Conviction In The United States

The United States has one of the highest rates of arrests and incarcerations in the world. In the United States, it is estimated that about one in three adult citizens can be found on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) databases. (Dolan, 13) The majority of these arrests are of people who have committed nonviolent offenses. Many of the people who are arrested are free to go without conviction. However, both people who are incarcerated and people who are arrested but not convicted share one thing in common. Their record with the law can deeply affect their reintegration back into society. The questions are, how are they affected and who is more likely to be affected? First, we must examine the demographics of those arrested in order to understand who is more likely to be affected by being in trouble with the law. When breaking down the statistics of the demographics of those arrested, there is a noticeable racial disparity amongst who is arrested. A lot of the …show more content…
(Dolan, 13) Even having their name simply jotted down and added to a list could be a possible problem during background checks. Employers can ask about prior convictions or simply do a background check of an individual, and it is up to their discretion whether or not they consider someone with a criminal background. More often than not, employers are hesitant to employ someone with a record, regardless of their experience and certifications. The chances of being denied employment are greater if the potential employee happens to be a person of color. A member of Khmer Girls in Action’s Young Men’s Empowerment Program experienced difficulties obtaining a job due to a police officer marking him down as someone who was affiliated with gang members, despite not being in the gang himself. (Ahuja and Chlala,