Attitudes of Employers, Corrective Services Workers, Employment Support Workers, and Prionsers and Offenders Towards Employing Ex-Prisoners and Ex-Offenders

• NCJ Number: 210763
• Author(s): Joe Graffam; Alison Shinkfield; Barbara Lavelle; Lesley Hardcastle
• Date Published: April 2004
• Length: 71 pages
• Grant Number(s): 26/02-03
• Sponsoring Agency: Criminology Research Council
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology; Deaklin University
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Downloaded July 29, 2005.

Annotation

This report presents the findings of a study on the attitudes of employers, employment services workers, corrective services workers, and prisoners and offenders regarding the employability of ex-offenders in Australia.

Abstract

Employment following prison release is a key factor in the successful reintegration of offenders. However, many barriers stand in the way of ex-prisoners gaining and maintaining employment, such as lack of education and transportation as well as societal attitudes toward ex-offenders. The current study investigated the attitudes of four groups of people (employers, employment services workers, corrective services workers, and prisoners and offenders) regarding the employability of ex-prisoners in order to provide insights into the post-release experiences of offenders in Australia and to highlight the barriers to their employment. Participants were 1,181 individuals from each of the 4 groups who completed questionnaires in which they rated the probability of hypothetical persons with different forensic backgrounds obtaining and maintaining employment. Participants also rated the relative importance of a number of employment-related skills and characteristics and the likelihood of members of the general workforce and ex-prisoners exhibiting those skills and characteristics. Results of statistical analyses indicated significant differences on the ratings of the five groups. Employers rated the probability of ex-prisoners and ex-offenders maintaining employment lower than did the other three groups. All participants rated members of the general workforce as much more likely than ex-prisoners to exhibit any of the employment-related skills and characteristics. The findings indicate that ex-prisoners face significant barriers to gaining and maintaining employment following release in Australia. Policy implications are discussed and include the need to fund specialist employment agencies to help ex-prisoners gain and maintain appropriate employment. Tables, references