Our criminal justice system is not working
A Broken Criminal Justice System in the Way of Racial and Economic Justice
Over the past 30 years Minnesota's criminal justice system has ballooned. Despite a crime rate that has remained steady, the number of people in the corrections system has grown nearly 300 percent since 1980 . One out of every four American adults has a criminal record of some sort . And the heaviest burden of the criminal justice system falls on communities of color, who make up less than 15 percent of Minnesota’s total population but more than 46 percent of those in prison . This is not because people of color commit more crimes, but because of proven patterns of racial bias in the system and a history of racial inequity in our country.
People with criminal records face serious barriers to finding jobs. It’s easier than ever to go online and look up someone’s record. Most employers – as many as 90 percent – conduct background checks on all applicants, and as many as two thirds refuse to hire those with records , even if the record is years old or unrelated to the job. Excluding people with records feeds into Minnesota’s worst-in-the-nation gap between unemployment rates for blacks and whites, with blacks three times more likely than whites to be unemployed . Racial disparities in the criminal justice system turn into racial disparities in employment.
We all suffer when people with criminal records who want to change and be a positive part of the community are excluded from jobs. We all suffer when our family and community members are caught in a cycle of despair and hopelessness. Hiring policies that prevent people with records from finding employment stand in the way of true public safety, racial equity, and the economy we want – one that works for all of us.