Ban the Box Argumentative Essay

One of the main barriers that inmates face when they are released from prison is limited cognitive skills, limited education and work experience, and substance abuse or other mental health problems. Substance abuse and other mental health problems limit employability because it limits the job readiness that is required for employment (Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2003). Another issue that is faced when inmates are released into society is that any skills that they did have prior to conviction has diminished greatly and they face lower pay due to their diminished or lack of skills, and the attitudes that have been developed during their time in prison deeply affects their attitude during their search for employment. Offenders also face another barrier when searching for employment. Many businesses can be held legally liable for any criminal action that their employees may cause (Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2003). These barriers that offenders face upon release is why solid solutions and planning must be implemented when considering the integration of ex-felons into society and preparation for reentry must begin well before the scheduled release date in order to successfully reintegrate an inmate into society and reduce the rate of recidivism.

Would-be employers frown heavily on felony convictions. Family members who are law abiding citizens may ostracize felons. Punishing offenders in these ways can ultimately slow recovery. All we seem to be providing is a continual revolving door for offenders. “Most drug prisoners will return to the community after a couple years away, and will then return to prison because we have not dealt with the complex set of core issues that lead to them ending up incarcerated in the first place” (McVay). We cannot simply arrest our way out of the nation’s drug problem. There must be programs developed which incorporate the structure of prison along with individualized rehabilitation.

Employment is always an issue when it comes to an ex-offender. Not only is it hard for the everyday person in society to find employment due to a poor economy, but it is much harder for an ex-offender. While in prison, prisoners are usually made to work. Unlike other programs such as counseling, prison work programs can be justified for reasons other than rehabilitation of the individual offender. From the perspective of the policy maker in the criminal justice system, they can help manage the population by occupying the time of the prisoners, aid in the operation of the prison, create revenue (maybe), and provide a

Once upon a time, Americans could proudly say that America was the land of freedom and opportunity. As the Pledge of Allegiance states, “One nation under God, Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” However, under the current criminal justice system, more and more people lose their liberties because of the crimes they have committed. According to Roy Walmsley, a consultant of the United Nations and Associate of the International Center for prison studies, “In October 2013, the incarceration rate of the United States of America was the highest in the world, at 716 per 100,000 of the national population. While the United States represent about 4.4 percent of the world 's population, it houses around 22 percent of the world 's prisoners.” These people are not only prisoners, but they are also parents, sons, and daughters - the loved ones of families. The number of people that have been incarcerated also represents the number of families that have been shattered.

A history of incarceration reduces an ex-felon’s chance of being hired by fifteen to thirty percent as well as the annual number of weeks worked by six to eleven weeks. That is a large amount of people! This is a big problem that is not to be dismissed. Having been incarcerated leads to struggles in finding a job. Some employers do not even consider hiring people with any kind of criminal record, they are much more likely to hire someone without one instead (Prison Legal News). These statistics and studies show that unemployment rates are in fact higher for

There are more reasons why its hard for recently released prisoners to find a job including the stigma that goes along with being a convicted offender. “There are several reasons why incarceration reduces the employability and subsequent earning potential of released inmates. First, the stigma attached to incarceration makes it difficult for ex-prisoners to be hired. Employers are reluctant to hire individuals with a criminal record, because it signals that they may not be trustworthy. A survey of employers in five major cities across the country revealed that two-thirds of all employers

Individuals with a criminal record re-offend mostly because of status discrimination which in turn leads to high unemployment rates. Having a criminal record in today’s society is damning when trying to find employment. Opportunities for an education are slim due to this, leaving them only their shot to gain entry into the workforce. A slew of jobs requiring specific things like licenses are barred from the formerly incarcerated. When released back into society prisoners have to once again try to adapt to a society that has been changing in their absence. Put back into the world with only their clothes and little money they might have had. Often at times with little education or employment prospects it seems that they would just end up back in jail. They head somewhere familiar ensuring that they will be accepted and taken in. Back to their neighborhood and back to old friends they haven’t seen in years. Convicts return back to those bad influences. In order to combat this drug treatments, housing, job training, classes and peer groups are established to assist them. Once released, convicts have many tools at their disposal for getting the help they need but it depends on what state they’re in and on the person. Will they seek help though? Will they themselves willingly avoid what got them into trouble in the first place; from returning home only hoping for the best without trying? With the fear of constant failure and

After releasing probationers and parolees, the key to achieve supervision and to reduce recidivism is employment. The link between unemployment and crime is a major risk for a risk factor. The reciprocity of crime and unemployment has been studied by many researchers. According to the authors “prison is a cycle; they commit serious crimes, are arrested and incarcerated, serve their time in prison, are released, commit new crimes, and are arrested and re-incarcerated (Kethineni, & Falcone, 2007, p.36). The role of employability is particularly important in ex-offenders’ efforts to avoid recidivism. There one assumption that states that persons who value employment would be reluctant to engage in criminal behavior. The stigma of having a criminal record effects the offender’s opportunities while trying to obtain a job.

When looking at the current situation in the United States concerning the number of people serving the balance of their sentence in the community of corrections one must understand that there are different parts that make up the multi areas of community of corrections. These areas are probation which are normally sentences for misdemeanor criminal offences. Parole is another area of community of corrections that deal with people convicted of felony offences. The current condition of parole as of 2016 showed approximately 4,537,100 were under supervised parole or probation, of that 3,789,800 were on probation and 870,500 were on parole. (Kaeble, 2018). This number was a decrease from the beginning of that same year. Another key factor of this

Historically, individuals with criminal records have faced a tough uphill battle when trying to break the cycle of crime by getting a job. The lack of ability to get gainful, legal employment leads to a high rate of recidivism. With no effective path forward, they end up committing crime to survive, leading to more arrests, more jail time and a general downward spiral in life.

It is becoming a well-known fact that the United States is the world leader, not in education, but in the number of incarcerated persons. The United States of America claims to be the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” but more and more each day, the United States is becoming the “land of the jailed and the home of the criminal.” This epidemic of incarcerated persons is the result of one of the following things: 1. America is too much in love with the idea of segregating the good people and the bad people or 2. America has put too many people in jail and some of them could be released.

Having a criminal background of any sort hampers your ability to get a job quite a bit. Many employers look at criminal histories to filter out applicants they don’t believe will fit. They have the legal right to deny you a job if they feel the gravity of the crime or the length of time since it happened doesn’t suit their liking. Some jobs cannot be given to those with a criminal background.

When a prisoner is released, he or she must establish a new life. Whether the prisoner’s new life is good or bad, it is up to him/her to end up where he/she wants to be. As prisoners are released to society, they begin their lives by finding a job. However, they might not be possible due to their criminal record. They might appear dangerous or a threat, because of their criminal record, when in reality they just made a few mistakes. According to Tyjen Tsai and Paola Scommegna, writers for the Population Reference Bureau, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world! This is caused by severe sentences for petty crimes such as shoplifting and loitering. The purpose of prisons is to rehabilitate and educate the public about braking the law, yet many prisoners’ crimes are not met with equal sentences but too severe. America has high incarceration rates because of laws making it easy to get into prison, poor rehabilitation programs, and for the incarceration of people whom should not be.

Times. http://www.nytimes.com.2008/02/19/world /americas/19iht-princeton.1.10175351.html Fitzsimmons, W. 2014. Time out or Burn out for the Next Generation. Retrieved from

Banning the box is important because, many criminals that come out of jail are unable to find jobs due to this box that former felons are required to check. This puts them on a path back toward prison. If we are able to ban this box, we will be able to help keep people out of jail and it our working economy.