What is the Relationship Between Employment and Recidivism?

Employment is important for many reasons, and one of the most important is that it leads to lower recidivism rates.

A study by the Prison Policy Initiative showed that the #1 predictor of whether someone with previous criminal convictions will re-offend is poverty. Simply put, if someone can’t survive making an honest living due to being denied opportunity, they will likely turn to illegal means.

And the effects that employment has on recidivism are significant. A study by the United States Sentencing Commission showed that if returning citizens can find work within one year of release, recidivism rates are cut by 40%.

These studies and others demonstrate why it is important for businesses and communities to support second chance employment.