This study has been based on a qualitative approach where the focus has, primarily, been on increasing the understanding of the phenomenon of recruitment of individuals who are included and registered in criminal records. The purpose of the study was to investigate the opinions and perceptions of individuals with criminal backgrounds among persons working in recruitment. To answer the purpose, three questions were formulated: What perspectives do employers and recruiters have about people with a criminal background? What do they think about hiring people with a criminal background? How can this be linked to the labelling theory and the stigmatization theory? The usage of empirical data was collected through qualitative interviews with recruiters and employers, the data was further complemented by a questionnaire that was also addressed to recruiters and employers. Thematic analysis was then used to analyze the collected data. In the study, the collected empirical data is linked to two different theoretical points of departure: Goffman's stigmatization theory and Becker's labelling theory. The stigmatization theory and the labelling theory are used to identify recruiters' perspectives on people with criminal backgrounds, and to investigate how recruiters approach hiring people who have committed crimes. The stigmatization theory helped to clarify if and how recruiters relate to character stigmatized criminals. The labelling theory was used to understand how recruiters categorizes and uses "stamps" on job seekers based on their criminal acts. The study has shown that there appear to be varying perceptions and prejudices about people with criminal background among recruiters. A vast majority of the respondents had at some point requested an extraction of previous criminal records from their job seekers. The study has also shown that recruiters can be open and positive about hiring people who have committed crimes, at least when it comes to less serious crimes. Whether a recruiter is positive or negative about hiring a person with a criminal background seems often to be dependent on the individual case. If a recruiter chooses to hire a person who has committed a crime, they usually make their decision from the three following factors: the nature of the crime, the severity of the crime and the time of the criminal act. The workplace, type of service and tasks can also be important factors for the recruitment process. / Studien är baserad på ett kvalitativt synsätt där fokus har legat på att utöka förståelsen kring fenomenet rekrytering av personer som finns med i belastningsregistret. Syftet med studien var att undersöka åsikter och uppfattningar om individer med brottslig bakgrund bland personer som arbetar med rekrytering. För att besvara syftet formulerades tre frågeställningar: Hur betraktar rekryterare personer med brottslig bakgrund? Hur ställer man sig till att anställa personer med brottslig bakgrund? Hur kan detta kopplas till stämplingsteorin och teorin om stigmatisering? Som empiri användes data från kvalitativa intervjuer med rekryterare samt data från ett frågeformulär som också riktades till personer som arbetar med att rekrytera personal. Tematisk analys användes för att analysera det insamlade materialet. I studien kopplades empirin till två olika teoretiska utgångspunkter: Goffmans stigmatiseringsteori och Beckers stämplingsteori. Stigmatiseringsteorin och stämplingsteorin användes för att identifiera rekryterares perspektiv på personer med brottslig bakgrund, samt för att undersöka hur rekryterare ställer sig till att anställa personer som begått brott. Stigmatiseringsteorin bidrog till att belysa om och hur rekryterare förhåller sig till karaktärsstigmat brottsling. Stämplingsteorin användes för att förstå hur rekryterare kategoriserar och ”stämplar” arbetssökande personer utifrån deras brottsliga handlingar. Studiens resultat har visat att rekryterares uppfattningar om personer som begått brott kan variera. Majoriteten av respondenterna hade vid något tillfälle begärt ett utdrag ur belastningsregistret på en arbetssökande person. Det har även framkommit att rekryterare ibland kan ha fördomar om personer som begått brott. Vidare har studien visat på att rekryterare kan vara öppna och positiva till att anställa personer som begått brott, åtminstone då det gäller mindre allvarliga brott. Om en rekryterare är positiv eller negativ till att anställa en person med brottslig bakgrund beror ofta på det enskilda fallet. Om en rekryterare väljer att anställa en person som begått brott tar hen vanligtvis hänsyn till följande tre faktorer: brottets karaktär, brottets allvarlighet och tidpunkten för den brottsliga handlingen. Även arbetsplatsen, typ av tjänst och arbetsuppgifter kan vara av betydelse för rekryteringsprocessen.

Title: Who wants to hire them, when there are other candidates? The aim of this study was to gain deeper understanding regarding employers’ thoughts about hiring ex-offenders. This to illustrate how it affects the reintegration into society. We wanted to examine the significance of a person's background, what obstacles employers consider to exist in the labour market and what they believe would have a positive effect on reintegration into the labour market. The empirical evidence in this study has been analysed out of perspectives from theories about labelling and deviance as well as the concept of social exclusion together with previous research in the field. Six employers were interviewed to share their thoughts on hiring people with a criminal record. We distinguished four themes which emerged from the employer’s reasoning about hiring ex-offenders: the applicant's background, significant factors for employers reasoning, obstacles in the labour market and positive reintegration into the labour market. Conclusions made from this study have shown that employers decisions are influenced by prejudices in society as well as the company’s guidelines and resources. The study has also shown that employers experience the need for more actions from politicians to contribute to a positive reintegration into the labour market for ex-offenders. Finally, this study conclude that employers believe that there are characteristics and strategies that facilitate re-entry into the labour market for people with criminal records.

Prison management and key stakeholders lack an understanding of how institutional obstacles interfere with probation officers and parole agents' ability in managing offenders to reduce recidivism in a Midwestern state. In 2014, 1 out of 52 adults in the U.S. were under the supervision of probation officers or parole agents. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to identify the institutional obstacles that exist for probation officers and parole agents in terms of their lived experiences in their jobs. The participants were 5 probation officers and 6 parole agents from a municipal district in a county in a Midwestern state. The conceptual framework that grounds this descriptive phenomenological study is Meadows' three concepts of systems thinking (elements, interconnections, and purpose). The data collection process involved in-depth interviews and field notes. One hundred percent of the participants identified several themes as institutional obstacles including: lack of community programs, lack of jobs, and heavy caseloads. The implications for positive social change for the key stakeholders identified in the study to reduce recidivism in the criminal justice system were to remove the institutional barriers outlined in the themes and improve institutional practices. Making policy reforms that included drug and alcohol treatment, addressing the issue of prison authority and the creation of rehabilitation programs that feature cognitive development would aid in reduction of recidivism.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study explored the perspectives of Black mothers and daughters as they contemplated how two institutions ---schools and prisons/jails -- influenced their relationship with one another. As the incarceration rates for Black females increase in the U.S., examinations of these perspectives can produce insights about the impacts of schools and jails/prisons on the lives of these girls and women, and more pointedly, about the perceived contributions of racist and misogynistic forces on the Black mother-Black daughter relationship. Three pairs of mother-daughter dyads were selected and interviewed for the study. The daughters were Black middle school-aged girls between the ages 10 and 14, and the mothers were of varying ages. Two specific research questions centered on: (1) the participants’ perceptions of how these institutions have had an influence mother and daughter relationships, and (2) how they dealt with problems they faced either separately or together that were associated with school (for both participants in the dyad) and/or that resulted from the jail/prison experience (for the mother). Interviews were analyzed using phenomenological research methods and metaanalyzed from a critical feminist framework. Findings show that both mother and daughter have been resourceful in maintaining strong ties despite the array of forces that challenged these unions. Participants from both sides of these mothers and daughters dyads expressed how mothers’ parenting styles, lifestyle decisions, and self-perceptions were effected by the institutions of schooling and criminal justice. Although the findings of the study offered a glimpse of participants’ perspectives on racism and sexism as forces that influenced their experiences, the relationship issues between them were most prevalent. Further research is recommended to uncover more of the intricacies of sexism and racism as they relate to relationships and personal issues of Black, formerly incarcerated mothers and their pre-teen and teenaged daughters.

No / The Silences Framework as a tool for exploring marginalised perspectives The Silences Framework was devised for use as a vehicle for exposing additional viewpoints in studies revolving around sensitive subjects and marginalised perspectives. Cyril’s presentation conveys the use of The Silences Framework in the provision of a nurse-led intervention for custodial community based ex-offenders. ‘Screaming Silences’ as exposed were located in the subjective experiences of ex-offenders known as the ‘listener’ and the social and personal context in which their experiences occurred. Crucially, The Silences Framework as used sought to acknowledge and redress the balance of power relating to ‘what and whose’ experience count in a research study. Epistemologically, the generation of knowledge using the framework necessitated an anti-essentialist perspective which was interpretive in nature. Thus, the intent was to arrive at what constitutes as truth from the lived experiences of the individuals researched. It is hoped that this presentation will facilitate understanding by unravelling the process of using The Silences Framework to underpin applied research and concurrently contribute to the wider use of the framework in research with other marginalised groups.

No

No / The current context of offender health in England and Wales indicates that the health needs of ex-offenders are significantly greater than those of the general population with a lack of equity existing between need and supply. The study presented herein is aimed at mapping the ex-offender health pathway towards identifying “touch points” in the community for the delivery of nurse-led interventions. The study was underpinned by the “Silences Framework” which enabled the study to gain theoretically by situating power with ex-offenders. A total of 26 respondents were ranked on the basis of poor health with those scoring the lowest and confirming their ranking through a confirmation of a health condition selected as cases and interviewed over the course of 6 months. These interview narratives were validated by interviewing individuals in the professional networks of ex-offenders and were analysed using the inductive qualitative thematic approach. The study uncovered that ex-offenders were not prepared in prison for the continuity in access to health care in the community on release. Ex-offender’s on-release preparation did not enquire as a matter of procedure on whether an offender was registered with a General Practitioner (GP) or had the agency to register self with a practice on release. Postrelease, the study uncovered a disparity between services, which address the physical health needs of ex-offenders and those which address their mental and substance misuse health needs. Finally, the study identified the site of postrelease supervision as the “touch point,” where a nurse-led intervention could be delivered.

No

Yes / This study was a qualitative case study underpinned by “The Silences Framework” aimed at mapping the ex-offender health pathway towards identifying “touch points” in the community for the delivery of a nurse-led intervention. Participants meeting the study inclusion criteria were quantitatively ranked based on poor health. Participants scoring the lowest and endorsing their ranking through a confirmation of a health condition were selected as cases and interviewed over 6 months. Individuals in the professional networks of offenders contextualized emergent themes. The study indicated that pre-release, offenders were not prepared in prison for the continuity in access to healthcare in the community. On release, reintegration preparation did not routinely enquire whether offenders were still registered with a general practitioner or had the agency to register self in the community. Participants identified the site of post-release supervision as the “touch point” where a nurse-led intervention could be delivered.

Paroled offenders and ex-offenders' retention and completion for 3 small-sized prisoner- release intervention programs in Columbus, Ohio, continue to decline. Prisoner-release intervention programs aid paroled offenders and ex-offenders with societal reentry. Influenced by the conceptual framework of the social control theory, this exploratory multiple case study was designed to contribute to the common understanding of the paroled offenders and ex-offenders' retention and completion in the small-sized prisoner release intervention programs. The 18 participants included stakeholders from the criminal justice system, prisoner-release intervention programs, community advocacy organizations, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers. Analysis of data collected from interviews and telephone calls resulted in the emergence of codes, themes, and categories. The findings from this study could be used by the programs to establish a proactive presence in the prison systems before inmate release for early intervention. Further, the small-sized prisoner-release intervention programs could use the findings to develop new initiatives, and scholars could use the findings to better understand the social conditions affecting small-sized prisoner-release intervention programs.