1. Untapped talent pool. An estimated 7.5 million Britons have criminal convictions that affect their ability to find work. Ignoring this talent pool at a time of an impending skills shortage makes no economic sense.
2. Prisons are costly and ineffective. Incarceration costs up to £13 billion each year. In 2011-12, the Ministry of Justice estimated a prison place costs £37,648 each year. Further, prisons are not an effective deterrent as 47% of adult prisoners are reconvicted within a year of release.
3. Unemployed ex-offenders cost society. Ex-offenders who cannot find work cost society in several ways: they rely on social security to live; if they are unable to care for their children, this costs the state; and 60% of short-term prisoners re-offend within a year of release.
4. Jobs re-build lives. Research shows that employment reduces offending by up to 50%, so it’s in every community’s interest to reduce the barriers to work for people with criminal convictions.
5. Banning the box levels the playing field. A similar campaign in Minneapolis, USA, showed that 57% of applicants with convictions in the past seven years were hired in 2007-08, compared to just 6% before disclosure was removed (2004-06).
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