Ezekiel Edwards

The Rough Road to Reentry

On Friday, a New York Times editorial applauded attempts by Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco to help alleviate the difficulties faced by ex-felons and others with criminal convictions trying to find employment. In Boston, a new policy prohibits the city, and all companies doing business with it, from conducting reviews of a job applicant's criminal record, except in select circumstances, such as when the position relates to law enforcement, education, or any area where employment of ex-convicts is specifically barred by statute. Even in cases where a search of someone's criminal history is permitted, that search will be conducted only at the end of the process, when the applicant is on the verge of being hired. If the city or company then decides to change course by not offering the applicant a job, the applicant is entitled to a full explanation and an opportunity to challenge the accuracy of the criminal record report. The Boston policy will be implemented this summer.

More cities around the country should be adopting Boston's approach. With 2.3 million people incarcerated, and around 600,000 people being released from prison in 2006, it is imperative for both those released and our society as a whole that the road to reentry --- a significant aspect of which involves gainful employment --- be made as smooth as possible. As it stands now, for people with criminal convictions finding employment is exasperatingly difficult. I have had innumerable clients --- some who have been city employees for 15 years, others applying for their first job --- who have lost or been denied employment because of either misdemeanor or felony convictions. The situation is all the more frustrating because the majority of criminal convictions are for non-violent offenses, while a number of others arise out of defendants' tactical decisions to plead guilty (as a means of getting out of jail sooner or to avoid the daunting risk of lengthy imprisonment, but having little to do with "the truth".).

Our society should make a concerted effort to assist people with criminal convictions seeking employment. They have already paid their debts to society, often in the form of surrendering their liberty; why increase the likelihood that they face backbreaking financial debts? Moreover, unemployment can be a significant cause of crime: someone without a job, hence without a salary, yet facing various monetary obligations (housing, food, child, health care) is more likely to commit certain crimes than someone gainfully employed, receiving a pay check every week, etc. --- not to mention its effects on self-esteem and prospects for a better future. Many young people in the inner city have an excess of unstructured time on their hands; one reason, among many, is the impediments they face when seeking employment, a challenge made more difficult for those with criminal convictions.

America has thrown a greater percentage of our own people behind bars than any other country. We spend millions of dollars to incarcerate hundreds of thousands of people, but we do not invest enough in equipping prisoners with better job skills for life after prison. We must now start facing the consequences of our incarceration-happy policies as tens of thousands of men and women are released from jail every month, and tens of thousands more leave court with criminal convictions. America can fight crime and reduce recidivism rates while also reaching out to its citizens by following Boston's lead: pave a path towards employment for people with criminal records by looking not at their past, but at their potential.

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Posted at 7:00 AM, Apr 04, 2006 in Criminal Justice | Employment
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