About Raymond

Firstly, I would like to thank you for visiting ex-offender.co.uk, and hope you find the site informative and useful for whatever purpose you wish to use it for.

The web site is designed to help others find information, and offer an opinion about the issue of rehabilitation from crime. The web site also offers my own opinion about the identity of being an ex-offender.

My reason for creating the site, is simply that I was a criminal 15 years ago, I desisted, or colloquially had ‘gone straight’. During the years of rehabilitation, I eventually went to University, the University of Leeds to study Sociology and Social Policy.

My past had informed my reasoning in creating this website, in particular being an ex-offender, and the studies and knowledge I had encountered while being a student at the University. I am just someone who has ‘desisted from crime’. I had chosen to rehabilitate myself over the last 15 years and have come up against many obstacles in terms of being accepted back into society.

Today I have found myself to be unemployed, homeless and having a lack of sense of my own identity as an ex-offender. My own narrative informs me of the importance of understanding the subject of crime and rehabilitation. After all, I had a criminal career for 10 years. I was a criminal offender from an early age, and stopped in my early twenties. I believe strongly in others getting their voices heard including my own voice. I am still finding it difficult in terms of finding my voice, identity, and hope my work on ex-offender.co.uk will help me find myself in a world that generally seems to not forgive.

If you would like to contribute to ex-offender.co.uk, I would like for you to do so. After all this site is about information and pointing others to the right place for the information on desistance that exist on the World Wide Web. Please contact me if you wish to know more or hopefully add your thoughts, influence, and knowledge.