Public Opinion on Criminal Records and Employment: A Test of Competing Theoretical Models

Abstract

Much prior research has examined the sources of individuals’ attitudes toward the application of punishment via the justice system. Some findings from this literature suggest that punitive attitudes are expressive, retributive, and closely connected to racial resentment. Other research, however, emphasizes that these sentiments are instrumental, utilitarian, and associated with the management of perceived risk. To date, little research has explored public attitudes regarding employment as a reentry barrier, and it is unclear which of these perspectives is more salient for understanding support for employers’ use of criminal records in hiring decision-making. Using survey data on a national sample of American adults ( N = 1,202), the current study finds stronger support for an instrumental model than an expressive model.

Beyond the eternal criminal record: Public support for expungement

“…DeWitt and Denver (2020) showed that the public is more supportive of hiring people with records, even violent felony records, when they have positive credentials, such as a supportive reference letter. Lehmann, Pickett, and Denver (2020) found that instrumental, risk-related concerns, such as perceived recidivism risk, played a stronger role than retributive factors in public opinion about hiring people with criminal records. And Lageson et al (2019) found that perceived recidivism risk increased support for allowing private companies to publicize criminal records online.…”

“…Collectively, these findings lead us to hypothesize that the public will support expungement most when records are old or are limited to juvenile offending, are for nonviolent offenses, and are counterbalanced by rehabilitation signals, such as positive credentials. Given the public's general opposition to record-based stigmatization (Lageson et al, 2019), and its belief that employment reduces reoffending (Lehmann et al, 2020), we also expect the public will support efforts to ensure the accuracy of any available criminal record information.…”

“…By contrast, keeping criminal records eternal suggests that criminality is stable and thus retaining this public label provides employers, landlords, and others with valuable information on which to make decisions. In this regard, studies have found that redeemability-like measures are positively related to inclusionary practices that extend beyond the point of conviction, including support for restorative justice (Moss et al, 2019), the use of parole (Dodd, 2018), expanding housing assistance programs for people returning from prison (Ouellette, Applegate, & Vuk, 2017), and increasing the hiring of persons with felony records (Lehmann et al, 2020;Reich, 2017).…”

“…In this context, the current study examines whether belief in offender redeemability increases support for criminal record expungement. To ensure that this effect is not due to a more global correctional ideology, controls are introduced for punitiveness and support for rehabilitation (Lehmann et al, 2020). Controls are also introduced for political ideology and party, which prior studies have shown influence views about publicizing criminal records online and hiring people with them (Lageson et al, 2019;Lehmann et al, 2020).…”

“…Prior research has assessed crime-related public opinion by focusing on both global and specific attitudes (see, e.g., Applegate, Cullen, Turner, & Sundt, 1996;Cullen, Fisher, & Applegate, 2000;Lehmann et al, 2020). In this regard, the measure global support for expungement was created using the question in Table 2.…”