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Article
Publication date: 13 May 2020

Nicole Carrie Jones Young and Kemi Salawu Anazodo

This paper aims to explore how incarcerated women prepare to manage the stigma of a criminal history as they look to re-enter the workforce after release from incarceration.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how incarcerated women prepare to manage the stigma of a criminal history as they look to re-enter the workforce after release from incarceration.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a qualitative, case study research design including interviews and observations to explore the experiences and self-perceptions of incarcerated women within the context of employment.

Findings

Five themes that emerged and influenced the perception of stigma as these incarcerated women prepared for release into the labor market were career self-efficacy, the intersection of identity (women and criminal history), self-perceptions of prison identity, stigma disclosure and social support for employment.

Research limitations/implications

As the management literature expands to include more diverse and marginalized populations, current understanding of theories and concepts, such as multiple identities and stigma disclosure, may operate differently as compared to traditional management samples.

Practical implications

Organizations can collaborate with correctional facilities to ensure that individuals with a criminal history are trained and prepared to re-enter the workplace upon release.

Social implications

As employment is one of the biggest determinants of recidivism (i.e. return to incarceration) for individuals with a criminal history, organizations have the unique ability to assist in substantially decreasing the incarcerated population.

Originality/value

This study explores criminal history and highlights some of the nuances to consider when exploring an understudied and marginalized population, such as women with a criminal history.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 June 2022

Nicole Young and Jessica Keech

Many employers express concern over consumer response to employees with criminal histories. However, consumers' responses may be less negative than employers assume. The authors…

Abstract

Purpose

Many employers express concern over consumer response to employees with criminal histories. However, consumers' responses may be less negative than employers assume. The authors examine consumers' response to organizations that hire employees with criminal histories.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors surveyed participants randomly assigned to one of two conditions: purchasing services from an employer that hires individuals with criminal histories or from an employer whose inclination to hire individuals with criminal histories is unknown. The authors considered four service providers, among which the length of customers' time and involvement with employees varies: a grocery store, restaurant, auto-repair shop, and hotel.

Findings

Participants were no more or less likely to patronize the restaurant, the repair shop, or the grocery store that hired individuals with criminal histories, and no more or less likely to alter their willingness to pay for these services. Consumers were less likely to stay at a hotel that hired employees with criminal histories, but this difference was mitigated when customers were provided with an explanation of the benefits of hiring individuals with criminal histories.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the need for further research on perceptions that limit hiring of individuals with criminal histories and other similarly marginalized populations.

Practical implications

This research addresses a common justification – consumer concern – for not hiring individuals with criminal histories.

Social implications

Increased employment improves individual outcomes, such as access to stable housing and food, as well as larger outcomes, such as public safety.

Originality/value

This paper highlights a population often marginalized in the hiring process. The findings challenge a common justification for not hiring individuals with criminal histories.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 60 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 June 2019

Kemi Salawu Anazodo, Rose Ricciardelli and Christopher Chan

The purpose of this paper is to explore the social stigmatization of the formerly incarcerated identity and how this affects employment post-release. The authors consider the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the social stigmatization of the formerly incarcerated identity and how this affects employment post-release. The authors consider the characteristics of this identity and the identity management strategies that individuals draw from as they navigate employment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 men at various stages of release from federal institutions in Canada. Participants were actively searching for employment, intending to or would consider searching for employment, or had searched for employment in the past post-incarceration. Participant data were simultaneously collected, coded and analyzed using an inductive approach (Gioia et al., 2012).

Findings

Formerly incarcerated individuals have a unique awareness of the social stigmatization associated with their criminal record and incarceration history. They are tasked with an intentional choice to disclose or conceal that identity throughout the employment process. Six identity management strategies emerged from their accounts: conditional disclosure, deflection, identity substitution, defying expectations, withdrawal and avoidance strategies. More specifically, distinct implications of criminal record and incarceration history on disclosure decisions were evident. Based on participants’ accounts of their reintegration experiences, four aspects that may inform disclosure decisions include: opportune timing, interpersonal dynamics, criminal history and work ethic.

Originality/value

The authors explore the formerly incarcerated identity as a socially stigmatized identity and consider how individuals manage this identity within the employment context. The authors identify incarceration history and criminal record as having distinct impacts on experiences of stigma and identity management strategic choice, thus representing the experience of a “double stigma”.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2016

Carrie Trojan and Gabrielle Salfati

The purpose of this paper is to determine how offenses co-occur in the backgrounds of homicide offenders and if identified groups of offenses reflect an underlying theoretical…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine how offenses co-occur in the backgrounds of homicide offenders and if identified groups of offenses reflect an underlying theoretical construct or theme; and to determine if offenders specialize in thematically similar offenses.

Design/methodology/approach

The previous convictions of 122 single-victim homicide offenders were examined using smallest space analysis to identify groups of co-occurring offenses across offenders’ criminal histories.

Findings

The results showed a thematic distinction between violent vs instrumental offenses and 84 percent of offenders specialized in offenses within a single dominant theme, suggesting that the framework can differentiate the majority of offenders’ criminal backgrounds. Possible sub-themes were identified that could suggest further demarcation of the themes and provide a more refined framework that may be of even greater utility in differentiating offenders.

Research limitations/implications

This study utilized data from a single American city that may affect generalizability of the findings. The exclusion of a timeline for prior offending precludes consideration of offending escalation.

Originality/value

The current study uses an alternative approach to conceptualize specialization according to how offenses co-occur in the backgrounds of homicide offenders. This approach is less restrictive than considering the offenses in isolation to one another and may be of greater utility in empirically derived offender profiling models. The thematic framework developed herein can act as a foundation for future studies.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2019

Jakari N. Griffith, Candalyn B. Rade and Kemi Salawu Anazodo

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of research conducted over the past ten years (2008–2018) that examines the relationship between criminal record and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of research conducted over the past ten years (2008–2018) that examines the relationship between criminal record and work in the USA. Furthermore, a research agenda is presented that may help to better inform future investigations of the relationships shared between these variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review 58 peer-reviewed research articles identified in four electronic article databases: Business Source Premier, PsycINFO, ProQuest Sociology Collection and ProQuest Criminology Collection.

Findings

Of the 58 articles fitting the final inclusion criteria, 37 evaluated employee specific related outcomes, whereas 24 took the perspective of the employer (including some overlap). Studies employed a variety of methodologies and techniques, with qualitative interviews, archival data and audit methods as the most prevalent. Few studies examined the relationships between criminal record and work in ways that demonstrated improved employment outcomes for both employer and the employed together.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers to synthesize interdisciplinary literature related to criminal record and employment, including an assessment of the varying methodological treatments and perspectives used in research studies to assess this relationship. The authors believe the findings from this research effort will provide much needed research direction for investigators seeking to make contributions to improving employment outcomes.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2018

Matt DeLisi, Alan Drury and Michael Elbert

Homicide is the most severe form of crime and one that imposes the greatest societal costs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the homicide circumplex, a set of traits…

Abstract

Purpose

Homicide is the most severe form of crime and one that imposes the greatest societal costs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the homicide circumplex, a set of traits, behaviors, psychological and psychiatric features that are associated with greater homicidal ideation, homicidal social cognitive biases, homicide offending and victimization, and psychopathology that is facilitative of homicide.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the data from a near population of federal supervised release offenders from the Midwestern USA, ANOVA, multinomial logistic, Poisson and negative binomial regression models were developed.

Findings

Greater homicidal ideation is associated with homicide offending, attempted homicide offending and attempted homicide victimization and predicted by gang activity, alias usage, antisocial personality disorder and intermittent explosive disorder. These behavioral disorders, more extensive criminal careers, African American status and gang activity also exhibited significant associations with dimensions of the homicide circumplex.

Originality/value

Developing behavioral profiles of offenders that exhibit homicidal ideation and behaviors are critical for identifying clients at greatest risk for lethal violence. The homicide circumplex is an innovation toward the goal that requires additional empirical validation.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2013

Lauren Kilgour

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it explains the current records management practices for Canadian criminal records. Second, it details the larger social and cultural

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it explains the current records management practices for Canadian criminal records. Second, it details the larger social and cultural implications of those practices, toward considering the role records management plays in long‐term sustainable offender rehabilitation outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a thorough literature review, which considered research on the history of Canadian criminal record management; current records management procedures for Canadian criminal records; and current Canadian social and cultural understandings of offenders, criminal records, and the relationship between criminal record management and public policy.

Findings

This paper finds that Canadian records management procedures for criminal records can have grave impacts on offenders' lives. Specifically, this paper explores how records management practices are shaped by the social norms and values embedded in public policy mandates, which ultimately appear to disrupt, rather than support, offenders' rehabilitation.

Research limitations/implications

This paper's research is limited by its current approach. Consequently, it encourages researchers to further develop its findings in the future, both domestic to Canada and internationally.

Practical implications

This paper includes implications that advocate for increased awareness about how public policy dictated records management procedures can limit offenders' ability to reintegrate into society.

Social implications

This paper addresses the grave social consequences and burdens offenders face when they are unable to seal their previous criminal record.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the need to study how offenders' rehabilitation is affected by the policy dictating the management of their criminal record.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Michelle VanNatta

As the US criminal justice system and immigration system increasingly interconnect, even immigration policy that is facially race-neutral may involve biased practices. The purpose…

Abstract

Purpose

As the US criminal justice system and immigration system increasingly interconnect, even immigration policy that is facially race-neutral may involve biased practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine how institutional racism in criminal legal processes creates particular barriers for many individuals of Latin American and/or African descent facing deportation proceedings in US immigration courts, particularly in assertions regarding gang affiliation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on ethnographic observation. The work utilized a grounded theory approach. The observation took place at public master calendar hearings at a Midwestern immigration court between 2013 and 2015, yielding over 400 pages of fieldnotes that were coded and analyzed for patterns.

Findings

Non-citizens in the USA, including lawful permanent residents, are subject to deportation if labeled “criminal.” Racial profiling and criminalization of communities of color create heightened risk of deportation. Assumptions that common tattoos or urban fashion indicate criminality, reliance on Facebook posts to “prove” gang membership, and the use of arrest records as evidence of criminality even if charges were dropped all put immigrants of Latin American and/or African descent at heightened risk.

Research limitations/implications

The ethnographic method used has strong validity but weaker reliability and generalizability.

Practical implications

This paper can help analysts, policymakers and advocates consider how to adapt systems to increase equity.

Originality/value

This research provides direct examples and ethnographic evidence of how race and cultural bias in criminal legal processes and immigration policies can affect people in deportation proceedings.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 18 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2021

Ashley N. Hewitt, Eric Beauregard and Jonghan Sea

Early classification systems of fire setting have suffered from several limitations, including the lack of empirical validation and the focus mainly on the offender motivation…

Abstract

Purpose

Early classification systems of fire setting have suffered from several limitations, including the lack of empirical validation and the focus mainly on the offender motivation behind this type of crime. More recent research shows that looking at the crime scene behaviors may present a more fruitful approach for helping to solve fire setting offenses. The purpose of this study is to advance current scholarship by developing a new typology of fire setting based on the combination of offender motive and crime scene behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

Latent class analyses were used with a sample of 134 fire setters who committed 275 arsons from the Korean National Police Agency to identify distinct fire setter motivations and crime scene contexts. Chi-square and crosstabulation analysis were then conducted to determine whether crime scene behaviors were associated with distinct offender motives and vice versa. Lastly, to improve the external validity of each of the latent classes, chi-square analyses were performed using variables related to the fire setters' criminal history, sociodemographic characteristics and arson classification.

Findings

Five motive subtypes were identified as well as five distinct crime scene contexts in which serial fire setting occurs. A significant association among these classes suggests that it is possible to infer fire setters’ motive from crime scene behavior and vice versa.

Originality/value

This comprehensive typology of fire setters has potential for profiling of unknown offenders as well as for suspect prioritization in police investigations.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 July 2021

Lais Meneses Brasileiro Dourado and Benedikt Fischer

This paper aims to examine sentencing decisions for drug-trafficking offences in the criminal courts of the city of Recife to address a gap in quantitative research on drug…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine sentencing decisions for drug-trafficking offences in the criminal courts of the city of Recife to address a gap in quantitative research on drug sentencing and incarceration in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

Using original data obtained from the Court of Justice for Pernambuco, the research used multivariate regression analysis to investigate the effect of case processing, offender, and offence characteristics on sentence length.

Findings

A key finding of the research is the influence of two legal factors on sentence length: admitting to a drug-trafficking offence and being categorized as “mitigated trafficking”. Results also indicate that first-time defendants were more likely to be categorized as mitigated trafficking, stressing the importance of criminal history on predicting sentencing outcomes. “Mitigated trafficking” is a distinct category of drug-trafficking created by the Drug Law nº. 11.343 (2006) to protect defendants considered novices in the illicit drug market from receiving longer imprisonment sentences.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that the policy strategy of having a legal distinction for a specific type of defendant appears to be effective in impacting sentence length for drug-trafficking convictions. Future research could explore how similar strategies could be adopted to influence sentencing for other vulnerable groups. However, focussing on a defendant records or prior convictions as an eligibility criterion could disproportionately impact defendants who are caught in a cycle of re-offending for socio-economic reasons or a need to finance a substance use disorder.

Originality/value

This research address a gap in quantitative sentencing research in Brazil and contributes to the broader literature by presenting results that are aligned with previous studies conducted in North America.

Details

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3841

Keywords

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