NCJ Number
191878
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 5 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 2001 Pages: 1-16
Date Published
2001
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article considers whether employment is a "turning point" in the lives of criminal offenders.
Abstract
The article presents a brief overview of research on the relationship between work and crime. Work programs appear to be more effective for adult offenders than for adolescents and young adults. The quality of employment also appears to be important for reducing recidivism, although it is difficult to make definitive causal inferences based on observational evidence from existing studies. A complicating factor is that ex-offenders' job prospects are limited by employers' preferences, low levels of education and training, and fragmented personal networks or social capital. Work-based programs can reduce arrest rates for ex-addicts, but appear to be less effective in reducing future substance use. Prison-based drug treatment programs may be more effective for reducing substance use. The article claims that at least four questions concerning the work-crime relationship remain unanswered: (1) What are the long-term job prospects for ex-offenders 10, 20, or 30 years after release? (2) Are ex-offenders better off working among other ex-offenders or with non-offenders? (3) What are the interactions between formal and informal controls? and (4) What features of employment and training programs are most attractive to offenders? Table, figures, references