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July 2, 2009

Study Could Ease Worry Over Hiring Ex-Offenders

Kevin Johnson of USA Today interviews Safer Foundation's Veronica Cunningham about job prospects of people with criminal records.

A study funded by the Justice Department concludes that over time accused robbers, burglars and batterers pose no greater risk to employers than job candidates in the general population.

In a review of 88,000 arrestees in New York state, Carnegie Mellon University investigators found, for example, that after about 7½ years the “hazard rate’’ for an 18-year-old first-time arrestee for robbery declined to the same rate as an 18-year-old in the general population. For 18-year-olds arrested for aggravated assault, it took about four years to reduce the risk.

Hazard rates are calculated based on the time the suspect remains free from rearrest. The calculation also accounts for the fact that risk of arrest generally declines with age. 

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