{"id":6643,"date":"2012-05-31T11:30:59","date_gmt":"2012-05-31T16:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=6643"},"modified":"2012-12-20T10:02:36","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T16:02:36","slug":"jobs-for-felons-why-it-matters-even-if-youve-never-been-locked-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2012\/05\/31\/jobs-for-felons-why-it-matters-even-if-youve-never-been-locked-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Jobs for Felons: Why it Matters, Even if You\u2019ve Never Been Locked Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n

An inmate uses a lathe to machine a trailer part at the Skills Center inside McCleod Correctional Center near Atoka, Okla..<\/p>\n<\/div>

Confinement is only part of the mission at Oklahoma prisons.<\/p>

More than 25,000 people were incarcerated at state prisons last year, data from the Department of Corrections show.\u00a0Most of those people will be released one day. Felons vow to never return. Officers and taxpayers \u2014 who are on the hook for $20,000 per inmate every year \u2014 hope they don\u2019t.<\/p>

One of the best ways to increase the odds, corrections officials and criminologists say: Help felons find jobs.<\/p>

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Researchers have identified a litany of risk factors when it comes to criminal behavior and recidivism. Felons in Oklahoma often come from poverty, are poorly educated and enter prison saddled with addictions, mental health and severe behavioral issues.<\/p>

Many simply can\u2019t read, says Clint Castleberry, programs administrator for the state Department of Corrections. And while treatment and teaching might not seem \u201ctough on crime,\u201d it helps make offenders more employable.<\/p>

Ex-offender jobs issues affect all Oklahomans. Here\u2019s why and how:<\/p>\n

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Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics \/ Via: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation<\/p>\n

Oklahoma ranks No. 3 in prisoners per-capita. Click here to see a state-by-state breakdown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Oklahoma Locks A Lot of People Up<\/h3>

There are about 654 prisoners per 100,000 Oklahomans, data from the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Bureau of Justice Statistics show.<\/p>

That means Oklahoma is No. 3<\/a> when it comes to state incarceration, trailing Mississippi and Louisiana.<\/p>

Roughly one in 12 Oklahomans has a felony conviction, according to the DOJ. But state corrections data show that number could be as high as one in eight, says Justin Jones, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n

Jobs Reduce Recidivism<\/h3>

Employment increases an offender’s odds of staying out of prison once he or she is released, state corrections officials say.<\/p>

\u201cYou need to find meaningful employment, you need to stay busy,” Jones says.<\/p>

National research confirms this.<\/p>\n

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Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n

Job training at the Skills Center at the McLeod Correctional Center starts with the basics.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Employment has a side benefit of reducing other recidivism risk factors. A 2009 study on Pennsylvania’s parole system by the Center for Criminal Justice Research at the University of\u00a0Cincinnati (click here<\/a> to download)\u00a0examined a program that required offenders, as a condition of their parole, to find and maintain verifiable employment. This cut down on offenders interacting with other risk groups and increased the likelihood that those offenders wouldn’t return to prison.<\/p>

Another 2009 study<\/a>, published in the October 2010 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology<\/em>, supports the claim that employment reduces recidivism. While employment doesn’t\u00a0significantly\u00a0reduce the likelihood<\/em> of\u00a0re-incarceration, it does\u00a0significantly\u00a0increase the amount of time an offender will spend beyond prison.<\/p>\n

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