Would you hire a parolee?

[pinto]

I do some work for a pre/post release program with guys getting out of the state prison system. Employment is an enormous hurdle for the guys that want to get legit work.

(The others have "jobs" waiting...)

What's your take on hiring a parolee?

Thanks.

[China_cat]

1. I don't think I'd take anyone who was a violent offender

and definitely wouldn't take a child molester. The rest, I don't know. I've hired some pretty strange people when I had my shop open so a parolee might just be a bit more 'normal' than what I'm used to.

[BobRossi]

2. Depends....

How many convictions/charges, severity of crime.

[donco6]

3. It's not legal for me to hire one.

All school district employees, including custodians, maintenance, bus drivers, etc., have to have background checks. No one with a felony of any kind can be hired in Colorado.

Otherwise, I would seriously consider giving them a chance. Frankly, I wonder how many of our CURRENT employees have committed felonies but have not been caught!

[Booster]

4. This is a hard one for me. My nephew was just released for a

petty burglary and we were talking about this; I had to tell him that if I had a company and the had the choice of hiring someone I knew was just let out of jail and someone who had no record, I would have to go with the guy with no record. It takes a mighty liberal boss who would hire someone they know did a crime. I know my thinking is wrong on this, but to me it just seems logical since I wouldn't know either one of the guys personally.

[Speck Tater]

5. I think that whether the person is or is not a parolee...

...is not the relevant question. If the person is right for the job and has the kind of personality that fits in with the rest of the group I don't see any problems. If he's some swaggering jerk with a chip on his shoulder out to prove how tough he is, then he doesn't get the job. And that would be true whether he was a parolee or not.

[Redneck Socialist]

25. I have and it worked out fine

Depends on the person and the job.

On edit: Oops, supposed to be a reply to the OP. Sorry.

[AccessGranted]

6. Yes...I Would

I work in the legal field (quasi-criminal defense)and I've learned that people make mistakes sometimes or they are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That doesn't mean that they are a bad person for a lifetime. People do change, although some don't. Some are also good at pretending that they've changed. It's hard to assess someone's sincerity sometimes. I would consider the crime the person was accused of. For example, I wouldn't put someone who committed embezzlement or theft in a position that directly handles money or put somebody that committed who a crime under the influence in a liquor store. You know what I mean. I would interview the person in-depth, perhaps make them fill out some type of questionnaire or maybe write a brief essay. Everybody deserves a second chance. It's so hard for people to find work with even a minor glitch on their criminal record, so I can imagine how hard it is for someone who just got out of jail. I guess you'd just have to judge a person by the content of their character, let that person's eyes be the window to the soul, have faith and hope for the best. A lot of the time the fact that they can't find a job and nobody trusts them or believes them is what makes them regress and revert back to their old ways. Good luck.

[Chan790]

7. I would...

but I'm self-employed and a freelancer so I'm not sure what exactly I'm hiring for.

I don't think that an employer, with some very specific public safety exceptions such as police, schools and hospitals, should be allowed to ask however. You did your time, it shouldn't follow you after that.

They can't ask you any one of 100's of other things, why should that be fair game?

[proud patriot]

8. Sure , but I also might not ...It would depend on the individual

and what kind of job I was hiring for .

[pinto]

19. Makes sense to me. n/t

[LeftyMom]

9. It'd take a heck of a reccomendation

I probably would not some random applicant off the street if they had a recent criminal record but if somebody I trust recomended them I could be talked into a probationary hire (which is all we do anyhow.)

[politicat]

10. Sure.

Depends on the person, the skills, the job, and a lot of other factors.

Several members of my extended family have made stupid mistakes (usually economic at root, rather than violent or sexual). They learned from them, but often got stuck in a cycle of poverty that led them back to criminal behavior because they had no other alternatives.

Just because you fuck up once doesn't mean you should spend the rest of your life paying for it. Most crime is of the slippery slope, gee that was dumb type. Most criminals aren't mean or vicious or rapacious by nature. But it's a cycle.

Would I hire a multiply convicted jewel thief as a courier for the international diamond trade? I just might, because that person would know we'd be watching him like a hawk. Would I hire a peeping tom for a daycare center? Maybe - if his kink is grownup naked ladies, kids would probably be safe. A 19 year old convicted of sleeping with his 16 year old girlfriend after her parents threw a fit? No problem.

[pinto]

12. This is not what I was talking about. The "peeper" wouldn't be around

to discuss employment opportunities, necessarily. Sex offenders' post release problems usually are about housing.

Thanks.

[politicat]

27. They do inter-relate...

W/O housing, getting a job is difficult, at best. Without a job, housing is impossible to find.

Would I hire Ken Lay? Maybe to push the lawnmower, but you know, I'm not sure I'd trust him with my roses.

[nosmokes]

11. being an ex-con myself, i would and i have.

[pinto]

13. ...

[nosmokes]

24. sorry, din't mean to scare ya...

:hi:

[pitohui]

14. no can do

the liability risk is one i can't afford to take, i do feel bad abt it, but i have to look out for myself first, no one is going to catch me if i fall

[madrchsod]

15. depends

i have personally been involved in a situation involving a parolee. he is white ,intelligent,and has a great personality. he had no problem getting a job but if he were black or a latino he`d been shit out of luck. many guys i saw were young "kids" with wifes ,babies or young children. they came from some corner somewhere and will go back to that corner cause there is no where else to go. some of these guys if they had a chance and somewhere else to live would be pretty good workers. yet we all know they will probably never get that chance because there are no jobs on this corner but hustling this and that. there`s just no where to go. when i saw their wifes and kids sitting in the waiting rooms i knew this country is totally fucked up.
if i could i would hire someone if i believed in his sincerity

[Fridays Child]

16. "Victimless" criminals? No problem.

Others, it depends on the criminal history and the job.

[cally]

17. Maybe

It really depends on who and what crime they committed. I would have to find someone who was willing to discuss the situation and my concerns. I would have less problem hiring someone who stole money from the gas station than someone who stole from their employer or beat up their wife.

[seabeyond]

18. tough one. person would really have to sell themselves

it isn't fair. i dont like it. they need a job like all others. i have a brother that has a felony and has to put on application. makes it about impossible for him to find a job. but then i wouldn't hire him either, as good of a worker i know that he is, i also know he is capable of justifying stealing from me. if i had two applications, one on parole and one a clean record, all else the same, i would hire the person that doesn't have a conviction

[Lone_Wolf]

20. Sure...

If they can't earn an honest living then they'll probably turn back to crime.

[Silverhair]

21. Depends on the crime and on the job. NT

[crispini]

22. Well, if I were in a position to make that kind of decision,

yes, I would, looking at the specifics of course, as many others in this thread have said.

I guess doing voter registration has taught me just how many people in our society have some kind of felony in their past. I have met many. I always enjoy telling people who have finished their parole that they are in fact able to vote again.

[jzodda]

23. Depends

I would have to really get the background of the persons crime, how he spent his time in prison, and hear from some people who really know the person. For me the nature of the crime, how long the guys rap sheet is and did he do his time on his best behavior?

How easy it would be to get all the above information would also influence my decision.

[shugah]

26. i would

and i have.

nonviolent offenders - i never had any violent offenders apply, so i don't know for sure how that would have gone.

i do think that people leaving prison need help if they are going to turn things around. having a job and some income can go a long way toward providing an opportunity to do that. not that my goal in hiring was all that noble - i needed someone to fill a non-prestigious position for not bad pay, and the applicants needed a job.

i think if an employer is able to hire a parolee, they should. and should extend all benefit of doubt, and not expect the parolee to be a criminal on the job. it won't always work out, but often it does, and it gives a fellow human an opportunity to regain some self respect.

but i also understand the hurdle you mention. and probably there are not enough employers open-minded/desperate/hopeful/non-cynical enough to place parolees.

tough job you got there, pinto.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

28. No... I'm Not Hiring Any Former Bush* Administration Employees...

eom

[elehhhhna]

29. I DID!

The bitch lied about her references, her recent background, had them a ll faked up nicely (I called them) and was the sneakiest, most disruptive, lying troublemaker/sociopath I've ever met.

The day I fired her I told her if she'd applied just HALF her 'talent' for GOOD ( as opposed to evil--didn't say that part) she'd have been a million dollar salesman. She was very bright and I SAW the light go on when I said it, but alas it was way too late.

Drama drama drama. Her son's fake maybe-brain-tumor, her fake ovarian cancer--wow. Good times, good times.

Good luck Kelly (if that WAS your name.) Hope you got right and are doing well.

[Mutley]

30. Depends.

I would need information from the prison concerning the parolee's behavior in the weeks/months/years before release. If it was obvious that the parolee had been genuinely trying to turn his/her life around then, yes I would hire that person.

Repeat offenders, violent offenders, and people like that wouldn't necessarily get an automatic "NO" from me, but something would have to be worked out to ensure my safety and the safety of the others working at my place of business.

[Ernesto]

31. I hired a guy that was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon....

He just came out of the blue, knocked on my job-trailer door. He did a great job for me & my company. He was even an acting foreman in the 5th & last year of his apprenticeship. He is now a journeyman UNION sheet metal worker and a good citizen.
Seems that he went to San Quentin for simply defending himself from an attacker in a bar. (nice justice system.....)

[jmowreader]

32. Depends on the crime

If it was my company:

I'd take marijuana criminals. Owning, smoking, dealing...if it's only pot, no problem.

I'd look very hard at an LSD criminal. If he had some skills I needed, I'd probably go ahead and hire.

No hard-drug criminals.

I don't want an embezzler, but I'd look at other economic criminals.

I'd have to think hard before hiring a violent criminal. Depends on the crime. Same deal with sex offenders. If you got busted for statutory rape because your 18th birthday present was a night in the sack with your two-month-younger girlfriend and her dad found out, I'd hire you. If your crime was owning the nation's largest collection of child pornography, I wouldn't hire you.

[titoresque]

33. Yes

No child molesters though!
I think we're all one really bad choice or "oops" away from being parolees ourselves so I think it depends on the person. I don't think I'd base my decision on one thing alone.