The Risk Myth

CATEGORIES

Individualizing Risk: Moral Judgement, Professional Knowledge and Affect in Parole Evaluations

Criminal justice professionals rely less on risk assessments than is presumed. This article uses qualitative research with parole agents...

Character, Competence and the Principles of Medical Discipline

A focus on competency would do much more to protect the public from malpractice than removing a physician's license for behavior in...

Predicting the Counterproductive Employee in a Child-to-Adult Prospective Study

Adolescent criminal activity is not a predictor of counterproductive work behaviors. By following a cohort of young people in New...

Virtue and the Law: The Good Moral Character Requirement in Occupational Licensing,....

'Good moral character’ requirements for occupational licensing and immigration are both arbitrary and poorly applied. Utilizing...

Criminal Background Checks in Nursing: Safeguarding the Public?

Criminal background checks are believed to protect employers from negligent hiring liability, and while not necessarily good indicators...

Criminal Background and Job Performance

People with criminal records are less likely to quit their jobs. Using data from nearly 74,000 people who applied and worked in customer...

Does a Criminal Past Predict Worker Performance? Evidence from One of America’s Largest Employers

There is no real difference in work performance between people with criminal records and those without. By analyzing the attrition and...

Enduring Risk? Old Criminal Records and Predictions of Future Criminal Involvement

There is little to no difference in propensity to commit a crime between people with and without criminal justice involvement,...

Ex-Offenders Need Not Apply: The Criminal Background Check in Hiring Decisions

A lack of evidence supports the presumption that workplace violence is committed by co-workers who have been incarcerated. The authors of...

Workplace Violence, 1993-2009: National Crime Victimization Survey

Excluding people with criminal records from the workplace is often justified by concerns about workplace violence. However, most of the...

Redeemed Compared to Whom?

Using 'time since last conviction' standards to assess a person's likelihood of reoffending holds everyone, including applicants without...

Gender Differences on the Road to Redemption

How does gender impact the estimated point in time when the likelihood of a person with a criminal record committing a crime matches the...

Redemption in the Presence of Widespread Criminal Background Checks

The risk of reoffending continues to decline over time, to the point where there is no risk distinction between people with and without...