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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:09 pm
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Results for criminal convictions
8 results foundAuthor: Owens, Emily Greene Title: Media and the Criminal Justice System Summary: People are influenced by what they see on television. With this in mind, legal scholars and criminal justice practitioners have begun to express concern that the discrepancy between how the justice system operates and how it is portrayed in popular media has hindered the system’s ability to function effectively. This interference has been coined the “CSI effect”; specifically, the use of forensic technology in crime dramas such as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” has limited prosecutors’ ability to obtain a conviction without DNA or other forensic evidence. Combining data on television viewing habits, convictions in state and federal courts, and capacity measures of publically funded forensics labs, I present evidence that these anecdotal concerns have merit, although the CSI effect primarily affects conviction rates through plea bargaining. I estimate that on average, increases in CSI popularity were weakly correlated with increases in conviction rates in federal and state court. However, in jurisdictions with small or unproductive forensic labs, the direction of the effect reverses. Details: Unpublished paper, 2010. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2013 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1632396 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1632396 Shelf Number: 127712 Keywords: Criminal ConvictionsMediaTelevision Dramas |
Author: National Employment Law Project Title: Ban the Box: U.S. Cities, Counties, and States Adopt Fair-Change Policies to Advance Employment Opportunities for People with Past Convictions Summary: Nationwide, 100 cities and counties have adopted what is widely known as "ban the box" so that employers consider a job candidate's qualifications first, without the stigma of a criminal record. These initiatives provide applicants a fair chance by removing the conviction history question on the job application and delaying the background check inquiry until later in the hiring. Momentum for the policy has grown exponentially, particularly in recent years. There are a total of fourteen states representing nearly every region of the country that have adopted the policies - California (2013, 2010), Colorado (2012), Connecticut (2010), Delaware (2014), Georgia (2015), Hawaii (1998), Illinois (2014, 2013), Maryland (2013), Massachusetts (2010), Minnesota (2013, 2009), Nebraska (2014), New Jersey (2014), New Mexico (2010), and Rhode Island (2013). Six states - Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island - have removed the conviction history question on job applications for private employers, which advocates embrace as the next step in the evolution of these policies. Federally, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) endorsed removing the conviction question from the job application as a best practice in its 2012 guidance making clear that federal civil rights laws regulate employment decisions based on arrests and convictions. The Obama Administration's My Brother's Keeper Task Force also gave the movement a boost when it endorsed hiring practices "which give applicants a fair chance and allows employers the opportunity to judge individual job candidates on their merits." Fair chance policies benefit everyone because they're good for families and the local community. At a recent event in Oakland for employers to discuss reentry issues, one business owner spoke to the personal benefit he finds from hiring people with records. "I've seen how a job makes all the difference," says Derreck B. Johnson, founder and president of Home of Chicken and Waffles in Oakland. "When I give someone a chance and he becomes my best employee, I know that I'm doing right by my community." This resource guide documents the 14 states, Washington D.C., and the 100 cities and counties -that have taken steps to remove barriers to employment for qualified workers with records. Six states, Washington D.C., and 25 cities and counties now extend the fair chance policy to government contractors or private employers. Of the localities, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbia (MO), Montgomery County (MD), Newark, Philadelphia, Prince George's County (MD), Rochester, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. extend their fair chance laws to private employers in the area. A chart summarizing all the policies is at the end of this guide. Details: New York: NELP, 2016. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/Ban-the-Box-Fair-Chance-State-and-Local-Guide.pdf?nocdn=1 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/Ban-the-Box-Fair-Chance-State-and-Local-Guide.pdf?nocdn=1 Shelf Number: 135147 Keywords: Background ChecksBan the BoxCriminal ConvictionsCriminal RecordsEx-Offender Employment (U.S.) |
Author: Agan, Amanda Title: Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Statistical Discrimination: A Field Experiment Summary: "Ban-the-Box" (BTB) policies restrict employers from asking about applicants' criminal histories on job applications and are often presented as a means of reducing unemployment among black men, who disproportionately have criminal records. However, withholding information about criminal records could risk encouraging statistical discrimination: employers may make assumptions about criminality based on the applicant's race. To investigate this possibility as well as the effects of race and criminal records on employer callback rates, we sent approximately 15,000 fictitious online job applications to employers in New Jersey and New York City, in waves before and after each jurisdiction's adoption of BTB policies. Our causal effect estimates are based on a triple-differences design, which exploits the fact that many businesses' applications did not ask about records even before BTB and were thus unaffected by the law. Our results confirm that criminal records are a major barrier to employment, but they also support the concern that BTB policies encourage statistical discrimination on the basis of race. Overall, white applicants received 23% more callbacks than similar black applicants (38% more in New Jersey; 6% more in New York City; we also find that the white advantage is much larger in whiter neighborhoods). Employers that ask about criminal records are 62% more likely to call back an applicant if he has no record (45% in New Jersey; 78% in New York City) - an effect that BTB compliance necessarily eliminates. However, we find that the race gap in callbacks grows dramatically at the BTB-affected companies after the policy goes into effect. Before BTB, white applicants to BTB-affected employers received about 7% more callbacks than similar black applicants, but BTB increases this gap to 45%. Details: Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, School of Law, 2016. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: U of Michigan Law & Econ Research Paper No. 16-012 : Accessed June 28, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2795795 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2795795 Shelf Number: 139526 Keywords: Ban the BoxCriminal ConvictionsCriminal RecordsEx-offender EmploymentJob DiscriminationRacial Discrimination |
Author: Craigie, Terry-Ann Title: Ban the Box, Convictions, and Public Sector Employment Summary: In 2004, the grassroots civil rights organization All of Us or None, advocated for the implementation of Ban the Box (BTB) policies to improve the employment outcomes of the correctional population, especially within the public sector. However, scholars argue that young low-skilled minority males may be subject to employer use of statistical (racial) discrimination. The study employs quasi-experimental methods to identify the impact of public sector BTB policies on public sector employment. In general, the study finds that public sector BTB policies increase the odds of public sector employment for those with convictions by close to 40%; however, the study uncovers no evidence of statistical (racial) discrimination against young low-skilled minority males. Details: Unpublished paper, 2017. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2017 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2906893 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2906893 Shelf Number: 145366 Keywords: Ban the Box Criminal ConvictionsEx-Offender Employment Racial Discrimination |
Author: Shoag, Daniel Title: No Woman No Crime: Ban the Box, Employment, and Upskilling Summary: A sizable number of localities have in recent years limited the use of criminal background checks in hiring decisions, or "banned the box." Using LEHD Origin-Destination Employment and American Community Survey data, we show that these bans increased employment of residents in high-crime neighborhoods by as much as 4%. These increases are particularly large in the public sector. At the same time, we establish using job postings data that employers respond to ban-the-box measures by raising experience requirements. A perhaps unintended consequence of this is that women, who are less likely to be convicted of crimes, see their employment opportunities reduced. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School, 2016. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: HKS Working Paper No. 16-015: Accessed May 10, 2017 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2782599 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2782599 Shelf Number: 150550 Keywords: Ban the BoxCriminal Background ChecksCriminal ConvictionsEx-Offender EmploymentEx-Offenders |
Author: Mungan, Murat C. Title: Statistical (and Racial) Discrimination, 'Banning the Box', and Crime Rates Summary: This article presents law enforcement models where employers engage in statistical discrimination, and the visibility of criminal records can be adjusted through policies (such as ban the box campaigns). I show that statistical discrimination leads to an increase in crime rates under plausible conditions. This suggests that societies in which membership to disadvantaged groups is salient (e.g. through greater racial or religious heterogeneity) are, ceteris paribus, likely to have higher crime rates. Attempting to fix the negative impacts of statistical discrimination through policies that reduce the visibility of criminal records increases crime rates further. Moreover, such policies cause a greater negative effect for law abiding members of the disadvantaged group than members of the statistically favored group. Details: Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, 2017. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 17-13: Accessed May 10, 2017 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2940743 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2940743 Shelf Number: 145399 Keywords: Banning the BoxCriminal ConvictionsCriminal RecordsEx-offenders EmploymentRacial Discrimination |
Author: Stacy, Christina Title: Ban the Box and Racial Discrimination: A Review of the Evidence and Policy Recommendations Summary: Ban-the-box policies, for which employers remove questions about criminal history from applications and delay background checks until later in the hiring process, have gained popularity in recent years. These policies are intended to give people with criminal histories the opportunity to display their qualifications in the hiring process before being assessed-and potentially rejected-based on this history. Over 150 cities and counties and 34 states and Washington, DC, have adopted ban-the-box policies (Doleac and Hansen 2016; Rodriguez and Avery 2016). Many private employers have also voluntarily adopted ban-the box-hiring policies, including Walmart, Target, the Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Koch Industries Inc. These policies are also being applied outside the workforce context. Some universities have adopted a ban-the-box approach to school applications, and the District of Columbia's City Council recently approved a law banning the box from housing applications. Even some hospitals have voluntarily adopted ban-the-box laws (Thill, Abare, and Fox 2014). Research on ban the box has shown that it increases callback rates for people with criminal records (Agan and Starr 2016). Agan and Starr (2016) find that ban-the-box policies "effectively eliminate" the effect of having a criminal record on receiving a callback. Case studies from specific cities support these results, showing that hiring rates for people with criminal records increased after ban the box was implemented (Atkinson and Lockwood 2014; Berracasa et al. 2016). Additionally, ban the box as a social movement has drawn attention to the plight of people with criminal records and has increased awareness of the challenges they face beyond employment. But recent research has concluded that ban the box also reduces the likelihood that employers call back or hire young black and Latino men (Agan and Starr 2016; Doleac and Hansen 2016). These findings suggest that when information about a person's criminal history is not present, employers may make hiring decisions based on their perception of the likelihood that the applicant has a criminal history. Racism, harmful stereotypes, and disparities in contact with the justice system may heavily skew perceptions against young men of color. These results do not necessarily mean that ban the box should be eliminated. Additional policies, regulations, and alterations can ensure that ban the box improves employment outcomes for people with criminal histories without causing negative effects on people of color. In this report, we review the evidence on job access for people with criminal records, racial discrimination in the job market and justice system, and the history of ban the box. We also propose policy additions and alterations that may help eliminate the unintended consequences of ban the box on young black and Latino men while maintaining or improving the benefits for people with criminal records. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2017. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 19, 2017 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88366/ban_the_box_and_racial_discrimination_1.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88366/ban_the_box_and_racial_discrimination_1.pdf Shelf Number: 145636 Keywords: Ban the BoxCriminal ConvictionsCriminal RecordsEx-offender EmploymentJob DiscriminationRacial Discrimination |
Author: Matthews, Ben Title: Criminal careers and the crime drop in Scotland, 1989-2011: an exploration of conviction trends across age and sex Summary: Rates of recorded crime have been falling in many countries in Western Europe, including Scotland, since the early 1990s. This marks the reversal of a trend of increasing levels of crime seen since the 1950s. Despite this important recent change, most analyses of the 'crime drop' have focused on recorded crime or victimisation rates aggregated to national or regional level. It is little known how patterns of offending or conviction have changed at the individual level. As a result it is not known how the crime drop is manifest in changing offending or conviction rates, or how patterns of criminal careers have changed over this period. The aim of this thesis is to explore trends in convictions across a number of criminal careers parameters - the age-crime curve, prevalence and frequency, polarisation and conviction pathways - over the course of the crime drop in Scotland. The results presented here are based on a secondary analysis of the Scottish Offenders Index, a census of convictions in Scottish courts, between 1989 and 2011. Analysis is conducted using a range of descriptive statistical techniques to examine change across age, sex and time. Change in the age-crime curve is analysed using data visualisation techniques and descriptive statistics. Standardisation and decomposition analysis is used to analyse the effects of prevalence, frequency and population change. Trends in conviction are also examined between groups identified statistically using Latent Class Analysis to assess the polarisation of convictions, and trends in the movement between these groups over time provides an indication of changing pathways of conviction. This thesis finds a sharp contrast between falling rates of conviction for young people, particularly young men, and increases in conviction rates for those between their mid-twenties and mid-forties, with distinct periods of change between 1989- 2000, 2000-2007 and 2007-2011. These trends are driven primarily by changes in the prevalence of conviction, and result in an increasingly even distribution of convictions over age. Analysis across latent classes shows some evidence of convictions becoming less polarised for younger men and women but increasingly polarised for older men and women. Similarities in trends analysed across latent classes between men and women of the same age suggest that the process driving these trends is broadly similar within age groups. Increases in conviction rates for those over 21 are explained by both greater onset of conviction and higher persistence in conviction, particularly between 1998 and 2004. The results of this thesis suggest that explanations of the crime drop must have a greater engagement with contrasting trends across age and sex to be able to properly explain falling conviction rates. These results also reinforce the need for criminal careers research to better understand the impact of recent changes social context on patterns of convictions over people's lives. The distinct periods identified in these results suggest a potential effect of changes in operation of the justice system in Scotland leading to high rates of convictions in the early 2000s. However, the descriptive focus of this analysis and its reliance upon administrative data from a single country mean this thesis cannot claim to definitively explain these trends. As a result, replication of this research in another jurisdiction is encouraged to assess whether trends identified are particular to Scotland. Details: Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, 2017. 364p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 25, 2018 at: https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/25810 Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/25810 Shelf Number: 150375 Keywords: Crime StatisticsCrime TrendsCriminal CareersCriminal Convictions |