but do it in a way that allows for context - a DBS check doesn't give you that.”

Ever the pragmatist, Kate is also anxious that employers don’t think that they need huge and complicated programmes in place to bring those with a criminal record into the business. She says:

“There are some organisations that do a huge amount, with incredible recruitment programmes, mentoring and support, especially for prison leavers. That’s fantastic if you have the resources, but I also want smaller firms to know that isn’t the only way. Driving systemic change can be much simpler than that. These are individuals, and like any other employee they have individual needs. So, my recommendation would be to approach people on their own merits.”

Hiding behind the regulator

It's understandable that many businesses get concerned about extra layers of risk, or perceived risk, within their organisations, but in many instances ensuring there are opportunities for people with criminal records is simply a matter of good due diligence. Of course, that takes time, and lots prefer to err on the side of caution. The numbers however, are such that burying our heads in the sand isn't a realistic or prudent option - we simply cannot overlook a talent pool the size of Greater London’s population (an MoJ extract of Police National Computer data recorded 9.4 million offenders of working age with a nominal record in August 2024).

Kate notes that lots of businesses, especially in finance opt to hide behind the regulator, but she patiently points out that applies in very few instances: "To say that people with a criminal record pose too big a risk to a business because it's in financial services is short sighted. Some will be, but most will probably be able to have some position in your firm."

She encourages businesses to look at the guidelines laid out by the FCA and PRA, where in fact very few roles need to be approved in a world where there are thousands of jobs. Surely someone who didn't pay their TV licence 10 years ago deserves a fair chance? Over in the US, 10% of JP Morgan’s new hires now come from people with a criminal background, and the story is similar in regulated sectors.

Largely, the regulator also leans towards encouraging businesses to take a risk-based approach, not automatically discounting anybody because they have a conviction and making sure they seek context in each individual case. Certainly it's not the position of regulators to automatically exclude a quarter of the population from the workplace.

The cost of crime in the UK

I also think it's important to look at the cost of crime in the UK and where we can mitigate it. We all have differing opinions about justice and what it means, but by law if someone has paid their fine, served their sentence or satisfied a judgement then they have paid the price and done what's required of them in respect to their offence and philosophically one can say they are redeemed.

It's then incumbent on us as a society to make sure there are pathways for them to make a positive and constructive contribution. And the individual needs to engage positively and constructively with that opportunity for the improvement of social cohesion and strength, part of which is economic. That way, families will be better provided for, and the wider economy has an improved chance of thriving. Furthermore, when people feel they're doing well they're less likely to end up back in trouble.

The Times recently wrote about the cost of crime in the UK, saying: "Research by the Policy Exchange think tank estimated that the tangible cost of crime in the UK was about £170 billion, or 6.5 percent of GDP. Of that, about £38 billion is inflicted on businesses, £31 billion on the public sector and £63 billion on individuals. It calculated that further costs, which include behavioural changes by businesses and individuals because of a heightened fear of crime, would take the overall impact of crime to £250 billion."

With that in mind, I think that it's also essential that we make sure prison leavers have the opportunity to embrace an optimistic future once they have served their sentence, fine, or other punitive consequence of their actions. Without that prospect we are most likely to perpetuate an increasingly high cost of crime going forward. As it stands, the overall proven reoffending rate in the UK has fluctuated between 23.1% and 31.8% in recent years, and we know that there's a lack of adequate and consistent support for prison leavers (reported by the National Audit Office), which exacerbates the problem.

My friend Paul Cowley MBE, has been instrumental in galvanising that thought process for me, and showing the profound importance of a job and job prospects following a prison sentence, in ways that many of us cannot imagine. Paul is Director of Rehabilitation at Iceland Foods, the UK’s largest employer of former prisoners. He has his own remarkable story, which takes him from a troubled upbringing to a prison sentence by the age of 17, before joining the army and eventually becoming a priest. Amongst his many standout achievements, he founded the charity Caring for Ex-Offenders (CFEO) in 2005, which has helped over 2000 men and women reintegrate back into society, and he was awarded an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen for Services to Ex-Offenders in 2016. He also enabled me to do my first prison visit around 30 years ago.

In a poignant post from 2023 on the social media platform X, he wrote: "Spent the morning in HMP Styal met 4 women who want to work for Iceland foods, all three had dramatic stories - one of them only 20 brought up in an abusive divorced family said ‘prison is the safest place, I like it here’ we’re giving her hope a second chance with a job with us."

The cost of missing out on talent

My final thought for the day is on the cost of missing out on talent through a lack of opportunity, and this I believe to be immeasurable. The City is a global centre of excellence for many industries, but finance in particular. However, The Financial Services Skills Commission (FSSC) estimates that financial services has the second-largest skills gap of any UK sector.

I believe that one of the best things about the City, and perhaps something that often gets lost, is that it has its proverbial doors wide open to anyone with talent, ambition, and aptitude, and that anyone with those attributes will be well received, able to contribute and succeed. It is an ideal illustrated by the story of Dick Whittington, and it is imperative that it remains a reality because those attributes are not two a penny.

A shining example of someone whose skill we should all be the poorer without, is my friend Egerton. Now an executive at a leading financial institution, he served a five-year prison sentence from the age of 17, using that time to turn his life and his mindset around. His story is unquestionably inspirational - a young man who had the wherewithal to use his prison sentence as an opportunity to study, emerging in his mid-twenties and taking every chance he could to improve his life and that of those around him. He is now on a glowing path to success, in part because of an opportunity a mentor provided him with at a City start-up, and guidance from the esteemed Lord Michael Hastings.

Egerton says: "When I was away I took the time to develop myself and understand who I am. I tried to create a new sense of identity, and once that door opened in my mind I gravitated towards finance. I tried to treat it like a university degree. I was serving at least five years, so I thought 'what can you do with five years at this age? What are other people doing at my age?' They were studying. So, I thought I should do the same. I read every book I could on finance for three years, and when I came out of prison I was determined to test my knowledge and see if it was valid. I made a point of meeting people, and asking questions. Eventually one of the CEOs I met gave me an internship - he was an amazing guy and perhaps a bit of a maverick. From there I have been able to build my career."

Prison leavers and perspective

Egerton's story is a powerful example of someone having an opportunity for a fresh start and grasping it with both hands. It is wonderful to see him flourishing as an individual, but it also has to be noted that we all share in his success. The City must remember that alongside the ethical need to provide opportunities for prison leavers and those with criminal records, there's also a practical one. The economic cost of not providing those fresh chances is not something we can afford, but the opportunity to show compassion and understanding, and turn it into collective success, both materially and socially, is vast.