“This isn’t a problem of aspirations, it’s a problem of discrimination and a lack of opportunities available to people who have been to prison.”
—Lucius Couloute, Phd, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Trinity College
Most people are surprised when they learn that one in three adults in the U.S. and 2.2 million Hoosiers have a criminal record. While many will eventually reenter society, up to 50% remain unemployed due to out-of-date concepts by employers who are unaware of the training and anti-recidivism efforts made available today.
According to Couloute, the primary concern for people being released from prison is finding a job. But as his analysis illustrates, formerly incarcerated people are almost five times more likely than the general public to be unemployed, and many who are employed remain relegated to the most insecure jobs.
Meanwhile, joblessness continues to be the primary predictor of recidivism. If you want to have less crime, hire a reentrant. Joblessness encourages criminal activity…let’s face it: Everyone has to eat. But, with a good job, a person with a criminal background is unlikely to reenter the criminal justice system. And, if they are rearrested, the associated costs of recidivism to taxpayers increase as we create a growing society of lack and generational poverty.
Potentially worse, the barriers to employment not only negatively impact the lives of these men and women who have paid their debt to society, but joblessness also degrades the family, their children’s opportunities, and society as a whole. Some studies report that the children of an incarcerated parent are five times more likely to be incarcerated themselves. That fact alone is jaw-dropping.
And what about the loss of tax revenue from working reentrants? Research reported that when formerly incarcerated people are excluded from the U.S. workforce, the country suffers lost tax revenue of between $78-87 billion per year. Here in Indiana, incarceration costs us well over a billion dollars a year. At the same time, if Indiana and other states could reduce recidivism rates by just 10%, studies say they could save an average of $635 million annually.
Employers who have long hired reentrants have claimed that many make the best, most motivated employees. In fact, a study of army enlistees reported that those with felony records were 33% more likely to be promoted to sergeant than those with no conviction history, a testament to their dedication and motivation.
Said Couloute, “It really takes employers to let go of their biases in pursuit, not only of equality, but of the best candidates.”
Well said,
Jim
