NCJ Number
79884
Journal
Tijdschrift voor criminologie Volume: 22 Dated: (July/August 1980) Pages: 172-180
Date Published
1980
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The correlation between a criminal conviction and the chances of ex-offender employment in the Netherlands is assessed on the basis of a 1977 study of 140 offenders.
Abstract
In that study, Amsterdam lawyers administered questionnaires to 229 male suspects on their ostensible crimes and the course of their cases. The response rate was 85 percent. Employment data on 140 of the cases were analyzed in the present context. The study method involved multiple linear regression analysis with dummy variables. Results of other analyses show that the employment situation of convicts in general is not favorable even before imprisonment. In the year before detention, most work irregularly or not at all; most are either employed in the construction industry or in factories. After release, ex-convicts have great difficulty finding employment, making the likelihood of their unemployment even greater. The work situation of first offenders is usually better before detention than that of recidivists, but with each successive conviction and with hard core recidivism, the individual's employment status worsens. Both recidivism and unemployment increase the individual's chances of receiving a prison sentence. Unemployment does not necessarily indicate that the individual will commit another offense but may be interpreted by police, prosecutor, and judge to be significant for sentencing. Notes are supplied.