ex offenders getting into work

Ivrytwr3

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

Maybe because they admire the steps someone has taken to turn their life around, and also recognise that what has happened before does not necessarily denote who the person is today.

I have worked with ex offenders and find them to be some of the best employees going, often the gratitutde for a 2nd chance creates some of the hardest and most loyal employees you could hope for

Ha! Ha! coughs *bollox* coughs

Mum used to work with Young offenders, pleaded their cases to employers to give them a chance, unfortunately the majority who were given a chance let her and the employer down eventually.

I don't think there is any answer to this one, employers have their pick these days and like what has been previoulsy said, offenders will not be at the top of the list.

Viscous circle really, now he won't get employment, he may revert back to his old ways just to put food on the table.

dandelionclock30

Maybe because also their not bigoted and narrow minded like you hereto learn.
Perfect people living perfect lives who've never done anything wrong!!
O.P your friend will be best off doing some courses and voluntary work to give him upto date references and to prove that hes rehabilitated as has been said. Also there are places that help ex offenders apart from Probation like Chaplaincy Projects etc.However due to the cuts theres not as much help about as there used to be.
Also a lot of ex offenders go down the self employment route, could he look into any courses to help him with this?
If hes done labouring before then has he gone round all the agencies and registered? theres also places in my city where volunteers can help do up houses etc for homeless people.They get their expenses, references and help with doing relevant NVQs. I know an ex offender who got a paid plastering job by doing this first.
Theres no easy answers and its bad for everybody at the present time job wise.He needs to be doing things though to move himself forward.

HappyMJ

He doesn't have to mention it unless asked. Just do some labouring agency work for a little while then build up contacts and get more work.

Oh..and don't even try and apply for the obvious stuff like schools and elderly homes...etc...

saintjammyswine

Assuming he is on JSA, he could speak to his advisor about Sector Based Work Academies (similar to Work Programme but a different scheme). The include Pre Employment Training (in construction it is Prep for CSCS test, employability skills etc), the CSCS test and card, a guaranteed interview with relevant employer and 2-8 weeks work experience on site with relevant sub or main contractors. They have worked well particularly for ex-offenders as the employers get to see the person and their work ethic over a conviction on a CV. As one of the large main contractor house builders told me, "if we didnt employ ex-offenders then there would be no groundworkers on building sites!".

heretolearn_2

I'm not being bigoted and narrow minded, I'm being realistic.

Most criminals will continue to be criminals. There are a few who will turn their lives around. I hope the OPs friend is one of these. I just pointed out that words are cheap and if he is genuine he needs to work at proving it by doing training or voluntary work, as it's extremely unlikely he'll get a job straight out of jail without any intermediate 'not in trouble' period to prove he genuinely is trying to change. It's not sensible to imagine that an employer will put him at the top of the list over people without a record. It's not a case of being narrow minded, it's a case of making a business decision. You take the best person. the OPs friend is unlikely to fall into that category right now.

I understand no-one is perfect, but you live in la-la land if you think an employer will go 'yes, you sound perfect!' right now to this lad. There's not perfect, and there's having a record for violence (can't be trusted with customers and colleagues) and theft (can't be trusted, well, with anything!). He has to prove that he is different now. Simple in theory. Hard to do in practise. But if he is genuine he'll do it.

My advice was good. Get professional help with your problems. Get help from organisations such as Nacro (who I have actually worked with in the past by the way). Get some qualifications. Get some work experience through volunteering..

agrinnall

The stats do support heretolearn's position. But given the increase in reoffending rates between the first couple of years out of prison and 5 years later, one might wonder whether a lack of a job is a factor in driving people back into crime, and that if people did have that chance early on the rates later on might be lower.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/reoffending/2012-compendium-reoffending-stats-analysis.pdf

heretolearn_2

Sorry, but other people on benefits don't suddenly take up crime because they can't get a job. There was someone posting on here who hadn't managed to get a job for something like 12 years, but he didn't go out and start robbing people because of it. No one is 'driven back into crime.' Other people manage on long-term benefits. so can they.

I know I'm sounding a bit like a Daily Mail reader here, and honestly I'm not, I'm quite a liberal really, but I've seen a lot and I know that most of these lads are just scrotes, plain and simple. They have brains. They have free will. They can make their decisions. In the most cases. There is a minority living the sort of lives in the sort of places most of us couldn't comprehend, and those poor sods had little chance of any other type of life. Those I do feel compassion for. But they are the minority.

Mischa8

heretolearn wrote: »

I'm not being bigoted and narrow minded, I'm being realistic.

Most criminals will continue to be criminals. There are a few who will turn their lives around. I hope the OPs friend is one of these. I just pointed out that words are cheap and if he is genuine he needs to work at proving it by doing training or voluntary work, as it's extremely unlikely he'll get a job straight out of jail without any intermediate 'not in trouble' period to prove he genuinely is trying to change. It's not sensible to imagine that an employer will put him at the top of the list over people without a record. It's not a case of being narrow minded, it's a case of making a business decision. You take the best person. the OPs friend is unlikely to fall into that category right now.

I understand no-one is perfect, but you live in la-la land if you think an employer will go 'yes, you sound perfect!' right now to this lad. There's not perfect, and there's having a record for violence (can't be trusted with customers and colleagues) and theft (can't be trusted, well, with anything!). He has to prove that he is different now. Simple in theory. Hard to do in practise. But if he is genuine he'll do it.

My advice was good. Get professional help with your problems. Get help from organisations such as Nacro (who I have actually worked with in the past by the way). Get some qualifications. Get some work experience through volunteering..

Just read half of this thread but I can't believe some of the bigoted comments including this one.

I myself have known several *ex criminals* mostly breaking and entering or ABH/GBH etc. Several of them a good 10-20 years on are now happily married with kids and have various jobs, office, bus driver etc. A few of them have no intention of returning to a life of crime. One of them was even married to an policewoman!

Did you also know that quite a few criminals (taken from an Evening Standard article/interviews) cannot read and write and this has hampered them from applying for jobs, passports etc? So this may be a reason why some do actually turn to a life of crime? as not many other options out there.

I actually temped for the Probation Service for about a year or so and YES, some of the criminals had hard lives, would reoffend etc. but some were normal people whose lives had got into a downward spiral of crime OR were from backgrounds so appalling (drug addict mother etc) that they themselves found it easy to get into a life of crime. That is no justification for crime though.

anyway I am just saying it is not all black and white.

heretolearn_2

nope STILL don't think I'm a bigot.

Did I say no ex-cons will turn their lives round? No. So don't pretend I did. Of course there are some who will succeed at this and thank goodness. But I don't care if you have ex-con mates who are now honest. What does that prove? Nothing. So I do, funnily enough. But facts are facts. The majority of ex-cons do re-offend. There's no arguing with the figures.

For example: Dig through table A2 of this report. http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/mojstats/2011-compendium-reoffending-stats-analysis.pdf/

It shows that the one year re-offending rate for males convicted of burglary and sentenced to up to 12 months, is 68%.

It's an interesting study as it studies the effect different types of sentencing have on the re-offending rates.

If they can't read or write, or they can't get a job, I'm sorry for them, but it's offensive to suggest that's motivation for committing burglary. How come other people who can't read or write, or who can't get a job, don't do the same thing?

Are people who commit crimes babies that they are incapable of making a decision for themselves? To say 'oh poor dears, they can't help it because of X' is actually extremely condescending about them. I at least credit them with their own intelligence and thought processes. My own son is dyslexic and can barely write but god you'll go a long way before you meet anyone with his IQ. Those who excuse criminal behaviour must think these people have any brains at all...

I have sympathy for people who are mentally ill and end up in the criminal system (too many, especially women). Otherwise, not much.

All I'm saying is put your money where your mouth is. Why is an employer going to believe that the OPs friend is one of the 32% who will not re-offend rather than the 68% who will? Some form of action as well as words...retraining, voluntary work, getting help with alcohol/anger problems, using resources such as NACRO will help the OPs friend be one of the 32%. What's wrong with that? If there's help there, take it!

cavework

It shows that the one year re-offending rate for males convicted of burglary and sentenced to up to 12 months, is 68%. Quote

and I as an employer am supposed to take this risk?
why? out of sympathy , human compassion?
There are enough people out there looking for employment who have never commited a crime. all they want is a decent job to support their family.
Many have been made redundant after years with the same Company.
These people don't get the benefit of advisors , probation officers, all checking if they can cope with the big bad world.
Most are on JSA and are treated as just another number in an ever increasing queue.

The rose tinted spectacles doesn't work with me and although I fully understand that offenders will have a tough time once they have served a sentence they should also understand that trust works both ways and it was their decisions and lifestyle that put them in this position in the first place.
Why should I refuse a job to someone who has contributed and lived within the rules in favour of someone who decided the rules didn't apply when the going got tough?
This may be harsh but it is the truth.