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Effect of Arrest on Indigenous Employment Prospects

NCJ Number
179608
Author(s)
B. Hunter; J. Borland
Date Published
1999
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Effects of criminal conviction on an individual's employment prospects are a matter of policy significance, especially for Australian Aboriginals who are overrepresented both among the unemployed and among those who come before the criminal justice system.
Abstract
Data from the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey were used to explore effects of arrest on the employment status of indigenous Australians. Because individual employment outcomes depended on the interaction between labor demand and labor supply factors, the study sought to include a range of factors that were likely to capture effects of this interaction on employment. These factors were classified as skill, location, family, and socioeconomic status. Having been arrested significantly reduced the probability of employment by 18.3 and 13.1 percentage points for males and females, respectively. Effects of arrest also varied according to the reason for a person's most recent arrest. Differences in arrest rates between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians explained about 15 percent of differences in the level of employment between these groups. The authors conclude that promoting diversion options should be a priority for governments who want to break the nexus between indigenous unemployment and crime. The study methodology is detailed in an appendix. 13 references, 10 notes, and 5 tables