Criminal Backgrounds Research Articles

Job Programs for People With SMI Continue Through Economic Uncertainty

Job Programs for People With SMI Continue Through Economic Uncertainty

Employer Perceptions of Hiring Juveniles With Criminal Records

A key determinant of reentry success for justice-involved youth is productive engagement in school or work. Lack of employment for this population is often tied to inadequate vocational training, work experience, job opportunities, or the stigma attached to incarceration. Although very few studies have been conducted on employers’ perceptions of juveniles with criminal records, research suggests that views related to hiring may vary according to crime type. The purpose of this study was to explore how likely employers would be to grant an interview to a juvenile with a criminal background, and what experience, training, or skills employers seek when hiring juveniles with criminal backgrounds. The results indicate that, all else being equal, a juvenile record might penalize an applicant’s opportunities, and also, offense type matters. The implications of this study are discussed in relation to employment preparation and reentry services and supports for justice-involved youth.

Reflections on Working with Homeless People

As a housing case manager in a homeless shelter, I work closely with homeless people every day. While there is an important place for the tools of social science in understanding the challenges they face, we should not distance ourselves emotionally from the homeless and treat them as stereotypes rather than as unique individuals. My main task in the shelter is to help the guests find their way through the almost impenetrable maze of government programs that are supposed to assist them in finding housing and work. Yet, about one‐third of homeless people struggle with some form of mental illness, which adds to the complexity of serving them in a shelter. Physical disabilities, substance abuse, and criminal backgrounds create additional obstacles for a large number of homeless people. Those problems are often caused or compounded by homelessness. The primary cause of homelessness does not lie in the people themselves but in the capitalist system. Homelessness will remain a chronic problem until we create a society and economy in which accountability is localized, and communities on the scale of neighborhoods are strengthened to the point that they can respond to problems humanely.

Balance safety, success when evaluating applicants’ misconduct, criminal backgrounds

You want to keep your current students safe but you also recognize the value of removing barriers that tend to prevent potential students with criminal records from pursuing the education that could give them a fresh start. To achieve the proper balance between these two goals, you'll need an approach that ensures the safety and success of applicants and the overall campus community.

The reporting and help‐seeking behaviors of domestic violence victims with criminal backgrounds

AbstractThe decision to report domestic violence is often conditional on whether victims were satisfied with their prior treatment by the criminal justice system. One issue in reporting victimization is that victims of domestic violence may also be involved with the system as offenders. The current paper systematically reviews research on this overlap, finding that most research supports that victims who also have criminal backgrounds are significantly less likely to report subsequent experiences of domestic violence, and are less likely and able to seek out social services, particularly when they report prior negative experiences. The paper then identifies theoretical and policy‐based implications of the review findings.

Crime Scene Behaviors and Characteristics of Offenders with Mental Illness: A Latent Class Analysis.

The current study aimed to identify distinct types of crime scene behaviors based on the criminal planning and motivation of offenders with mental illness in South Korea. Furthermore, our study examined the relationships between the identified types of crime scene behaviors in terms of the offenders' sociodemographic characteristics, modus operandi, and types of mental illness. Utilizing latent class analysis, the associations between crime scene behavior types and offender characteristics such as demographic factors, crime scene actions, and criminal information were empirically investigated. In particular, based on a sample obtained from a national police database of offenses committed between 2006 and 2014, four offense groups were identified: (i) instrumental-planned, (ii) instrumental-unplanned, (iii) expressive-unplanned, and (iv) hybrid. Additionally, significant relationships were found between offense styles and offender characteristics as well as criminal backgrounds. The findings suggest that mental disorders influence the types of actions exhibited by offenders during the commission of their crime. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical utility to criminal investigation.

Balance safety, success when evaluating applicants’ misconduct, criminal backgrounds

You want to keep your current students safe but you also recognize the value of removing barriers that tend to prevent potential students with criminal records from pursuing the education that could give them a fresh start. To achieve the proper balance between these two goals, you'll need an approach that ensures the safety and success of applicants and the overall campus community.

MSW Programs’ Admissions Policies Regarding Applicants with Histories of Criminal Justice Involvement

ABSTRACT This article examines U.S.-based MSW programs’ admissions practices and policies toward applicants with criminal convictions. Despite national attention to mass incarceration and its impact on college admissions, there is a dearth of empirical investigation in this area. Through a national survey of MSW programs’ admissions personnel (n = 146), this study seeks to fill this research gap. We ask: How do MSW programs evaluate applicants with criminal justice histories; what factors account for programs’ interest/concern with these histories; and what factors influence programs’ admission decision-making in relation to these applicants? Findings indicate that a majority of MSW programs screen applicants in relation to their criminal justice backgrounds and do so primarily to uphold professional gatekeeping responsibilities and address concerns related to securing field placements. Social justice issues did not emerge as a significant factor in program practices and policies. The majority of respondents did not provide training or guidelines to the reviewers regarding evaluation of applicants with criminal convictions nor did programs’ criteria for admission entirely correlate with the criminal justice literature on predictors of recidivism. Recommendations include greater transparency in processes and greater training and consistency for reviewers.

Crime, incentives and political effort: Evidence from India

Political representatives with criminal backgrounds are considered a great problem in many countries. In India, public disclosure of the large share of politicians currently facing criminal charges has sparked a heated public debate and emerging literature assessing the causes and effects. We develop two hypotheses based on our theoretical considerations. Based on the coding of published affidavits and a comprehensive set of three proxies to measure effort in the 14th Lok Sabha over the 2004–2009 legislative period, we put these hypotheses to an empirical test. Members of the parliament (MPs) facing criminal accusations exhibit on average about 5% lower attendance rates and lower utilization rates in a local area development fund, but only insignificantly lower parliamentary activity. In line with our hypotheses, these differences decline in the development level of the constituency - a proxy for higher rent-seeking possibilities and monitoring intensity. We argue and demonstrate why these negative relations should constitute an upper bound estimate of the causal effect, and show that even under conservative assumptions the effect is unlikely to be caused by unaccounted selection-bias.

«Советский нищий»: опыт реконструкции коллективного портрета 1950-х гг.

Елена Юрьевна Зубкова – д. и. н., главный научный сотрудник, руководитель Центра социальной истории России, Институт российской истории РАН, Москва, Россия. Электронная почта: elena.zubkova@mail.ru
 Статья рассматривает реконструкцию коллективного портрета советских нищих середины 1950-х гг. – комплекс социально-демографических, экономических, социокультурных характеристик, дающих представление о нищих как маргинальной социальной группе. Исследование основано на материалах статистического учета нищих Министерства внутренних дел CCCР и документах Комитета государственного контроля СССР, который в 1954 г. организовал масштабную проверку состояния борьбы с нищенством в городах и регионах страны. Источники содержат информацию о численности, возрасте, уровне материального обеспечения, состоянии здоровья, мотивации людей, занимающихся нищенством. Обобщенные характеристики дополняют отдельные жизненные истории нищих. Факторы риска, толкающие людей на путь нищенства, были самыми разными: бедность, отсутствие социальной поддержки, преклонный возраст, инвалидность, болезнь (в том числе алкогольная зависимость), отсутствие жилья (бездомность), сиротство, многодетность, невозможность найти работу, одиночество, наличие судимости, утрата документов. Как правило, к нищенству вела их совокупность. Среди людей, занимающихся нищенством, можно выделить несколько социальных типажей: инвалиды, старики, одинокие матери с детьми, многодетные родители, люди с судимостью, выпускники детских домов, бывшая домашняя прислуга, лица, страдающие алкогольной зависимостью. Эти типажи, как и факторы риска, часто носили смешанный характер. Типичная фигура нищего – одинокий пожилой инвалид. Свою нишу занимали «профессиональные» нищие, хотя по численности они уступали «вынужденным» нищим. Советские нищие в основном рекрутировались из социально уязвимых слоев населения. Наличие значительного числа людей, для которых нищенство стало основной стратегией выживания, а также широкого спектра факторов риска, провоцирующих нищенство, свидетельствовало о серьезных изъянах советской социальной политики, особенно в части поддержки незащищенных слоев населения и разработки адаптационных стратегий для аутсайдеров.

Undocumented Immigrants, U.S. Citizens, and Convicted Criminals in Arizona

Using newly released detailed data on all prisoners who entered the Arizona state prison from January 1985 through June 2017, we are able to separate non-U.S. citizens by whether they are illegal or legal residents. Unlike other studies, these data do not rely on self-reporting of criminal backgrounds. Undocumented immigrants are at least 142% more likely to be convicted of a crime than other Arizonans. They also tend to commit more serious crimes and serve 10.5% longer sentences, more likely to be classified as dangerous, and 45% more likely to be gang members than U.S. citizens. Yet, there are several reasons that these numbers are likely to underestimate the share of crime committed by undocumented immigrants. There are dramatic differences between in the criminal histories of convicts who are U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants. Young convicts are especially likely to be undocumented immigrants. While undocumented immigrants from 15 to 35 years of age make up slightly over two percent of the Arizona population, they make up about eight percent of the prison population. Even after adjusting for the fact that young people commit crime at higher rates, young undocumented immigrants commit crime at twice the rate of young U.S. citizens. These undocumented immigrants also tend to commit more serious crimes. If undocumented immigrants committed crime nationally as they do in Arizona, in 2016 they would have been responsible for over 1,000 more murders, 5,200 rapes, 8,900 robberies, 25,300 aggravated assaults, and 26,900 burglaries.

Images of God, Religious Involvement, and Prison Misconduct among Inmates

ABSTRACTThe authors examine an offender’s images of God – beliefs concerning God’s forgiveness, engagement, and judgment – in relation to prison misconduct. They test whether these beliefs are related inversely to misconduct and, if so, whether the relationships are mediated by an inmate’s religious involvement. The authors apply latent-variable structural equation modeling to analyze data from a survey of inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Controlling for sociodemographic and criminal backgrounds, they find an inmate’s belief in God’s engagement and forgiveness to be inversely associated with disciplinary convictions, though belief in God’s judgment is not related to misconduct. The authors also find the relationship between an inmate’s image of a forgiving God and misconduct to be mediated by the inmate’s conversion narrative.

“It’s hard to reenter when you’ve been locked out”: Keys to offender reintegration

ABSTRACTUsing constructivist grounded theory, we conducted 15 semistructured interviews of men and women with criminal justice backgrounds, and three focus groups to examine group level offender reentry strategies. Participants comprised 20 formerly incarcerated men and women who were incarcerated in a New York state prison or at Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex. This study revealed four keys to offender reintegration: (a) linking offenders to society; (b) institutional and community anchors; (c) social supports; and (d) personal epiphany. The keys to offender reintegration provide an opportunity to interrupt patterns of relapse, rearrest, and recidivism.

Criminal Background and Job Performance

Job applicants with criminal records are much less likely than others to obtain legitimate employment, a problem that recent legislation, including Ban the Box, has attempted to address. The success of any remedial strategy depends on why hiring firms impose a hiring penalty and whether their concerns are founded on an accurate view of how ex-offenders behave on the job if hired. Little empirical evidence now exists to answer these questions. This paper attempts to fill this gap by examining firm-level hiring practices and worker-level performance outcomes. Our data indicate that the typical employee with a criminal record has a psychological profile different from other employees, with fewer characteristics that are associated with good job performance outcomes. Despite these differences, individuals with criminal records have an involuntary separation rate that is no higher than that of other employees and a voluntary separation rate that is much lower. Employees with a criminal record do have a slightly higher overall rate of discharge for misconduct than do employees without a record, although we find increased misconduct only for sales positions. We also find that firms that do not use information about criminal backgrounds seem to compensate by placing more weight on qualifications that are correlated with a criminal record, such as low educational attainment.

One Strike to Second Chances: Using Criminal Backgrounds in Admission Decisions for Assisted Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has changed its position toward housing individuals with criminal records from strict one-strike policies in the 1980s to providing second chances to returning citizens. Many public housing authorities have not updated their admission policies for using criminal backgrounds and still adhere to the one-strike philosophy. In response to new guidance from HUD, housing agencies are trying to find a balance between screening practices to identify demonstrable risk but avoid discrimination and violation of the Fair Housing Act. This research examines several questions critical to assisting housing providers to address the new guidance from HUD. Findings provide direction for housing providers on understanding recidivism risk rates, using useful lookback periods, considering risk and harm across crime types, and verifying rehabilitation and other evidence to design informed policies and procedures for using criminal records in admission decisions for assisted housing.

Religion and Misconduct in “Angola” Prison: Conversion, Congregational Participation, Religiosity, and Self-Identities

Prior research tends to find an inverse relationship between inmates’ religion and misconduct in prison, but this relationship has lacked empirical explanation. We therefore propose the religion-misconduct relationship is mediated by inmates’ identity transformation on existential, cognitive, and emotional dimensions. To test the mediation, we conducted a survey of inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (a.k.a. “Angola”). Controlling for inmates’ sociodemographic and criminal backgrounds, we estimated a latent-variable structural equation model of disciplinary convictions. Results showed that inmates’ religious conversion and, to a lesser extent, religiosity itself were positively related to existential and cognitive transformations as well as a “crystallization of discontent,” which were in turn associated with two types of emotional transformation in the expected direction. The crystallization of discontent and transformation in negative affect were related to disciplinary convictions as hypothesized, and their mediation of the effects of conversion and religiosity on misconduct were found to be significant.

Bias in Hiring Applicants With Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Involvement: A Follow-Up Study With Employers

Negative employer perceptions of job candidates with psychiatric and criminal backgrounds is one factor contributing to high unemployment rates among these groups. The current study replicated and extended Batastini et al., which evaluated stigmatizing beliefs toward hypothetical job applicants who had a known psychiatric and/or criminal history or neither (i.e., healthy control), as well as the effectiveness of a brief training component to mitigate biased attitudes. However, the current study addressed two major limitations of the original study by (a) including participants ( N = 259) who reported current, past, or expected hiring experience and (b) including employer benefits in the training component. Results were generally consistent with prior research suggesting that people with psychiatric and criminal histories experience greater stigma from employers; however, the brief educational training component demonstrated minimal impact on reducing negative attitudes regardless of the applicant’s identified psychiatric or criminal background.

An Experimental Study of the Effectiveness of Certificates of Recovery as Collateral Consequence Relief Mechanisms

Securing stable, quality employment is one of the most robust predictors of desistance from offending. Yet, obtaining gainful employment is difficult for ex-offenders due to the stigma of a criminal record. In recognition of employment-related barriers to re-entry, some state legislatures have created certificates of recovery/relief, which lift occupational licensing restrictions, limit employer liability for negligent hiring claims, and aim to ensure employment decisions about certificate-holders are made on a case-by-case basis. The present study presents the results of the first empirical test of the effectiveness of such certificates. Using an experimental correspondence design, fictitious applicants applied to entry-level jobs advertised in the Columbus metropolitan area using fabricated resumes with identical names, educational backgrounds, employment experience, and skills. Because the only differences between the resumes were the type of criminal record and the presence of a Certificate of Qualification for Employment (CQE), the results isolate the specific impacts of criminal records and certificates on employment opportunities. Results indicate that, for job seekers with a one-year-old felony drug conviction, having a certificate of recovery 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 equally likely to receive an interview invitation or job offer. These promising preliminary results suggest certificates of recovery/relief may be an effective avenue for lessening the stigma of a criminal record for ex-offenders seeking employment.

It takes two to tango: The state and organized crime in Russia

The article analyses the evolution of the state–organized crime relationship in Russia during the post-Soviet transition. Using a case study conducted in Tatarstan, which included interviews with criminal gang members and representatives of law enforcement agencies and analysis of secondary data, it argues that instead of a pattern of elimination or subjugation of Russian organized crime by the state, we see a mutually reinforcing ensemble which reproduces the existing social order. While both the strengthening of the state and organized crime actors’ own ambitions led to their increasing integration into political structures, a complex web of interdependencies emerged in which actors from criminal networks and political authorities collaborated using each other’s resources. This fusion and assimilation of members of the governing bureaucracy and members of an aspiring bourgeoisie coming from criminal backgrounds were as much the result of consensus and cooperation as of competition and confrontation.

To Whom Do Prior Offenders Pose a Risk? Victim–Offender Similarity in Police-Reported Violent Crime

This study assessed whether the higher risk of victimization among criminally active and socially disadvantaged individuals is related to violent incidents including offenders with criminal backgrounds. The analysis is based on a Finnish general population sample ( N = 69,635) using a 7-year-follow-up of police-reported violent incidents that enabled the measurement of criminal background of the “outside-sample” opposite parties involved in the incidents. The association between socioeconomic/criminal background and victimization grew stronger by the intensity of the criminal background of the offender. The results indicate that the risk posed by prior offenders is disproportionally targeted toward criminally active and disadvantaged individuals.