NCJ Number
170884
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1997) Pages: 337-351
Date Published
1997
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Interviews with offenders during the last 6 months of their sentence, employers who employed employing ex-offenders, and other specialists including probation and employment officers showed that ex-offenders seeking work in the United Kingdom received very little help from the criminal justice system and that both employers and ex-offenders were ignorant about existing risks and opportunities.
Abstract
Most offenders thought finding employment was important, and most thought jobs they had a realistic chance of getting were underpaid. Very few offenders ever had a continuous job or a job they considered to be fulfilling. While employment itself was no guarantee of a crime-free life and 20 of 47 offenders had some type of job at the time of conviction, a job that generated interest and sufficient income to live beyond subsistence level was viewed as a good incentive to give up offending. Young offenders were particularly unclear about their future employment goals, and many had not participated in voluntary courses while incarcerated. Adult offenders seemed to have more direction, and only a few regarded themselves as career criminals. Adults were concerned about how to approach employers. Getting over negative effects of imprisonment and coping with realities of daily life complicated the search for employment. Prison and probation officers identified the fluctuating prison population as a barrier to offering employment-related programs. Many employers hired ex-offenders, recognizing they represented a large pool of potentially skilled labor. Some employers, however, did not hire ex-offenders because they felt they were undeserving or posed risks to company staff. 38 references and 7 notes