victims of the justice Essay

THE MARK OF A CRIMINAL RECORD
WILL “BAN THE BOX” MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
The “ban the box” initiative is a promising and constructive policy innovation that furthers the goals of the prisoner reentry movement. In voluntarily ignoring past criminal convictions for most public-sector jobs in the first instances, local governments can lead the way toward reducing job discrimination against ex-offenders. If cities successfully demonstrate that ex-offenders can be safely hired for most public-sector jobs, a strong argument will exist for repealing many de jure restrictions on ex-offender licensing and employment. Moreover, private employers’ discrimination against ex-offenders could come to be viewed as invidious and unreasonable.
Although the “ban the box” campaign represents a major step toward regularizing the status of ex-offenders, it also illuminates the magnitude of ex-offender challenges to reentry. By definition, the “ban the box” movement only reaches those ex-offenders who are job ready and job capable. Banning the box will be of most assistance to ex-offenders with the most social capital, education, skills, competent presentation of self and, perhaps, only a single conviction for a nonviolent offense. It may be less helpful to ex-offenders who lack psychological and emotional stability, education, job skills, social skills and work experience, to those with an extensive record of recidivism, and to those with a conviction, or with multiple convictions, for a horrific or a violent crime.
Even for those ex-offenders in a position to benefit from the “ban the box” reforms, it is not yet clear how aggressively cities will implement and administer these reforms. As with many social programs, the devil will be in the details. The cities that have committed themselves to banning the box have not said that a criminal record is irrelevant. They have said that ex-offenders should be encouraged to apply for public-sector jobs and that a criminal record will only be considered after the applicant passes initial competency screening. What happens at that point? Maybe, as in Boston, the human resources department will never tell the hiring officer about the applicant’s prior conviction. But what happens in Minneapolis, which continues to require background checks on approximately two thirds of its applicants? Will ex-offenders be referred out for final hiring? If criminal history information is shared with the hiring officer, will that officer have formed a favorable view of the applicant’s capabilities and be willing to look beyond a prior crime?
Many “ifs” remain. We do not yet know how liberally or restrictively various cities will administer their new or strengthened ex-offender employment policies. Several cities promise to promulgate guidelines on what offenses/records could support a department’s refusal to hire. These guidelines may not be easy to construct. They will have to consider the relevance of all types of convictions and the length and quality of criminal careers to all sorts of jobs and employment settings. It is obvious that a

Show More

Essay delivering justice to the victim

Rape Victims In The Criminal Justice Process

Victim Inequalities In The Criminal Justice System

Explore the reasons why victim participation creates tension and conflict in the contemporary criminal justice system. Essay

Restorative Justice Model

Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice System

Diversionary Restorative Justice

Restorative Criminal Justice Essay

Disadvantages Of Restorative Justice