Employment with a Criminal Background Essay -- Jobs Career

Employment with a Criminal Background Seeking employment is highly competitive, and it becomes more difficult when in poverty and with a criminal past. Many factors influence this complex situation. Hiring an exconvict does pose a risk to the employer, and negative stereotypes reinforce anxiety over this risk. A common belief is that a criminal background means a person can’t be trusted and that they might re-offend, and if the applicant re-offends the employer could be charged with negligent hiring. The theory that criminals commit crime for financial reasons suggests a linking between poverty and crime. Placing offenders in employment brings stability and serves to reduce the tendency to re-offend. There are training programs in and out of prison that have been designed to help ex-cons develop job skills; however success of these programs is still debatable. There are also horror stories of what some ex-cons have done in places of employment, including harm other employees. Thus it is understandable for employers to not want to be exposed to a risk but this does not help those in poverty with criminal records. The challenges ex-cons face trying to find employment as well as the options available to them will be further explored. There can be various factors that affect how an ex-con applicant is viewed and treated. Employers may look at the seriousness of the offense. For instance, people will more likely be hired after property offenses than after violent crime and murder (Albright and Furjen ). In a study measuring employer’s attitudes towards ex-con applicants, it was found the type of offense can play a big role in being hired. â€Å"Employers in this study also indicated that the more information they recei... ...-30. Jones, Mark and Barbara Sims. â€Å"Recidivism of offenders released from prison in North Carolina: a gender comparison.† Prison Journal 77.3 (Sept 1997): 335-49. Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home. New York: Oxford, 2003. Saxonhouse, Elena. â€Å"Equal protection: comparing former felons' challenges to disenfranchisement and employment discrimination.† Stanford Law Review 56 (May 2004): 1597-1640). Tatge, Mark. â€Å"With Unemployment Low, Employers Turn to Ex-Cons to Fill Open.† Wall Street Journal 24 April 2000. 10 May 2005 . Turner, Susan and Joan Petersilia. â€Å"Work release in Washington: effects on recidivism and corrections costs.† Prison Journal 76.2 (June 1996): 138-65. Weygandt, Scott. â€Å"Focusing on employment: NIC's career center project.† Corrections Today 65.5 (August 2003): 112-15. Employment with a Criminal Background Essay -- Jobs Career Employment with a Criminal Background Seeking employment is highly competitive, and it becomes more difficult when in poverty and with a criminal past. Many factors influence this complex situation. Hiring an exconvict does pose a risk to the employer, and negative stereotypes reinforce anxiety over this risk. A common belief is that a criminal background means a person can’t be trusted and that they might re-offend, and if the applicant re-offends the employer could be charged with negligent hiring. The theory that criminals commit crime for financial reasons suggests a linking between poverty and crime. Placing offenders in employment brings stability and serves to reduce the tendency to re-offend. There are training programs in and out of prison that have been designed to help ex-cons develop job skills; however success of these programs is still debatable. There are also horror stories of what some ex-cons have done in places of employment, including harm other employees. Thus it is understandable for employers to not want to be exposed to a risk but this does not help those in poverty with criminal records. The challenges ex-cons face trying to find employment as well as the options available to them will be further explored. There can be various factors that affect how an ex-con applicant is viewed and treated. Employers may look at the seriousness of the offense. For instance, people will more likely be hired after property offenses than after violent crime and murder (Albright and Furjen ). In a study measuring employer’s attitudes towards ex-con applicants, it was found the type of offense can play a big role in being hired. â€Å"Employers in this study also indicated that the more information they recei... ...-30. Jones, Mark and Barbara Sims. â€Å"Recidivism of offenders released from prison in North Carolina: a gender comparison.† Prison Journal 77.3 (Sept 1997): 335-49. Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home. New York: Oxford, 2003. Saxonhouse, Elena. â€Å"Equal protection: comparing former felons' challenges to disenfranchisement and employment discrimination.† Stanford Law Review 56 (May 2004): 1597-1640). Tatge, Mark. â€Å"With Unemployment Low, Employers Turn to Ex-Cons to Fill Open.† Wall Street Journal 24 April 2000. 10 May 2005 . Turner, Susan and Joan Petersilia. â€Å"Work release in Washington: effects on recidivism and corrections costs.† Prison Journal 76.2 (June 1996): 138-65. Weygandt, Scott. â€Å"Focusing on employment: NIC's career center project.† Corrections Today 65.5 (August 2003): 112-15.