Showing Posts In "Bias in Criminal Justice System Data" Category
Study Finds “Persistent” Racial Bias in Police Traffic Stops and Searches
A study published in the Nature Human Behaviour journal indicates that police decisions to stop and search motorists are affected by “persistent racial bias.” The dataset included approximately 95 million traffic stops conducted by 21 state patrol agencies and 35 municipal police departments between 2011 and 2018 that demonstrated comparatively fewer Black drivers were stopped […]
How Racist Policing Took Over American Cities, Explained by a Historian
Three explicit racism incidents regarding police officer conduct took place in the last month, alone, leading to punishment for the offending officers, but many more go unreported. And research has suggested that white officers are disproportionately likely to demonstrate a personality trait called “social dominance orientation,” which leads them to believe that existing social hierarchies […]
A Criminal Conviction Doesn’t Have to Be a Career Death Sentence
For many of the 77 million Americans with a criminal record, getting hired for a job can be a challenge. In fact, according to the NAACP, having a record reduces the likelihood of a job callback or offer by as much as 50 percent. But employers can choose to “Ban the Box” on job applications, […]
Wake Up Call for the Background Screening Industry
Several weeks ago the article, How criminal background checks lead to discrimination against millions of Americans,’ by Sarah Lageson was published in Washington Post and it caused a bit of an uproar in the background screening community. Several prominent members of the industry posted comments very critical of the article choosing to focus on the […]
The Purgatory of Digital Punishment
All too often, incorrect or misleading criminal records from years past turn up on Google searches and sealed, expunged, and juvenile records that are legally hidden from public view continue to live on across databases and websites. The problem is, bulk data sets are sold by courts to data brokers, which are then sold to […]
Reducing Bias in the Background Screening Process: Our Commitment to Social Justice
Risk management solutions business PlusOne Solutions believes that everyone deserves equal economic and social rights, and access to opportunities, and conducts thousands of background checks each year on individuals across the United States and Canada. How they use the data pulled from driving record searches, criminal record and arrest information, as well as global watches […]
Former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin Was Never Afraid to Go to Space. But a Police Stop Made Him Sweat
NASA astronaut Leland Melvin spoke to a panel celebrating Black lives in the space industry during the 2020 Virtual Humans to Mars Summit, stating that he was never afraid to go to space, but was fearful during a 1982 police stop. During the opportunity to speak, he addressed the fear he felt that day, stating […]
After Prison: The Invisible Life Sentence
For millions of ex-criminals, life on the outside doesn’t necessarily mean freedom. It is believed that the stigma associated with those living with a criminal record is shaped by three core factors: The focus on recidivism rates, incarceration statistics that illuminate racial disparity, and print and broadcast news that feeds the image of criminals. There […]
The Clean Slate Initiative Works to Advance Automated Record Clearance
70 million people living with a criminal record face lifelong barriers to opportunity for them and their families. Employers, landlords, and colleges that use background checks discover past convictions and rule out ex-offenders from having a chance. And to make matters worse, children of those with a criminal record don’t have as many educational opportunities […]
What is the Hope of Work for People Living with Criminal Records?
Teresa Hodge, co-founder and Director of Strategy and Innovation at R3 Score Technologies, believes that those convicted of a crime deserve a second chance. But the application question regarding past convictions prevents that from happening, making it impossible for potential employers to consider qualifications, education, and work experience. These individuals are unable to re-enter society, […]
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