Finding a solution to the problems that returning citizens’ face in reintegrating into the workforce is a necessary prerequisite for accomplishing Economic Growth. Ensuring people with convictions that they have a fair chance to work will not only boost our economy but it is the moral thing to do. Ban the Box is the name of an international campaign by civil rights groups and advocates for ex-offenders, aimed at persuading employers to remove from their hiring applications the check box that asks if applicants have a criminal record. Ban the Box laws would also require hiring managers to put off asking about a candidate’s criminal history until after an interview has been conducted or a provisional job offer has been extended. Some argue that “Ban the Box” is a symbol, not a solution. They state that it offers the appearance of helping those with criminal convictions obtain employment, but in reality, will do the opposite. Not a single returning citizen will gain employment because of this provision. In practice, it will lead to less hiring, and the provision may jeopardize progress on other, more important measures designed to help returning citizens re-integrate into the workforce. Ban The Box will create the perception among employers that it is more risky to hire anyone. When …show more content…
Understanding a jobseekers’ career accomplishments, history at work, and their relationships with previous co-workers is a key to any good job interview. Such an interview will inevitably bring up any period of incarceration. Thus, an employer who finds out about a conviction that a jobseeker doesn’t volunteer upfront is going to feel deceived and will find a reason not to hire. Since the laws don’t forbid background checks altogether, they may actually encourage employers to perform then since they know they can’t ask
Consequently, Alexander successfully persuades the reader into believing her argument, as she mentions that after being in jail, they lose some of the public benefits that the government offers for low-income individuals; for instance, she mentions a story of a man with felony conviction, denied to even try to fill in an application for section 8 (Alexander 144). This is a good example that subjects legalized discrimination; ex-felons are being excluded and denied the chance to regenerate their lives and start moving towards a better future, just as Jim Crow where African Americans were deprived of the right of housing. Another example that perfectly supports her argument is when she talks about difficulty for someone with a criminal background to find a job, for a fact when you fill in a job application they ask about your criminal background. For example, Alexander mentions, “a 2002 survey of 122 California employers revealed that although most employers would consider hiring someone convicted of a misdemeanor offense…less than a quarter of employers were willing to consider hiring someone convicted...”(Alexander 149). This is a
What if one day you weren't allowed to voice your opinion about the people who run our country, your country, in other words, if you couldn’t vote? A lot of people don’t vote, but what if you didn’t even have the right to do so? In 12 states, ex-felons aren’t allowed to vote even after serving their prison time. When you think of a felon you probably think of someone that has done terrible things and shouldn't have a voice in politics, but that figure should be changed. One lady, by the name of Leola Strickland, isn’t allowed to vote because she has a felony on her record for postdating a few checks and having them bounce because she lost her job(1).
Throughout the nation there are 5.3 million Americans who are denied their right to vote because they have a criminal conviction on their record (“Felon Voting Rights”). In the state of Florida, a felon can’t apply for his right to vote to be restored until at least five years after he has completed his sentence, with no guarantee of his rights being restored. Violent and repeat felons haven’t proved they are good citizens; however non-violent felons, who have committed victimless crimes, should be allowed to have their rights restored when they have served their time and paid off their fines. Non-violent felons would have a better chance of readapting into society because they would be able to vote in elections, be rehabilitated, and return to fully contributing members of society.
Wadley, Jared. "Panel: Ex-felons Should Be Allowed to Vote." January 9, 2012 | The University
Criminals are not only punished once for their crimes, they are punished twice, and these invisible punishments follow them throughout their lifetime. Travis explains that these punishments are a form of “social exclusion”, not purposely designed but merely due to the operation of law. Travis further explains that offenders are denied the right to vote, and even denied student loans. For example, even though a drug addict has served his sentence and rehabilitates himself, the opportunity to receive higher education to advance himself is denied. He demonstrates how the idea of denying offenders certain rights is not a new concept.
Zhang, S. X., Roberts, R. E. L., & Callanan, V. J. (2006). Preventing parolees from returning to prison through community-based reintegration. Crime & Delinquency, 52(4), 551-571.
One of the more controversial debates in today’s political arena, especially around election times, is that of felon disenfranchisement. The disenfranchisement of felons, or the practice of denying felons and ex-felons the right to vote, has been in practice before the colonization of America and traces back to early England; however, it has not become so controversial and publicized until recent times. “In today’s political system, felons and ex-felons are the only competent adults that are denied the right to vote; the total of those banned to vote is approximately 4.7 million men and women, over two percent of the nation’s population” (Reiman 3).
The “Ban the Box” is a law that took effect on January 1, 2014, and it inhibits companies from asking about a potential employee’s criminal history on the initial applications for employment (Deitchler, Fliegel, Fitzke, & Mora, 2013). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) endorsed this Ban the Box in that its contemplation of criminal history of arrests or convictions in the Title Ⅶ of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Deitchler, Fliegel, Fitzke, & Mora, 2013). It is directly related to employer’s ability to hire those employees with a criminal past to be compliant with the fair employment requirements. Employers have a balancing act to perform because they should be aware of risks related to negligent hiring. In the case of litigation
The book titled Beyond Bars: Rejoining Society After Prison offers invaluable lessons of how both men and women may successfully depart prison and return to society. The book was written by Jeffrey Ross and Stephen Richards, both of whom are college professors and criminal justice experts. The population of prisons across the United States has increased dramatically in recent decades despite overall crime rates decreasing during the same time period. Approximately seven million American people are in some form of correctional custody. Between the years1980 and 2000, America’s prison population increased by 500 percent. During the same time period, the number of prisons grew by 300 percent (Ross and Richards, xii). Close to 50 percent of people admitted to confinement have previously served time, exemplifying that the criminal justice system “recycles” inmates through the system again and again (Ross and Richards, xi). Unfortunately, many convicts simply do not remember how to or are ill-equipped to return to society once their sentence ends. Ross and Richards, through their valuable lessons within their book, seek to lessen the problems that ex-prisoners may face when released from prison.
... 2 -. Copyright 2006 by Northwestern University, School of Law. Hull, Elizabeth. The Disenfranchisement of Ex-Felons.
Throughout history, it has become very clear that the tough on crime model just does not work. As stated by Drago & Galbiati et al. In their article: Prison Conditions and Recidivism, although it is...
Wilson, J.A & Davis, R.C. (2006). Criminology and Public Policy. Good Intentions meet Hard Realities: An Evaluation of Project Green light Reentry Program.
More than 600,000 prisoners are released into the main population of the United States every year. Of that 600,000, 30 percent end up back behind bars within six months of their release, and 70 percent end up returning to jail within three years (Reisig, 409). Upon release, many criminals find that life on the outside is harder on them than it was when they were convicted, sentenced, and locked away. People who know them may become just as prejudiced as the interviewers and landlords who deny them the chance to earn a living or a place to stay. Through the continued use of labels like criminal, thug, crook, and felon, many released offenders feel ostracized and isolated. Their friends and families may turn their backs on them, taking away the few things they have left...
Learned helplessness is giving up trying because there is a consistent failure throughout life and is thought to be a cause of depression; which is a result of the second quadrant. Many people that are released from the judicial system, have a hard time finding jobs which may cause them to commit crimes to support themselves and their families. Some employers will not hire felons and the unemployment rate for those who have been released from the justice system is 25-40%. A majority of employers conduct background checks as a stage of their application process. They do this so they are confident that their company will have the best employees. Background checks reveal: convictions, arrest records and court records, warrants, federal and civil
It is important that law reforms do not only address criminal act but rather look into the matter of incarceration and issues associated with it with urgency as to reduce the number of incarceration rate. Tough on crime policies over the past has sent a lot of people in jail, some harsh policies have been enacted in state and federal legislature which have led to longer sentences, and three strike laws which put people in prison three times regardless of how small of the offense. Judges should lessen the number of penalties imposed on offenders for non-violent crimes. Inmates population can be reduced by reforming sentencing laws ( O ' Hear 2016). The court should find other ways of keeping them in the society, sentencing like probation, and other correctional programs can help reintegrate offenders back into the society, reduce incarceration rate and as well reduce the pressure the correction board has to go through managing crowded jails. Barak Obama in his speech recently emphasized that overcrowded in jails is the incarcerating of high nonviolent offenders and American long history of discrimination in the criminal justice system (Bibas