Criminal Record effect my career!!!

[CosmicG]

Would having a criminal record prevent me from becoming a counsellor? I have started thinking about studying for a counselling qualification...I have a spent conviction for possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of prohibited ammunition.This is now 11 years old. My punishment was 2 yrs conditional discharge. Will this prevent me from becoming a counselling?

[CosmicG]

counsellor

[AgentProvocateur]

I don't know, TBH. I dealt with CRBs in the past for staff and volunteers, and this would have me asking more questions. What were the circumstances? Was it an antique that you didn't realise was banned, or did you have it with the intent to commit a violent crime?

[Ginderella]

I would contact the Police in the area where you offended and ask for a Subject Access review of all the information held on you. ( I think it costs £10).

This will tell you whether or not the conviction has been weeded. If it remains on your record, it will come up on every DBS check.

[CharlotteBronteSaurus]

it would always feature on an enhanced disclosure, which you would require if working 1:1 with patients/service users. for enhanced disclosure purposes, there is no such thing as a spent conviction.

whether or not an organisation would then allow you to work with them would be at that organisation's discretion.

generally employers tend to be more understanding about offences committed as a juvenile.

[CosmicG]

I was 20 yrs old at the time, it happened and the weapon in question was a revolver that my boyfriend at the time hid in my handbag when the police pulled him over in his car. He hid it in my handbag in the hope that he would not get caught with it....but of course police searched the car and my handbag.

[mymatemax]

I doubt it, it depends what the assessment criteria is & this will always be dependent on post or role.
All you can do is be very honest & open as the biggest pert of any clearance is honesty, withholding info will always count against you as it shows you are not honest.
It will always appear on an enhanced disclosure if the offence is spent under the Rehabilitation of offenders then it wont appear on a basic check

[mymatemax]

generally speaking offences are only prohibitive to post if they have a relevance to the job.
So violence or abuse obviously would prevent you working with vulnerable people but not for example at a military site, however convictions for rioting & protests for example or to do with fraud may do.
Who is the clearing body? It may be worth discussing your concerns with them.

[QuiteContent]

It will show on an enhanced crb and tbh, why would an employer 'risk it' as it were, when there are likely other good candidates.
I hope it doesn't affect your chances, but I really think it will :(
Worth a try though, without a doubt.

[primroseyellow]

The nature of the 2 convictions will make it extremely difficult for you to get a counselling job.

[lesleyberry]

You should be ok though if you need to go through any criminal conviction checks this may show up

[Onesleeptillwembley]

Yes. I'm not going into the rights and wrongs of your actions or judgement. Even though your sentence was lenient, which implies the court saw mitigating circumstances, it's still a very very serious charge. Quite honestly, even if you could overcome it, I can't see anybody employing you in that area, especially when it's quite a competitive job market at the moment and there will be many other people with the relevant qualities and no record. You need to look at this realistically before wasting time, effort and possibly money.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

Primrose is correct, the nature of the charges is extremely serious, it's not comparable to a 12 year old nicking pick n mix.

[LadyIsabellaWrotham]

Unfortunately, as a small employer who has a bunch of safeguarding procedures to follow, if you have a choice between a good candidate with a clean CRB and a good candidate with a flawed CRB that needs explains then you'll probably pick the one who won't require a bunch of extra paperwork. It's not an automatic no, but in a competitive field it may tip the balance.

[CosmicG]

Thanks everyone for your comments....I'm quite attracted to the career not for its money or competition but purely for the reason of having a genuine desire to help people with their emotional difficulties. I have had quite a difficult and challenging life journey and feel that this type of career resonates with me. I don't necessarily feel deterred by the possibility that my past record will prevent me....i guess its more about the experience of trying to reach a goal rather than achieving the goal itself that matters. I am grateful for your comments, however. There may be other candidates that have the necessary qualifications/ training and a clean record but may not make the ideal candidate in other ways such as sharing the same passion and personal experiences as myself. It comes down to the employer at the end... I think i am willing to take the risk. Also, after taking advice from a practicing counsellor, you only need to have an enhanced CRB if working with children under 18 or vulnerable adults.

[CosmicG]

I also took advice from a careers advisor who didn't think it would effect my chances. I was offered a place on a nursing course recently and training as a nurse involves working in hospitals and having contact with vulnerable people. Careers advisor doesn't think that they would spend all that money training me as a nurse only to not offer me a permanent job at the end of it. That should say something!

[lljkk]

Good luck. 1/3 of adult working population have a criminal record, so system has to have some flexibility.

[lesleyberry]

Yeh good luck whatever happens though I am sure you will be fine