15 years ago, I was released from prison, following a ten year criminal career. I was determined to go straight, change my behaviour and ultimately my future. I knew it would be difficult, in particular finding employment.
The difficult part of desisting from crime in my opinion is not actually the stopping of criminal behaviour. For me the difficult part was finding employment; to be trusted by an employer. Who is going to trust an ex-offender, a prolific one at that? I believed no one would! After all, I had served three prison sentences for various crimes: burglary, theft and attempted robbery with an imitation firearm, and had a non-spent conviction for life.
It is well known within criminal circles that when an offender chooses to become an ex-offender and find employment, the chances of getting a job, in particular when one discloses to a prospective employer their criminal past, are very slim. For most ex-offenders who I know, including myself, the prospect of disclosing past convictions is the scariest prospect of all.
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