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Criminal records and housing: an experimental study
... More recently, several studies examined the perceived employability of people with criminal records via various methods: providing hypothetical case scenarios, sending testers with certain characteristics to potential employers, analyzing the decisions of administrative law judges granting licenses to people with prior convictions, and, as mentioned above, assessing survey responses and actual hiring practices (e.g., Cerda et al., 2019;Denver & Ewald, 2018;DeWitt & Denver, 2020;Homant and Kennedy, 1982;Leasure, 2019;Leasure & Andersen, 2016;Pager & Quillian, 2005;Reich, 2017). Other studies have surveyed landlords or real estate agents about their willingness to consider renting or selling to prospective clients with criminal records (e.g., Evans, 2016;Evans & Porter, 2015;Leasure and Martin, 2017). ...
... Similar research discusses the public's need to see "positive credentials," evidence that demonstrates people's rehabilitation efforts to increase their employment and housing opportunities (Denver, 2020, p. 194;DeWitt & Denver, 2020). For instance, Leasure and Martin (2017) and Leasure and Andersen (2016) found that a Certificate of Qualification improved the housing and employment outcomes, respectively, of formerly incarcerated persons. Similarly, Cerda et al. (2019) revealed that the participation of formerly incarcerated people in vocational and life skill programs while incarcerated improved their chances of employment. ...
... 21), a sentiment echoed by Burton et al. (2021). Similarly, formerly incarcerated persons should be prepared to provide desistance signals or positive credentials to potential landlords, employers, and other decision makers to counterbalance the detrimental impact of their criminal record (Bushway & Apel, 2012;Cerda et al., 2019;Denver, 2020;DeWitt & Denver, 2020;Leasure & Andersen, 2016;Leasure & Martin, 2017). This might include reframing or developing their personal narratives to highlight how they have changed and learned from past mistakes (Denver & Ewald, 2018). ...
Objectives
This study tests if the public overestimates the immoral behavior of formerly incarcerated people.
Methods
In a benchmark study with people on parole and people without a criminal record, participants played a game that allowed them to deceive their counterparts in order to make more money. A subsequent prediction study asked an online US-nationally representative sample to estimate how both groups played the game. By comparing the estimated likelihoods to the observed likelihoods of deception we examine if people correctly assess the deception rates of both groups.
Results
Both groups showed an equal propensity to deceive. In contrast, respondents from the online sample believed that people on parole would be much more likely to deceive than their counterparts.
Conclusions
The results suggest that the public holds stigmatizing attitudes towards formerly incarcerated people, which can be a detriment to successful reentry into their communities.
... Building upon the notion that housing is a human right (UN General Assembly, 1948), there is a need to identify pathways by which persons who have been evicted or incarcerated can be rehoused and supported in their rehousing so they can stabilize and be successful in independent living. For instance, Leasure and Martin (2017) found that ex-offenders who have evidence of rehabilitation, such as a certification of qualification for employment, are more likely to be viewed as potential tenants than comparable ex-offenders without such documentation. While recent legal rulings have made it more difficult for landlords to deny housing to people with criminal records that are several years old, these rulings do not protect those who have been recently released who are at greatest risk of recidivism if not released to a stable housing situation (Crowell, 2017). ...
... While recent legal rulings have made it more difficult for landlords to deny housing to people with criminal records that are several years old, these rulings do not protect those who have been recently released who are at greatest risk of recidivism if not released to a stable housing situation (Crowell, 2017). Policies and programs that aim to support ex-offender re-entry must integrate housing into individual plans (Leasure & Martin, 2017). While Utah's strategic plan indicated a need to target specific populations at risk of homelessness, such as formerly incarcerated individuals or former foster care children, no specific strategies for addressing the needs of these unique populations are outlined (DSW, 2019). ...
Policy related to homelessness varies across federal, state, and local levels influencing access to health and social services among persons experiencing homelessness. With a diversity of community stakeholders comes a diversity of ideas about which health and social services to provide and prioritize. Despite the unique insights PEH are able to offer on their own situations, their voices often remain excluded from research and policy. The aim of the current study was to identify the basic needs and health and social service priorities of PEH, to incorporate these voices into policy decisions and prioritization. Fifteen participants age 18 and older who had any experience of homelessness in Salt Lake Countyparticipated in in-depth qualitative interviews between February and March 2020. Open-ended questions enabled the interviews to naturally progress and focus on what was most relevant to participants and their experience. Data were categorized into the services and supports identified as the most needed by PEH and to help lift people out of homelessness: 1) Housing and shelter, 2) Income and employment, 3) Transportation, 4) Food, 5) Physical and mental health services, and 6) Social support. We describe the needs, challenges, and solutions as identified and narrated by study participants. Findings offer critical insight into how the homelessness crisis should be approached by policymakers as the ways in which PEH understand and utilize the system of available resources and supports must align with their abilities and realities. Without these in-depth discussions with PEH about how they understand and meet their basic needs, there will be ongoing gaps in service delivery and mismatches in the attempts made to serve this population.
... Unfortunately, those necessities (i.e., food, housing, & clothing), especially housing, are difficult to acquire if you have a criminal record. In fact, finding adequate housing opportunities postincarceration is one of the most challenging tasks for a person with a criminal record because society believes these individuals will somehow commit crimes on their property (Leasure & Martin, 2017), there are federal and state housing laws (Silva, 2015), or they have no means to pay rent because of employment barriers (Solomon, 2012). ...
... However, their integration back into the community is often stifled by a lack of employment opportunities (Flake, 2015), a lack of education (Stewart, 2016), very little familial support (Denney et al., 2014), and inadequate housing options (Silva, 2015). Roughly 20% of people returning to society from prison have no housing plan (Kras et al., 2016), and approximately 66% of property managers will not rent to people with criminal records (Leasure & Martin, 2017). Consequently, many people with criminal records who return to society post-incarceration end up returning back to jail or prison because of housing inequities (Carey, 2004;, or they end up homeless because no one will rent to them (Maguire & Nolan, 2012). ...
There are major assumptions that housing opportunities in higher education are equally accessible and available to all students. However, these accessible housing opportunities are not available to current and prospective students who possess a criminal record. Many college students with criminal records are deemed ineligible for adequate housing opportunities even before their applications are submitted. This study uses a qualitative layered analysis approach to explore how denials from on-campus housing affect college students with criminal records. Using the perspectives of this marginalized and invisible student population, we draw the read- er’s attention to how students with criminal records are affected as a result of being denied on-campus housing, and we provide tangible recommendations for future research, housing practices, and housing policies in higher education.
... Stigma, which stems from labeling, is defined by Goffman (1959) as blemishes of individual character that can be inferred from negative life experiences, including imprisonment. Stigma is a discrediting attribute that may, in the case of criminal records, lead to discrimination and restrict an individual's access to opportunities, including education (Stewart and Uggen 2020), voting rights and civic participation (R. J. Miller and Stuart 2017), employment (Decker et al. 2015;Pager 2003), housing (Author, 2016;Leasure and Martin 2017), and prospects for romantic relationships (Evans 2019;Perrone 2022). ...
... 15 For both JIVs and other justice-involved adults, their criminal records can pose barriers to competitive employment, financial credit, some public assistance programs, and social and community integration. [16][17][18][19] The health and social problems of JIVs are exacerbated by the high risk of criminal recidivism found among many justice-involved populations worldwide. 20,21 For example, male veterans in state prisons have an average of three prior incarcerations and male veterans in federal prisons have an average of about two prior incarcerations. ...
Introduction:
A substantial proportion of adults in the U.S. criminal justice system are military veterans. Justice-involved veterans are of particular public concern given their service to the country and the high rates of health and social problems in the general veteran population. This article describes the development of a national research agenda for justice-involved veterans.
Materials and methods:
In the summer of 2022, the VA National Center on Homelessness among Veterans in partnership with the VA Veterans Justice Programs Office convened a national group of subject matter experts and stakeholders across three listening sessions that included 40-63 attendees per session. These sessions were recorded, and transcriptions of all sessions and chats were synthesized to generate a preliminary list of 41 agenda items. The Delphi method involving two rounds of ratings from subject matter experts was used to develop consensus.
Results:
The final research agenda consists of 22 items covering five domains: Epidemiology and knowledge of the population, treatment and services, systems and systems interface, methodology and research resources, and policies.
Conclusions:
The intent of sharing this research agenda is to spur stakeholders to conduct, collaborate, and support further study in these areas.
... In addition, these overwhelmed caregivers may be more likely to use harsh parenting to discipline their children or use substance abuse as the way for relief compared with caregivers without housing issues (Shdaimah, 2008). Adult substance use is also strongly linked to criminal justice involvement (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2020), which can be a barrier when trying to access housing (Leasure & Martin, 2017). When housing unstable families are deeply involved in the child welfare system, their problems can in turn be amplified by inadequate housing, which further decreases the chance for successful reunification. ...
This study examined the prevalence of citing inadequate housing as a removal reason at the state level by utilizing data from the Adoption and Foster Care Reporting and Analysis System (AFCARS) and investigated the relationship between inadequate housing and reunification outcomes. The results revealed heterogeneity in citing inadequate housing as a reason for removal at the state level. Moreover, when children are from families struggling with both inadequate housing and substance abuse, the likelihood of reunification is significantly lower. Therefore, it is critical to submit consistent and standardized data to AFCARS and provide wrap-around resources for these vulnerable families.
... Evans & Porter, 2015D. N. Evans, Blount-Hill, et al., 2019;Leasure & Martin, 2017), and higher education (D. N. D. N. Evans, Szkola, et al., 2019;Stewart & Uggen, 2020), and result in disenfranchisement (Uggen et al., 2005). ...
Prosocial relationships are beneficial to post-conviction reintegration, but criminal stigma may limit romantic relationship access. This study implements an experimental audit of speed dating, which allows people to meet several potential partners in a brief time, to explore how conviction disclosure, offense type, and attractiveness and personality ratings affect dating interest. Three women and three men confederates of different races/ethnicities were randomly assigned to a control or one of three offense conditions before interacting one-on-one with 64 participants in 4-minute Zoom Q&A speed dating sessions. Following each interaction, participants rated one another on attractiveness, personality dimensions, and interest in dating. Findings indicate that disclosure of property offense conviction significantly reduced women’s willingness to date men confederates while assault and drug convictions did not negatively affect women’s dating interest. Women confederate disclosures of convictions did not affect men’s interest in dating them. Researching the effects of prior convictions on romantic relationship interest is challenging but important in revealing how criminal stigma varies by offense type to affect relationship capital.
... However, the data indicates that rough sleeping is significantly correlated with interactions with the justice system and extant research on homelessness and justice suggests a vicious cycle. Those that are rough sleeping are inherently more likely to engage in survival behaviour that leads to justice system interaction (e.g., squatting or trespassing); are more likely to have conditions such as mental health, trauma and chronic health problems that manifest in threatening behaviour that result in arrest and/or imprisonment; and are more likely to exit from prison back onto the streets (Goodman et al., 2000;Hartwell, 2004;Constantine et al., 2010;Leasure & Martin, 2017;Martin, 2017;Schneider, 2018;Madoc-Jones et al., 2018). In the 50 Lives 50 Homes Housing First program, it was found that the majority of offending behaviour was due to "low-harm" crime, including drug possession, stealing, and loitering, and that a lot of police contact was in fact due to them being the victim of crime rather than the perpetrator (Vallesi et al., 2020). ...
The objectives of this report are twofold. First, to collate and assess the current evidence base on the state of homelessness in Australia and its key drivers. Second, to set out an evidence-informed policy and practice agenda towards ending homelessness in Australia. Our examination of the current state of homelessness draws on publicly available Australian Census and Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) data and national data sources on the drivers of homelessness. The report also presents the first detailed examination of the consolidated national Advance to Zero database for the decade 2010-2020. The Advance to Zero database is a community organisation led and controlled database built on advance to zero homelessness projects (the Zero Projects). The Advance to Zero database includes responses to the Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritisation Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) from those experiencing homelessness (particularly those who are sleeping rough and in homelessness service supported accommodation) as well as information on the journeys from homelessness to housing as mapped by homelessness services. The VI-SPDAT provides services on the ground with a comprehensive assessment of health and social needs. The Australian Advance to Zero database provides a rich platform from which to understand the circumstances of Australians experiencing homelessness and, in particular, those experiencing rough sleeping and in homelessness services supported accommodation in Australia’s cities and regional towns.
... Although many studies have uncovered discrimination against Black and Hispanic housing seekers (Ondrich, Stricker, and Yinger 1998;Suarez 1999;Turner et al. 2013;Yelnosky 1998), felony disclosures may overshadow racial discrimination in housing (Evans, Blount-Hill, and Cubellis 2019). However, evidence of rehabilitation enhances the odds of seekers with a criminal record being considered as tenants (Leasure and Martin 2017). The consequences of legal system involvement can extend indefinitely. ...
Criminal records can have consequences for higher education attainment despite the benefits of college degrees for formerly incarcerated people. Using stratified random sampling of colleges and universities across the 50 states, this study examines how higher education institutions claim to use felony history in admission decisions, and the impact of race, geography, and institutional factors associated with these decisions. Findings indicate that admissions departments are more likely to tell an interested applicant with a stereotypical Black name and a non-violent felony record that their criminal histories will be considered in the application process compared to another prospective applicant with a stereotypical White name and non-violent felony record. Admissions departments in public institutions and institutions with higher racial diversity are less likely to consider felony history. Lastly, institutions in the former Confederate states are more likely to indicate using stringent reviews of applicants who disclose a felony compared to institutions in the former Union states. Institutions in the former border states and unincorporated states claim to be less likely to consider criminal history in the applicant review process compared to Union states. Recommendations for addressing these barriers to higher education are presented.
... We were not able to differentiate CR type (i.e., summary citations vs. misdemeanors vs. felonies), or type of offense (e.g., drug related, weapons charge) and whether the person has been incarcerated. Such variations in criminal history contribute meaningfully to variations in access to housing (Evans, 2016;Evans & Porter, 2014;Leasure & Martin, 2017). Finally, this study was cross-sectional, precluding the ability to examine causation. ...
Housing instability is a critical concern in the United States, and domestic violence (DV) survivors are a group at high risk for experiencing housing instability or of becoming unhoused. Prior research has also identified having a criminal record (CR) as being a major barrier to obtaining stable housing, and this is truer for Black and Latinx people compared to their White counterparts. No study has examined whether comparable trends exist among survivors of DV, a group also at elevated risk of having a CR, sometimes related to their experience of abuse. The current exploratory study included 305 unhoused or unstably housed female DV survivors who had sought out DV support services. Multivariate regressions explored if survivor race and CR were separately linked to greater housing instability. CR was then explored as a potential moderator in the relation between race and housing instability. Results revealed that DV survivors with a CR faced greater housing instability than those without a CR, Black and Latina survivors experienced greater housing stability than did White survivors, and CR did not moderate the relation between race and housing instability. The racial differences were unexpected and are discussed in light of methodological limitations. This is the first study to date to explore the role of CR possession on housing instability for DV survivors.
... Stigma can be defined as "a socially conferred mark that distinguishes individuals who bear this mark from others and portrays them as deviating from normality and meriting devaluation." (Major et al., 2018) Multidisciplinary scholarship reveals that CJ stigma affects employment, housing and civic engagement; however, it is unclear whether CJ stigma affects health and engagement with the health care system (Stoll and Bushway, 2008;Leasure and Martin, 2017;Poff Salzmann, 2009). People with CJ involvement have a substantial burden of chronic illness, negative interactions with the health care system and suboptimal outcomes for treatable chronic conditions, which all may be exacerbated by CJ stigma (Binswanger et al., 2011;Fox et al., 2014). ...
Purpose
This paper aims to determine whether criminal justice (CJ) stigma affects health outcomes and health care utilization.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors reviewed medical and public health literature through May 2020. Structured terms were used to search four databases identifying articles that related to CJ stigma. Included articles were in English, examined CJ stigma and had people with CJ involvement as subjects. The studies without health outcomes were excluded. Quantitative and qualitative studies were reviewed and assessed for bias. Results were synthesized into a systematic review.
Findings
The search yielded 25 studies relating to CJ stigma and health. Three stigma domains were described in the literature: perceived or enacted, internalized and anticipated stigma. Tenuous evidence linked CJ stigma to health directly (psychological symptoms) and indirectly (social isolation, health care utilization, high-risk behaviors and housing or employment). Multiple stigmatized identities may interact to affect health and health care utilization.
Research limitations/implications
Few studies examined CJ stigma and health. Articles used various measures of CJ stigma, but psychometric properties for instruments were not presented. Prospective studies with standard validated measures are needed.
Practical implications
Understanding whether and how CJ stigma affects health and health care utilization will be critical for developing health-promoting interventions for people with CJ involvement. Practical interventions could target stigma-related psychological distress or reduce health care providers’ stigmatizing behaviors.
Originality/value
This was the first systematic review of CJ stigma and health. By providing a summary of the current evidence and identifying consistent findings and gaps in the literature, this review provides direction for future research and highlights implications for policy and practice.
... Our findings regarding the effect of prior criminal record on the likelihood of arrest are not that surprising when one recognizes that considerable social stigma results from an individual being labeled as a criminal in our society (Jacobs, 2015). Research readily shows that a criminal label hinders prospects for employment (Pager, 2007), delays the onset of marriage (Huebner, 2005), attenuates the probability of being admitted to a university (Pierce et al., 2014), hampers the likelihood of securing of rental housing (Leasure & Martin, 2017), impedes the ability to vote (White, 2019), and manifests harmful health outcomes (Massoglia & Remster, 2019). Various family and environmental factors attributable to parental convictions and independent of self-reported offending, such as an erratic parental job record, poor housing, poor parental child-rearing (Farrington, 1979), and coming from a low-income family (Farrington, 2001), can also have a salient influence on the future criminal behavior of a youth. ...
A unique dataset is analyzed to investigate the effect of a criminal suspect's prior criminal record on the probability of arrest. Multivariate logistic regression results show that a criminal suspect with a prior criminal record is approximately 29 times more likely than a suspect without a criminal record to be arrested by police. While findings also reveal that Black suspects and Black suspects with a prior criminal record do not have an enhanced proclivity of arrest, Black suspects with a prior criminal record who target White victims are almost three times more apt to be arrested. When juxtaposed with the finding in the baseline model of a substantive relationship between a suspect's race and the likelihood of arrest absent the control for prior criminal record, our results suggest that any correlation evinced between a criminal suspect's race and the likelihood of arrest without controlling for the suspect's prior criminal history may be spurious due to omitted variable bias.
... an occupational license, training-program diploma, or judicially awarded rights-restoring certificate, can reduce criminal record stigma and enhance future opportunities (Leasure and Martin, 2017;Pager, 2007;Radice, 2012). Amidst dramatically expanded public and academic attention to the burdens of living with a criminal record, "work has become the sine qua non of reentry" discussions (Demleitner, 2016: 167). 1 A central challenge for decision makers charged with employment credentialing decisions-which involve balancing public safety against the need to provide social and economic opportunities to individuals with criminal records-is determining what types of information to use and how to evaluate competing information. ...
Decision makers such as employers and state occupational licensing officials are often encouraged or required to incorporate evidence of rehabilitation into hiring decisions when applicants have criminal records. Current policy movements at the local, state, and federal levels may increase the use of such individualized assessments. Yet little is known about which types of information these decision makers use, how they evaluate evidence, and how they ultimately make determinations. We examine a sample of 50 unarmed security guard licensing decisions in New York State using content analysis. We find that administrative law judges rely on a narrative framework to document whether applicants currently have a prosocial identity and merit licensure. Judges typically describe one of two prosocial identity narratives for successful applicants: The applicant demonstrates achieving meaningful change, or his or her criminal record represents an aberration. Two factors seem vital to these assessments: applicants’ postconviction trustworthiness, as demonstrated through good conduct or inferred through positive appraisals, and credible testimony. In narrative explanations, personal responsibility and adult milestones are often discussed, reflecting a judicial nod to the notion of a “transition to adulthood.” The results hold implications for scholars and policy makers examining employment barriers, stigma remediation, and collateral sanctions for individuals with criminal records.
... A Florida study estimated that a sex offender living in a particular residence caused a more-than-two per cent decrease in housing prices for homes located within one-tenth of a mile of the sex offender's residence, averaging to a depreciation of $3500 per property (Pope, 2008;Scally, 2005). Some caution is advised, as Helfgott (1997) found that only 37% of property managers would reject a prospective tenant with a sex offence conviction and other research suggests landlords are more likely to rent to ex-offenders who exhibit indicators of rehabilitation (Clark, 2007;Leasure & Martin, 2017). Still, at least in Helfgott's work, this study involved self-report survey questions, which may not be adequately predictive of landlord behaviour. ...
Those who have been convicted of crimes are subjected to a stigma that affects many aspects of their social lives. The “felon” label brings collateral consequences that make it difficult to obtain basic human needs, including housing. This study uses the audit method to examine the effects of race, gender, and criminal history on housing outcomes. Testers, exhibiting characteristics suggestive of race and gender and disclosing one of three offenses, placed phone calls to rental property owners across the Midwest to inquire about renting a property. We found powerful negative effects for those with a criminal record seeking apartments, regardless of whether the offense was sexual or drug-related. However, we found no differences between minority and non-minority testers. We explain these findings in the context of housing as an essential resource for formerly incarcerated individuals.
... 2 The authors previously addressed some issues on replication in [reference removed]. 3 Leasure and Martin (2016). 4 Rog (2015) provides detailed discussion of the variations in multiple site designs and a number of examples from the literature. ...
Background
Formerly incarcerated individuals (FIIs) encounter difficulties with covering the cost of dental and medical care, adhering to medication regimens, and receiving fair treatment from health care providers. Yet, no published research has examined modifiable pathways to increase FIIs' health literacy (HL), which is essential for addressing the health needs of this vulnerable population.
Objective
The aim of this article is to examine neighborhood characteristics (neighborhood deprivation, racial and economic polarization, and residential segregation) and public assistance program enrollment as structural determinants of limited health literacy (LHL) among FIIs.
Methods
Using a socioecological framework, we analyzed a subsample of 578 FIIs from the 2023 Survey of Racism and Public Health, an online cross-sectional survey spanning U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Regions 1, 2, and 3. HL was assessed using the Brief Health Literacy Screen. Logistic regression models estimated unadjusted and adjusted associations of LHL with neighborhood characteristics and public assistance program enrollment. Adjusted models controlled for age, race and ethnicity, gender identity, educational attainment, marital and employment status, number of children, chronic health conditions, and incarceration length.
Key Results
The 578 FIIs had an average age of 46, with 42% having LHL. We observed a statistically significant association between public assistance program enrollment and LHL (unadjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.87, 4.01; adjusted OR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.62, 3.88). We found no statistically significant associations of LHL with neighborhood deprivation, racial and economic polarization, and residential segregation.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that there may be an opportunity to develop tailored interventions for increasing HL among FIIs through public assistance programs. Dissemination of HL resources among this marginalized group can improve their self-management of chronic diseases. This is of paramount importance because FIIs must simultaneously navigate other challenges after incarceration (e.g., unstable housing). [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2025;9(1):e8–e18. ]
We study the labor market impacts of retroactively reducing felonies to misdemeanors in San Joaquin County, California, where criminal justice agencies implemented Proposition 47 reductions in a quasi-random order, without requiring input or action from affected individuals. Linking records of reductions to administrative tax data, we find employment benefits for individuals who (likely) requested their reduction, consistent with selection, but no benefits among the larger subset of individuals whose records were reduced proactively. A field experiment notifying a subset of individuals about their proactive reduction also shows null results, implying that lack of awareness is unlikely to explain our findings. (JEL C93, H76, J22, K14, K42)
This paper combines life course theory and empirical research on the collateral consequences of punishment as a backdrop to exploring the relationship between both the presence of and seriousness of a criminal record measured in early adulthood (age 25) and later life outcomes (ages 41-49), both in total and by socioeconomic status. The analysis relies on a combination of longitudinal survey data and administrative register data for 2,022 individuals who were between 12 and 20 years old when the data collection started. Results show that the criminal record is linked to both labor market and social exclusion later in life, but most systematically to (worse) labor market outcomes. Somewhat surprisingly, low SES seems to “buffer” against some of the unwanted outcomes linked to having a more serious criminal record, while high SES seems to “boost” others. Implications for future research on both deviance and stratification are discussed.
The policy adopted by housing authorities of denying prospective tenants with a criminal record access to housing is an important barrier to ex-offenders seeking somewhere to live. The policy is legal, but are there any good reasons in favor of it when we know that having no, or limited, access to secure and affordable housing increases the probability of recidivism? The primary aim of this article is to critically discuss two central reasons that have been given for denying people with criminal records access to housing: that doing so will prevent crime, and that the policy reduces fear of crime. We also try to evaluate an argument for the conclusion that current law, and the policies that follows wrongfully discriminate against people with criminal records. The general thrust of the article is that arguments for this practice turning on its crime preventive effect, and its role in reducing or preventing fear of crime, are unpersuasive. We then explained why, in our view, excluding ex-offenders from housing amounts to wrongful discrimination against them. Our analysis suggests that ex-offenders, apart from a few excemptions, ought to be allowed access to housing to the same extent as other people.
Justice‐involved people experience high levels of housing instability and residential mobility, making the housing search a recurrent part of life. Little is known, however, regarding how criminal record stigma functions in the rental housing market. This article examines how housing providers use criminal records to screen tenants in the rental housing market and whether it varies by type of neighborhood. I conduct an online correspondence audit to test discriminatory behaviors and find an adverse criminal record effect on housing opportunities. Many housing providers disqualify all tenants with a criminal record, even without information about the severity or timing of offenses. The criminal record effect is significantly stronger in gentrifying neighborhoods and in neighborhoods where the proportion of Black residents is dwindling. Tenant screening emerges as a central obstacle faced by the justice‐involved population, vital to understanding the web of disadvantages that traps so many in the wake of the carceral state.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are released from prison. For many, the transition back to society includes a mandatory stay in residential housing. I estimate the effect of residential housing on reincarceration using administrative data from Iowa. I address selection into residential housing by instrumenting for residential housing assignment with the recommendation rate of randomly assigned case managers. I find no evidence that Iowa’s costly investment in residential housing results in reduced reincarceration relative to parole. Instead, residential housing increases reincarceration due to violent crimes and technical violations, while decreasing drug and public order crimes. (JEL K42, R23, R31, R38)
Objectives
This study examines the effectiveness of a transitional employment program (TEP)—delivered with cognitive behavioral interventions (CBIs)—at improving employment and recidivism outcomes among residents returning to Palm Beach County, Florida, from incarceration.
Methods
A randomized controlled trial (N = 175) with an intent-to-treat approach was used to examine the effects of the TEP on employment and recidivism outcomes. Bivariate statistics examined treatment group status on the dependent variables. Separate logistic regressions models then examined the effects of programmatic hours and employment on recidivism outcomes.
Results
Results suggest that participation in the TEP increased employment but did not reduce recidivism. Logistic regression results, however, showed that obtaining employment significantly reduced the odds of recidivating.
Conclusion
Participation in the TEP itself did not reduce recidivism; however, certain programmatic aspects appear to be worthy of consideration moving forward, including improving implementation fidelity, increasing CBI buy-in, and assisting formerly incarcerated people obtain employment.
Half of individuals released from prison in the United States will be re-incarcerated within three years, creating an incarceration cycle that is detrimental to individuals, families, and communities. There is tremendous public interest in ending this cycle, and public policies can help or hinder the reintegration of those released from jail and prison. This review summarizes the existing empirical evidence on how to intervene with existing offenders to reduce criminal behavior and improve social welfare. (JEL D91, I18, I28, I38, K42, R23)
Objective:
Recently incarcerated people with opioid use disorder are at high risk of overdose and adverse outcomes as a result of biopsychosocial risk factors. Peer support models aiming to improve these outcomes have expanded in recent years. This qualitative study aimed to document participants' experiences with peer health navigation before and after prison release, examine participants' perspectives on the role of peer health navigators, and understand participants' views on service improvements.
Methods:
The authors conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 39 recipients of peer health navigation at release, 30 of whom also completed a follow-up interview 3 months later. Interviews were analyzed via cross-case analysis.
Results:
Interviewees differently valued the various types of support they received. Participants appreciated working with someone with shared lived experience with whom they could establish a trusting relationship. Nevertheless, structural and policy barriers meant that certain key needs-such as housing and employment-could not always be met.
Conclusions:
Peer health navigators can connect participants to evidence-based treatment and help them address their psychosocial needs and develop skills to support long-term wellness. Further research is needed to assess the impact of peer health navigation on participant outcomes, such as overdose reduction, treatment engagement, and sustained recovery.
Objectives
I examine housing instability among individuals with a felony conviction but no incarceration history relative to formerly incarcerated individuals as a means of separating the effect of felon status from that of incarceration per se—a distinction often neglected in prior research. I consider mechanisms and whether this relationship varies based on gender, race/ethnicity, time since conviction, and type of offense.
Methods
I use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 data and restricted comparison group, individual fixed effects, and sibling fixed effects models to examine residential mobility and temporary housing residence during early adulthood.
Results
I find robust evidence that never-incarcerated individuals with felony convictions experience elevated risk of housing instability and residential mobility, even after adjusting for important mediators like financial resources and relationships. The evidence that incarceration has an additional, independent effect on housing instability is weaker, however, suggesting that the association between incarceration and housing instability found in prior studies may largely be driven by conviction status.
Conclusions
These findings reveal that conviction, independent of incarceration, introduces instability into the lives of the 12 million Americans who have been convicted of a felony but never imprisoned. Thus, research that attempts to identify an incarceration effect by comparing outcomes to convicted individuals who receive non-custodial sentences may obscure the important independent effect of conviction. Moreover, these findings highlight that the socioeconomic effects of criminal justice contact are broader than incarceration-focused research suggests. Consequently, reform efforts promoting the use of community corrections over incarceration may do less to reduce the harm of criminal justice contact than expected.
This study utilized life story interviews with 21 formerly incarcerated individuals to examine the role vocational reentry programming played in the desistance process. We begin with a review of theories of desistance and the state of reentry programs. A thematic analysis revealed that providers assisted individuals to understand their behavioral trajectories and to take steps toward desistance. Further, participants felt empowered by program provided social support, developed strategies to overcome employment barriers, and held resilient and optimistic attitudes in changing their identities and behavioral trajectories. We conclude with a discussion on how these findings can inform desistance theory and reentry policy.
Although there are a number of experimental studies showing that private housing can be difficult to secure for those with criminal history, many issues in this area remain unexplored or underexplored. The goal of the current study was to address the following unexplored or underexplored issues: (a) the impact of various types of multiple conviction records on private housing outcomes, including one that possessed a certificate of relief; (b) racial differences in private housing outcomes; (c) the impact of housing type on private housing outcomes; and (d) the impact of a criminal record, race, and housing type interaction on private housing outcomes. This goal was achieved with the use of a field experiment (correspondence audit). Results showed several statistically and substantively significant differences among the criminal record, race, and housing type conditions. These results can be used to better inform individuals with criminal history who are seeking private housing options.
The USA incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. Exposure to the criminal legal system has been associated with a myriad of health outcomes but less is understood about what drives these associations. We argue that stigma due to criminal legal involvement, what we call criminal legal stigma, likely has a larger role in the association between incarceration and negative health outcomes than has been previously appreciated. There is limited research on the impact on health of criminal legal stigma despite abundant research on its negative social consequences. In this paper, we describe a conceptual framework of the health effects of criminal legal stigma drawing on previous research of criminal legal stigma and advances in other areas of stigma research. We outline key concepts related to stigma mechanisms, how they function at structural and individual levels, and how they might cause health outcomes. Finally, we identify potential areas for future research and opportunities for clinical interventions to remediate negative effects of stigma.
This street participatory action research project trained 15 local residents to document a community sample of street-identified Black men and women’s (ages 18–35 years) experiences with reentry in two low-income Black neighborhoods. The following multi-method data were collected: (a) 520 surveys; (b) 24 individual interviews; (c) four dual interviews; and (d) three group interviews. Descriptive and univariate analysis of variance analysis revealed most participants as a function of gender and age-groups held positive attitudes toward reentry, overall; positive attitudes toward returning citizens; negative attitudes toward reentry programs; and negative attitudes toward the reentry process. Qualitative analysis suggested negative experiences with reentry were the result of a racialized structural violence complex; and strategies employed to navigate reentry included legal and illegal approaches. Also, short and long-term goals with reentry were generally achieved through enduring major bouts of unemployment, economic poverty, and low-wage work.
In Discrimination and Disparities, Thomas Sowell describes how economists think about the causes of disparities in socioeconomic outcomes. He cautions against government intervention to reduce disparities, noting that such interventions often have unintended consequences. In this review, I discuss the role of economic theory and empirical evidence in helping move society toward more equitable outcomes. I find far more reason to be hopeful about the role of government than Sowell does, but also argue for more experimentation and rigorous evaluation to be sure that our well-intentioned policies have their intended impacts. (JEL D63, J15, J16, J71, J78)
Purpose
This paper aims to understand landlords’ attitudes toward applicants with histories of sex offenses and landlords’ willingness to broaden eligibility criteria for tenancy.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample of 50 landlords in Connecticut were interviewed. The content of interviews was analyzed to examine how often a landlord would be open to renting to individuals on the sex offender registry and what conditions affect their decisions.
Findings
In total, 44% of landlords would not rent to adults with histories of sex offenses under any circumstance, but 8% of landlords reported they would rent to such individuals and an additional 36% of landlords were open to it with a high threshold for other indicators of good tenancy such as stable housing history, good credit and timely rental payments.
Practical implications
These findings not only illustrate the real-world challenges in finding housing for adults with histories of sex offenses but also highlight opportunities in working with landlords.
Originality/value
There has been little examination of housing adults with sex offenders from the perspective of landlords, which is important to understand to address this difficult and sensitive issue.
In recognition of the importance of securing employment for successful reentry, several states have introduced certificates of relief, which are intended to aid ex-offenders in their job search by demonstrating rehabilitation to potential employers. However, no study has examined potential racial differences in the efficacy of such certificates. Using an experimental correspondence approach, the authors demonstrate that White applicants with certificates of relief received significantly more callbacks for interviews than African American applicants with certificates. Differences between White and African American applicants with criminal records and no certificate and those with no criminal record did not reach statistical significance.
The objective of this analysis was to identify factors that Columbus, Ohio private property owners and managers consider when screening potential tenants with criminal records. This objective is achieved by examining qualitative data derived from an earlier experimental study. Findings indicate that private property owners and managers examine several factors regarding a criminal record such as type of offense, age of offense, number of offenses, and additional positive factors such as consistent work history or demonstration of rehabilitation. Differences also exist depending on whether the property is a single or multiple-family dwelling and also whether the property is located in a disadvantaged neighborhood. From these findings, policy recommendations are presented.
This study examined whether misdemeanor drug convictions impact entry-level hiring outcomes. An experimental correspondence study was used whereby fictitious resumes are sent to employers. Resumes were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: no criminal record, 1-year-old misdemeanor record, and a 1-year-old felony record. Resumes were also randomly assigned with a distinctively White or African American name. Job type was used as an additional predictor. Results indicate that a misdemeanor conviction significantly hinders hiring outcomes for both African American and White applicants. However, results did not show statistically significant differences in the outcome between races. These results should be utilized to better inform defendants, practitioners, and policy-makers on the negative impacts of low-level convictions.
This report, “Taking Stock: Housing, Homelessness, and Prisoner Reentry,” examines how those who have spent time in prison or jail fare in securing safe and affordable housing following their release and discusses housing programming and practice designed to assist them. Every prisoner facing discharge from a correctional
institution must answer this question: “Where will I sleep tonight?” For many returning prisoners, the family home provides an answer to that question. But reunions with families are not always possible—or are only temporary—sometimes due to the dictates of criminal justice or housing policies, or sometimes due to family
dynamics. For those who cannot return to the homes of families or friends, the question of housing becomes considerably more complex. For some, the final answer to the question “Where will I sleep tonight?” is a homeless shelter or the street. Many are finding that the difficulties in securing affordable and appropriate housing complicate the reentry process, further reducing already limited chances for successful community reintegration.
The report is the culmination and synthesis of three tasks designed to inform the state of knowledge around housing, homelessness, and prisoner reentry: (1) a descriptive report on the barriers and challenges facing returning prisoners, as well as potential opportunities for serving or supporting the housing-related needs of
returning prisoners, (2) a scan of promising housing and other housing-related service programs for returning prisoners and ex-offenders, and (3) a roundtable discussion by experts in the field held in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2003. The goal of the roundtable was to bring together prominent practitioners, researchers, and community leaders to identify the most pressing housing issues and the most promising strategies for resolving these issues. The report and scan of practice were developed to serve as background materials to help frame the discussion, already underway in many communities, about the extent of the housing
challenges faced by returning prisoners. The roundtable participants were provided a copy of the draft report and scan of practice. After the roundtable, the report was revised to include a synthesis of the roundtable discussion.
Our ultimate aim is to sharpen the nation’s thinking on the issue of housing and prisoner reintegration, and to foster policy innovations that will improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. In this executive summary, we provide brief background information on the issues surrounding housing and prisoner reentry to lay the foundation for a presentation of the highlights from the day-long roundtable discussion.
This report describes the process of prisoner reentry* in Ohio by examining the policy context surrounding reentry in Ohio, the characteristics of inmates exiting Ohio prisons, the efforts to prepare inmates for release, the geographic distribution of prisoners returning home, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to some of the highest concentrations of released prisoners. This report does not attempt to evaluate a specific reentry program or empirically assess Ohio's reentry policies and practices. Rather, the report consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends and presents a new analysis of data on Ohio prisoners released in 2001.
Objectives Determine the effect of a criminal conviction on landlord decisions to consider prospective tenants and the extent to which landlord responses vary based on prospective tenant’s offense type. Methods Using a quasi-experimental audit design, matched pairs of “testers” posing as prospective tenants called landlords across New York State to inquire about the possibility of renting a residence. Criminal conviction type was manipulated amongst equally eligible testers posing as non-offenders (control group) or as having one of three types of prior conviction: child molestation, statutory rape, or drug trafficking (quasi-experimental groups). Results Analyses indicate that landlords are significantly less willing to consider prospective tenants with a criminal conviction, particularly when the conviction is for child molestation, although this effect was more strongly apparent with male testers. Conclusions The stigma associated with a child molestation conviction greatly impacts housing outcomes, but landlord characteristics and the sex of prospective tenants influence landlord decisions. This study has important implications for offender reentry and policies that should address this issue.
The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of race/ethnicity and prior prison sentences on employment opportunities. Secondarily, we compare the impact of applying for jobs (in-person and online), and the role of education in securing employment. This work was conducted in a large southwestern city (Phoenix AZ) with high rates of imprisonment for blacks and Hispanics. Methods: First, an audit test involving matched pairs of males within race/ethnicity categories (black, Hispanic, white) who applied for jobs in-person was conducted. More than 500 jobs were applied for by the audit testers. Second, a correspondence test was conducted using three pairs of résumés matched within race/ethnicity. In the correspondence test, over 3,000 jobs were applied for online. Each test used random assignment. Because of its importance for entry level employment, a separate analysis of food service jobs applied for online was conducted. Results: Both sets of analyses were completed using cross-classified random effects (CCRE) models. Contrary to expectations, neither race/ethnicity nor prior prison record affected outcomes in the online application process. In contrast, both race/ethnicity and prison record had significant effects in the in-person audit analysis. The effect of a prison record was particularly strong for blacks. Conclusions: Race/ethnicity and prior prison sentence remain important impediments to success in gaining employment. These results are particularly strong for in-person job applications and are somewhat smaller for online job applications.
Two conflicting definitions of desistance exist in the criminology literature. The first definition is instantaneous desistance in which an offender simply chooses to end a criminal career instantaneously moving to a zero rate of offending (). The second definition views desistance as a process by which the offending rate declines steadily over time to zero or to a point close to zero (; ; ). In this article, we capitalize on the underlying assumptions of several parametric survival distributions to gain a better understanding of which of these models best describes actual patterns of desistance. All models are examined using 18 years of follow‐up data on a cohort of felony convicts in Essex County, NJ. Our analysis leads us to three conclusions. First, some people have already desisted at the beginning of the follow‐up period, which is consistent with the notion of “instantaneous desistance.” Second, a three‐parameter model that allows for a turning point in the risk of recidivism followed by a long period of decline fits the data best. This conclusion suggests that for those offenders active at the start of the study period, the risk of recidivism is declining over time. However, we also find that a simpler two‐group model fits the data almost as well and gains superiority in the later years of follow‐up. This last point is particularly relevant as it suggests that the observed gradual decline in the hazard over time is a result of a compositional effect rather than of a pattern of individually declining hazards.
Upon completion of their sentences and when attempting to ‘reenter’ society, offenders face large barriers, often referred to as the ‘collateral consequences’ of conviction. One of the largest barriers, given the stigma of a criminal record, is finding employment. The problem primarily arises because of increases in the use of background checks by employers and the use of a criminal record to eliminate candidates. Such a practice is partly understandable for employers, as a recent conviction is one of the best predictors of future criminal activity. However, recent evidence suggests that an offender’s risk of reoffending decreases over time and can eventually come “close enough” to that of one who has never offended, even becoming lower than that risk for a random person within the general population. Building off this research, we present our research question, which asks whether there are employment outcome differences between hypothetical applicants with older and more recent criminal records. Results indicate that those possessing older criminal records still face barriers when seeking employment. Based on these findings, we present policy considerations.
Obtaining employment is difficult for ex-offenders due to the stigma of having a criminal record. In recognition of this difficulty, some state legislatures have created certificates of relief (also known as certificates of recovery), which lift occupational licensing restrictions, limit employer liability for negligent hiring claims, and aim to ensure that employment decisions about certificate holders are made on a case-by-case basis. The current study, which examines Ohio’s program for certificates of relief, presents the results of the first empirical test of the effectiveness of such certificates. This test indicates that having a certificate of relief increases the likelihood of receiving an interview invitation or job offer more than threefold. Importantly, certificate holders and their counterparts with clean criminal backgrounds were nearly equally likely to receive an interview invitation or job offer. These promising preliminary results suggest certificates of relief may be an effective avenue for lessening the stigma of a criminal record for ex-offenders seeking employment.
Prior research suggests that a felony conviction limits housing opportunities. This study used an experimental audit design to determine the effect of a felony conviction on real estate agent willingness to accept prospective clients. A male and a female ‘tester’ posing as apartment seekers called real estate agents in New York City to ask for assistance renting an apartment. Conviction type was manipulated such that testers posed as non-offenders (control) or as having a prior conviction for either drug trafficking, statutory rape, or child molestation (experimental groups) to measure the extent to which offense type influenced agent responses. Analyses indicated that a prior conviction was associated with a significant decrease in agent willingness to accept prospective clients, most notably for those with child molestation conviction. Agents were more willing to help prospective clients seeking more expensive apartments, although the time of year nullified the effect of cost. The results suggest that agents may be more concerned with the financial status of prospective clients than their criminal history but market forces override their decisions to accept a client. This study has implications for the ways in which the formerly incarcerated seek housing and how policy can address housing this population.
Eighteen female ex-prison inmates describe the strengths they used to manage their reentry after release from prison. As a group, the women stressed that a mix of personal resiliency, interpersonal capacities, and social resources facilitated their successful transition. On the basis of study findings, the author suggests practice and policy changes to assist women in the transition from institution to community.
Ample experimental evidence shows that the stigma of a prison record reduces employment opportunities (Pager, 2007). Yet background checks today uncover a much broader range of impropriety, including arrests for minor crimes never resulting in formal charges. This article probes the lesser boundaries of stigma, asking whether and how employers consider low-level arrests in hiring decisions. Matched pairs of young African American and White men were sent to apply for 300 entry-level jobs, with one member of each pair reporting a disorderly conduct arrest that did not lead to conviction. We find a modest but nontrivial effect, with employer callback rates about 4 percentage points lower for the experimental group than for the matched control group. Interviews with the audited employers suggest three mechanisms to account for the lesser stigma of misdemeanor arrests relative to felony convictions: 1) greater employer discretion and authority in the former case; 2) calibration of the severity, nature, and timing of the offense; and 3) a deeply held presumption of innocence, which contrasts the uncertainty of arrest with the greater certainty represented by convictions. In addition, personal contact and workplace diversity play important roles in the hiring process.
The number of people reentering society after imprisonment has increased dramatically in recent decades in direct correlation with the growing prison population. As a result, empirical studies of prisoner reentry have also increased, but these studies typically focus on large urban areas and use quantitative methodologies. The current study expands the existing literature by examining qualitatively the reentry experiences of 43 male offenders living in a small metropolitan community. Participants were interviewed at the 3-month mark of their release from prison. They were asked about the strains and obstacles they encountered at three distinct time periods since their release: the first days of release, the 1-month mark, and the 3-month mark. These former prison inmates were also asked to identify any program or service that had helped or could help their reintegration into society. The results suggest that core obstacles and strains in reentry, such as issues with money, employment, and reconnecting with family, are consistent across geographical location. The study also produced some unique findings, such as psychosocial challenges being cited most frequently as obstacles or strains, the role of employment beyond its financial importance, and the negative aspects of religious components in reentry programs. Several policy recommendations relevant to the findings are discussed.
Have we conquered the problems of racial discrimination? Or have acts of discrimination become too subtle and covert for detection? This discussion serves to situate current debates about discrimination within the context of available measurement techniques. In this article, the author (1) considers the arguments from recent debates over the contemporary relevance of labor market discrimination; (2) provides a detailed introduction to experimental field methods for studying discrimination (also called audit studies), including an overview of the findings of recent audit studies of employment; (3) addresses the primary critiques of the audit methodology and the potential threats to the validity of studies of this kind; and (4) considers how we might reconcile evidence from field experiments with those from analyses of large-scale survey data, each of which points to markedly different conclusions. Only by gathering rigorous empirical evidence can we begin to understand the nature of race and racial discrimination in labor markets today.
With over 2 million individuals currently incarcerated, and over half a million prisoners released each year, the large and growing number of men being processed through the criminal justice system raises important questions about the consequences of this massive institutional intervention. This article focuses on the consequences of incarceration for the employment outcomes of black and white job seekers. The present study adopts an experimental audit approach-in which matched pairs of individuals applied for real entry-level jobs-to formally test the degree to which a criminal record affects subsequent employment opportunities. The findings of this study reveal an important, and much underrecognized, mechanism of stratification. A criminal record presents a major barrier to employment, with important implications for racial disparities.
Research Summary
This research explores the issue of old prior records and their ability to predict future offending. In particular, we are interested in the question of whether, after a given period of time, the risk of recidivism for a person who has been arrested in the distant past is ever indistinguishable from that of a population of persons with no prior arrests. Two well‐documented empirical facts guide our investigation: (1) Individuals who have offended in the past are relatively more likely to offend in the future, and (2) the risk of recidivism declines as the time since the last criminal act increases. We find that immediately after an arrest, the knowledge of this prior record does significantly differentiate this population from a population of nonoffenders. However, these differences weaken dramatically and quickly over time so that the risk of new offenses among those who last offended six or seven years ago begins to approximate (but not match) the risk of new offenses among persons with no criminal record.
Policy Implications
Individuals with official records of past offending behavior encounter a barrier when they try to obtain employment, even if a person's most recent offense occurred in the distant past. There are many reasons for such obstacles, but they are at least partially premised on the concern that individuals with arrest records—even from the distant past—are more likely to offend in the future than persons with no criminal history. Our analysis questions the logic of such practices and suggests that after a given period of remaining crime free, it may be prudent to wash away the brand of “offender” and open up more legitimate opportunities to this population.
1. Choosing as a way of life Appendix A1. Choosing a residential telecommunications bundle 2. Introduction to stated preference models and methods 3. Choosing a choice model Appendix A3. Maximum likelihood estimation technique Appendix B3. Linear probability and generalised least squares models 4. Experimental design 5. Design of choice experiments Appendix A5. 6. Relaxing the IID assumption-introducing variants of the MNL model Appendix A6. Detailed characterisation of the nested logit model Appendix B6. Advanced discrete choice methods 7. Complex, non-IID multiple choice designs 8. Combining sources of preference data 9. Implementing SP choice behaviour projects 10. Marketing case studies 11. Transportation case studies 12. Environmental valuation case studies 13. Cross and external validity of SP models.
This article investigates the recent rise of criminal background screening in rental housing as a case study of the diffusion of actuarial social control. That case study suggests that actuarial techniques have spread more widely through the crime prevention field than sociolegal scholars have recognized, replacing disciplinary efforts to diagnose and alter the behavior of individuals with actuarial efforts to identify and isolate high-risk groups. This actuarial strategy has proliferated not only because new discourses encouraged it but also because new institutional structures facilitated it. That conclusion illustrates the importance of structural (rather than cultural) factors in shaping society's response to crime—particularly the growing availability of the collective institutional capacity that actuarial social control requires.
Criminal background checks have now become ubiquitous because of advances in information technology and growing concerns about employer liability. Also, a large number of individual criminal records have accumulated and have been computerized in state repositories and commercial databases. As a result, many ex-offenders seeking employment could be haunted by a stale record. Recidivism probability declines with time “clean,” so some point in time is reached when a person with a criminal record, who remained free of further contact with the criminal justice system, is of no greater risk than a counterpart of the same age—an indication of redemption from the mark of crime. Very little information exists on this measure of time until redemption and on how its value varies with the crime type and the offender's age at the time of the earlier event. Using data from a state criminal-history repository, we estimate the declining hazard of rearrest with time clean. We first estimate a point of redemption as the time when the hazard intersects the age–crime curve, which represents the arrest risk for the general population of the same age. We also estimate another similar redemption point when the declining hazard comes “sufficiently close” to the hazard of those who have never been arrested. We estimate both measures of redemption as a function of the age and the crime type of the earlier arrest. These findings aid in the development of guidelines for the users of background checking and in developing regulations to enhance employment opportunities for ex-offenders.
Successful community reentry and the criminological impact of incarceration may depend in part on the attitudes (and consequent reactions) that prisoners encounter after release. Theories of social stigma suggest that such attitudes depend, in turn, on the levels of familiarity with the stigmatized group (the normalization thesis) as well as on the credibility and trust they accord to sanctioning agents (the legitimation thesis). To assess these two hypotheses, we present the first multivariate analysis of public attitudes toward ex-offenders. Data from a four-state, random-digit telephone survey of more than 2,000 individuals indicate that, net of controls, personal familiarity with ex-offenders may soften attitudes, whereas confidence in the courts may harden them. As expected, non-Hispanic Whites, conservatives, and southern residents hold more negative views of ex-offenders. Our findings lend indirect support to concerns that incarceration is becoming " normalized" , and we suggest strategies for reducing the stigma of incarceration.
Decades of racial progress have led some researchers and policymakers to doubt that discrimination remains an important cause of economic inequality. To study contemporary discrimination, we conducted a field experiment in the low-wage labor market of New York City, recruiting white, black, and Latino job applicants who were matched on demographic characteristics and interpersonal skills. These applicants were given equivalent résumés and sent to apply in tandem for hundreds of entry-level jobs. Our results show that black applicants were half as likely as equally qualified whites to receive a callback or job offer. In fact, black and Latino applicants with clean backgrounds fared no better than white applicants just released from prison. Additional qualitative evidence from our applicants' experiences further illustrates the multiple points at which employment trajectories can be deflected by various forms of racial bias. These results point to the subtle yet systematic forms of discrimination that continue to shape employment opportunities for low-wage workers.
Persistent racial inequality in employment, housing, and a wide range of other social domains has renewed interest in the possible role of discrimination. And yet, unlike in the pre-civil rights era, when racial prejudice and discrimination were overt and widespread, today discrimination is less readily identifiable, posing problems for social scientific conceptualization and measurement. This article reviews the relevant literature on discrimination, with an emphasis on racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit markets, and consumer interactions. We begin by defining discrimination and discussing relevant methods of measurement. We then provide an overview of major findings from studies of discrimination in each of the four domains; and, finally, we turn to a discussion of the individual, organizational, and structural mechanisms that may underlie contemporary forms of discrimination. This discussion seeks to orient readers to some of the key debates in the study of discrimination and to provide a roadmap for those interested in building upon this long and important line of research.
Previous research has illustrated that the stigma of a criminal record can severely impede employment opportunities for exoffenders, especially African American men, however there is very little research examining how women are affected by criminal records. I expand upon prior research by testing the effects of criminal history and race on female employment prospects. I predict that as research has shown for men, race will present a significant barrier for women seeking to find employment and further predict that a criminal history will be even more stigmatizing for women than it is for men. To test these predictions I employed an audit methodology and submitted fictitious resumes to Chicago-land employers for entry-level jobs. I then compared employer callback rates to test the separate and combined effects of race and criminal history. Results indicate that a prior criminal history had little impact on employer response rates (the white female without a criminal record received responses to 19% of the jobs applied for, the white female with a criminal record 14%, the African American female without a criminal record 14%, and the African American female with a criminal record 12%). Results initially indicated that race had no significant impact on employer response rates. Due to the continuing decline of the economy over the data collection period I ran tests to compare data collected prior to the midpoint of data collection to that collected after the midpoint. The results were weak evidence for racial disparity (favoring white applicants) over the first half of the data collection period suggesting that future research should investigate whether African American women in healthier economies face greater adversity in the hiring process than their Caucasian counterparts.
This paper is concerned with quantitative methods for the analysis of travel behaviour of individuals. It reviews some of the recent developments in model specification, estimation, model evaluation and testing, and aggregation and forecasting. Topics in model specification include the multinomial probit model and its computation, and generalized extreme value models and their relation to sequential models. Topics in estimation methods include the use of choice-based samples, sample designs, and incomplete choice sets. Model evaluation topics include prediction success tables and diagnostic tests of specification. Aggregation and forecasting topics include aggregation by the Clark method, synthesis of the distribution of explanatory variables, and the calculus of demand elasticities.
No second chance: People with criminal records denied access to public housing
- C Carey
Interactive: Mapping the Census. The Washington Post
- K Downs
- D Keating
- N V Kelso
The gendering of criminal stigma: An experiment testing the effects of race/ethnicity and incarceration on women’s entry-level job prospects. Dissertation
- N R Ortiz
Worlds apart: Inequality between America’s most and least affluent neighborhoods
- R Pendall
- C Hedman
Neighborhood inequality particularly profound in Columbus area
- R Price