California ordered to release tens of thousands of prisoners

[Lonestar]

I'm pretty sure you can apply here to have criminal record expunged - is there is a similiar mechanism in the US/UK?

Yes. We have someone who took advantage of that on this board.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Sure they do. Any background check should only reveal theft or particularly nasty violence though. If you got into a bar fight, it should not affect your employment prospects, neither should being caught with a couple grams of pot. Now, if you have a conviction for aggravated assault/battery, sure.

Depends on the job, if you're hiring Mickey D toilet cleaners it doesn't matter if the guy's a convicted axe killer, but you don't want your customs agents feeding their habits and running drug rings from the postal facility. If a guy does drugs it's probably not a good idea to put him in a position where a crapload of drugs pass through his hands every day, at some point it's quite likely that some of it will get taken home or he just won't care that there are drugs going through the system.

As for bar fights, a couple of them in college, yeah, we can probably let that slide, but if you've been in a dozen of them or your still getting into them them in your 30s & 40s you almost certainly have a bunch of issues that would disqualify you from various jobs. You want a TSA agent or police officer who gets into bar fights every couple Fridays? Probably not.

Sure, that makes sense. So, different firms or positions (coded somehow) have different sorts of crimes that should pop up on a background check. Having someone permanently barred from any and all jobs though, is just a really good way to drive your recidivism rate through the ceiling. So, different classifications of job positions should allow someone to access different parts of someone's potential criminal background.

[Simon_Jester]

I hope I understand you correctly-

That while this is an irrational decision to make, it is one that a certain number of people are likely to make, thinking that they might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb?

If so, then I think that's always been the problem with "use harsh punishments to deter criminals:" if the harsh punishments ruin your life, and are applied to even minor crimes, it promotes recidivism and the commission of even greater crimes in an attempt to escape prosecution for lesser ones.

I wouldn't call it irrational to feel you might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb in those circumstances, though I'd call it a few other things, but pretty much.

I would, because this entire hyper-aggressive reaction is based so heavily on the inability to imagine just how much worse your situation can get, and how little it will help to compound a potentially life-ruining moment by tacking on a definitely life-ruining act that spits on all civilized values.

It's like thinking "my hair is a mess, so I might as well set it on fire."

[Faqa]

Sure they do. Any background check should only reveal theft or particularly nasty violence though. If you got into a bar fight, it should not affect your employment prospects, neither should being caught with a couple grams of pot. Now, if you have a conviction for aggravated assault/battery, sure.

Depends on the job, if you're hiring Mickey D toilet cleaners it doesn't matter if the guy's a convicted axe killer, but you don't want your customs agents feeding their habits and running drug rings from the postal facility. If a guy does drugs it's probably not a good idea to put him in a position where a crapload of drugs pass through his hands every day, at some point it's quite likely that some of it will get taken home or he just won't care that there are drugs going through the system.

As for bar fights, a couple of them in college, yeah, we can probably let that slide, but if you've been in a dozen of them or your still getting into them them in your 30s & 40s you almost certainly have a bunch of issues that would disqualify you from various jobs. You want a TSA agent or police officer who gets into bar fights every couple Fridays? Probably not.

Sure, that makes sense. So, different firms or positions (coded somehow) have different sorts of crimes that should pop up on a background check. Having someone permanently barred from any and all jobs though, is just a really good way to drive your recidivism rate through the ceiling. So, different classifications of job positions should allow someone to access different parts of someone's potential criminal background.

Sounds like a meaningless gesture. The firms that do background checks (I imagine it's the sort of work that's 'farmed out' to a specialist company) are for the most part ex-law enforcement, or they have people on the payroll who are. They have, or will easily be able to get, connections to let them get the 'full' record back for companies inquiring. I can easily see it as a tagline: "We offer special checking services". Either that or companies start lobbying to get their HR department on the 'gets the "real" background check' list.

They won't be able to tell you directly that your application was rejected because of your barfight 10 years ago, but they can wave you off fairly easily.

[Gaidin]

Sounds like a meaningless gesture. The firms that do background checks (I imagine it's the sort of work that's 'farmed out' to a specialist company) are for the most part ex-law enforcement, or they have people on the payroll who are. They have, or will easily be able to get, connections to let them get the 'full' record back for companies inquiring. I can easily see it as a tagline: "We offer special checking services". Either that or companies start lobbying to get their HR department on the 'gets the "real" background check' list.

They won't be able to tell you directly that your application was rejected because of your barfight 10 years ago, but they can wave you off fairly easily.

Doesn't that also point to the difference between a background check and something being a matter of your public criminal record though? Background checks getting that kind of information is one thing(assuming such limitations were implemented). Checking your record for a certain position is another.