If about 1/3rd of a country's citizens have a criminal record, isn't that country kind of evil?

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by shadowne

I'm having a hard time believing one in three adults has a criminal record. Not buying it. 98% of the people I know do not have a criminal record.

I am another who finds it hard to believe that 1/3 people have a criminal record unless it includes moving violations and/or parking tickets.

I DK the criminal record of everyone I know because the topic never comes up.
But come on now, 1/3?

Looking at the footnotes in the OP's link, it appears it did not account for repeat offenders and multiple offences per arrest.

I know a woman who claims her ex husband had more than 100 DUI arrests and multiple convictions, going back to the early 70's.

[TheDusty]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

I am another who finds it hard to believe that 1/3 people have a criminal record unless it includes moving violations and/or parking tickets.

I DK the criminal record of everyone I know because the topic never comes up.
But come on now, 1/3?

Looking at the footnotes in the OP's link, it appears it did not account repeat offenders.

I believe it. Plenty of people become drug or sex offenders by doing something relatively harmless. 19 year old and a 17 year old get too intimate, parents find out, BOOM! A sex offender. Get caught with a joint; Boom! Drug charges.

A criminal doesn't have to go to jail either. People often get off on probation or house arrest. I know someone who got caught with weed and was on parole. But if he were to fill out the application in the OP, he'd have to say yes to that absurd question.

As a rule, unless you committed a seriously violent crime, I'm not sure how it's relevant to most jobs. I can understand not wanting to hire a convicted rapist or murder (but at the same time, if they aren't in jail, it probably means they aren't still a threat and may as well be allowed to fry chicken for a living), but plenty of crimes are hardly good character judgments. And even if some are, people make mistakes. If someone committed a crime 10 years ago, served their time (if they had any), and is an upstanding citizen now, there isn't a single justifiable reason for them to continue to pay for that crime.

If you ask me, the question shouldn't be if you've ever been convicted of a crime, but if you've been convicted in X amount of years. Like, if you have a gram of cocaine 7 years ago, that shouldn't be relevant to your employer since it hasn't happened in the last 3-5 years. More extreme crimes could be the exception. If you murdered or raped someone, or whatever else could be considered seriously wrong, I can understand an employer asking. But still, if you killed a guy because you were in with the wrong crowd 30 years ago and have since got your life together, I say give them a chance.

[shadowne]

Originally Posted by 70Ford

Good. Because I didn't say that.



I don't know if anyone can prove your new, different statement. I put the link up for what I posted, though.

In recent decades, the number of Americans who have had contact with the criminal justice system has increased exponentially. It is estimated that about one in three adults now has a criminal history record - which often consists of an arrest that did not lead to conviction, a conviction for which the person was not sentenced to a term of incarceration, or a conviction for a non-violent crime.1

Thanks for being patient with me and I truly mean that. Today is a migraine day and did read the part that has been quoted a couple of times now, I just missed the "estimated one in three adults" in your source. Please accept my apologies. That being said...I must lead a very sheltered life because I truly do not know but a handful of people who have any criminal record, even for a non-violent crime.