By Diego Figueroa
The many shootings that have occurred during the past couple of years have awakened a massive movement to push government officials to better regulate gun control. This has even become one of the major determinants in next year’s presidential elections. “Here’s another important way to fight crime – empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves,” Presidential candidate Donald Trump said. “Law enforcement is great, they do a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time. Our personal protection is ultimately up to us.”
All the attention is going to finding solutions that will regulate the use of guns when in reality statistics show that 71 percent of gunshot related crimes are committed by people with previous arrest records. To ensure a better and safer future a greater investment of resources should be made to cure the source of the conflict; people committing the crimes.
An average of 688,000 Americans are released from prison each year, according to The United States Department of Justice. Due to the difficulties rehabilitated criminals face when attempting to re-enter mainstream society and the adverse socio-cultural effect this has, some states have implemented laws to incentivize and relatively facilitate the hiring process of these individuals. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City recently established a new law called the Fair Chance Act. This law prohibits employers to ask candidates about their criminal record until after extending an employment offer, it also prevents employers from disqualifying applicants based on the results of their background check unless the crime committed relates directly to or might be in conflict with the position being offered.
This bill will open the doors to employment for many New Yorkers who already paid their debt to society. Although the outcome is yet to be seen, studies have shown that former convicts that gain employment and remain employed for a significant period of time have less chances of committing another crime, and that the higher their wage is, the odds of them reoffending become smaller.
Employers across the board rely on the use of background checks as a tool to filter candidates that due to their previous experiences might not be beneficial to the formation of their work team. When asked if background checks guarantee a safer and more effective workforce, Ernest Henick, owner of a large New York City based construction company put it simply: “Not necessarily.” Henick’s company has been in business for more than 50 years and he routinely hires those with criminal records giving them a second chance at life. “When you look for the perfect candidate that will fulfill the requirements for a given position, you want someone that has proven himself to be constant throughout his work life and will have the discipline to undertake the responsibility that is given to him,” he says. “I have found that applicants with a criminal record apply for the lowest paying positions that require little to no knowledge about the trade. Although in my experience all former convicts working for us are complete success stories, they have worked their way up and have proven to be very loyal and indispensable to my organization. They are only looking for someone to believe in them and help them improve their quality of life.”
To this Mr. Henick also added that the low level of skills and aptitudes they posses before gaining employment is one of the main reasons why they have a hard time getting employed.
Donald Osorio, one of Mr. Henick´s most valued employees served 15 years in prison for drug trafficking. He believes that this bill sets foot to more regulations to come and will give people like him a second chance in life. However he also says that it is extremely difficult for an applicant to prove that he didn´t get rejected by the prospective employer based on the results of his background check. Mr. Osorio is currently 45 years old and he admits that having to find a new occupation after prison was one of the biggest challenges he has endured in his life. Like many other people that have been convicted for the same charges, during his pre-incarceration life, 80 percent of his income came from illegal activities. “Starting from the bottom of the barrel again was not easy at my age,” Mr. Osorio said. “All off a sudden I found myself reinventing my life one more time. And after living an institutionalized life for that many years, reentering society and managing to survive on a minimum wage salary was not a simple task either.”
For some former convicts, the agony of having to economically pull their own weight in society overcomes the need to obey the law. According to statistics released by the United States Department of Labor, 30 percent of adult offenders released from state prisons are rearrested within the first six months of their release. Even worse, within three years of their release from prison this increases to 67 percent, or two out of three, ex-offenders returning to prison.
In fact, statistics show that besides facing discrimination, people coming out of prison are more likely to be uneducated and struggling with substance abuse issues than the general population. According to the article Employment After Prison by The Urban Institute, eight months after prison, 65 percent of respondents had been employed at some point, but only 45 percent were currently employed. Those who held a job while in prison or participated in job-training programs had better employment outcomes after release.
The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has also joined the fight to eradicate unemployment amongst New Yorkers being released from prison. On February 2015, 3 years after its release, Cuomo announced that his program Work for Success has helped more than 9,400 formerly incarcerated individuals find employment. This program was conceived as a jobs initiative aimed at reducing the high unemployment rate. People coming out of prison have the option of enrolling in this program, after doing so they are send to one of the multiple New York 101 Career Centers to get training on a trade of their interest. The New York State Departments of Labor and Corrections and Community Supervision, in collaboration with other state agencies have combined forces to ultimately gather the best possible candidates out of their capacitation centers with prospective employers in different industries. There are many companies currently listed under the Work for Success program. After the training has been completed, former convicts are sent for interviews with companies that will hired them based on the skill they acquire under the Work for success program.
“By helping formerly incarcerated people find jobs, this program is growing the workforce and strengthening families across the State,” said Governor Cuomo in a press release. “Gainful employment is imperative for people to begin rebuilding their lives, and the Work for Success program brings that opportunity to those who often lack adequate means to support themselves otherwise – and that means safer and more prosperous communities for all New Yorkers.”
Making education more accessible to former convicts, either inside or outside prison bars, is the most important step in helping them succeed in the search of employment, according to advocates. In actuality 40 percent of state and federal prisoners have neither a high school diploma nor a GED and nearly a third have a physical impairment or mental conditions. That´s why government programs like Work For Success
There are admirable efforts being made on the nonprofit sector as well. The Fortune Society, is a New York City-based organization founded in 1967 that offers housing, employment, education, mental health services, and other programs to some 3,500 men and women each year, soon after they are released from prison. This organization offers rehabilitated criminals housing options, employment services, education, substance abuse treatment and health services.
Jamell Francis, a former convict now serving as a volunteer at The Fortune Society, described the organizations as “a safe haven for people that don’t know where to start again in life.”
Former convicts reoffending is not the only ingredient causing the recent violent chain of events. But According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics there are currently 2.3 million people incarcerated in prisons and jails across America. Nationally, 97% of the offenders in jail today will be released and then return to the communities from which they came. Statistics show that 30% of adult offenders released from state prisons are rearrested within the first six months of their release. Government needs to pass more laws and private action needs to be taken to lower the statistics of reoffending.