On April 19 RBIJ was thrilled to bring together an incredible group of business leaders, parliamentarians and justice campaigners at the House of Lords to kick-off our support of the #FairChecks campaign. #FairChecks is a growing movement to reform the UK’s broken, ineffective and unfit-for-purpose criminal record check system.

We were honoured to be hosted by Lord Dr Hastings of Scarisbrick, who opened the event with impassioned remarks exploring his own experiences working with incarcerated individuals, the barriers they face on re-entry, and our collective responsibility to work to create meaningful second chances. To find out more, here is his recent op-ed in the Financial Times on precisely this topic.

He was followed by Ashish Prashar, C-suite advertising executive, renowned justice activist, and formerly incarcerated individual. He reflected on his own experiences with the justice system, the remarkable individuals who helped him back on his feet, and the urgent need for systemic reform. Read more about his experiences and insights here.

Maha Jweied, Co-CEO at RBIJ concluded the first round of speeches by highlighting the critical role that businesses can play in creating change – demonstrated by our successes in the United States on similar campaigns. When employers and investors speak out, she explained, policymakers pay attention. By using their voices at the right time, they can drive reform over the line.

After two hours of fascinating conversations, the event was concluded by our #FairChecks campaigns partners – Penelope Gibbs from Transform Justice, and Angela Cairns from Unlock.

In their closing remarks they used shocking examples to illustrate the unfairness and disproportionality of our existing system, which prevents thousands of people from contributing to our society and economy. They also laid out the specific changes proposed by the campaign, which are:

• No automatic disclosure of cautions on criminal records

• Wipe the slate clean for childhood non serious) offences 

• Stop forcing people to reveal short prison sentences

 The event has already created a groundswell of support, with businesses rallying to sign our statement. Please get involved by emailing Lena Patel at lena@rbij.org.