Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett is right when he asserts that allowing those who have served jail time a path to reentry into society should not require keeping their criminal backgrounds a secret.
Good or bad, "it's your history," Blodgett told members of the Salem Partnership last Friday, expressing concern about efforts by Gov. Deval Patrick to restrict public access to the state's Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) database.
Patrick makes the claim that providing potential employers with the information will make it more difficult for those who've served time to rehabilitate themselves.
Among the changes he has proposed as part of his effort to modify the CORI system is a reduction in the amount of time those convicted of felonies and misdemeanors would have to wait before having their records sealed. The waiting period for sealing a felony record would be reduced from 15 years to 10 years; for a misdemeanor, from 10 to five years.
The goal, according to the governor, is to "require decision-makers to make an individual determination about whether an applicant is rehabilitated, rather than excluding ex-offenders categorically."
We think Patrick gives employers too little credit for being able to distinguish between someone who might pose a risk to their business and the person who, despite past transgressions, shows genuine promise.
As the governor pointed out in unveiling his "reform" initiative earlier this month, society has a real interest in finding productive employment for the 20,000 inmates who are freed from incarceration each year. But that interest is hardly served by making it more difficult for employers to find out whether an applicant has a history of embezzlement or worse.
Blodgett, whose talk to the Salem business group ran the gamut from casino gambling (he's not opposed, as long as steps are taken to beef up law enforcement in the affected communities) to the scourge of drug addiction, made the point that access to information and the effort to reduce recidivism are separate issues.
We don't think the state should be in the business of trying to erase history in the interest of increasing employment opportunities for ex-convicts.
Besides, as was stated in this space previously, the best means of maintaining a clean record is to obey the law.
Good or bad, "it's your history," Blodgett told members of the Salem Partnership last Friday, expressing concern about efforts by Gov. Deval Patrick to restrict public access to the state's Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) database.
Patrick makes the claim that providing potential employers with the information will make it more difficult for those who've served time to rehabilitate themselves.
Among the changes he has proposed as part of his effort to modify the CORI system is a reduction in the amount of time those convicted of felonies and misdemeanors would have to wait before having their records sealed. The waiting period for sealing a felony record would be reduced from 15 years to 10 years; for a misdemeanor, from 10 to five years.
The goal, according to the governor, is to "require decision-makers to make an individual determination about whether an applicant is rehabilitated, rather than excluding ex-offenders categorically."
We think Patrick gives employers too little credit for being able to distinguish between someone who might pose a risk to their business and the person who, despite past transgressions, shows genuine promise.
As the governor pointed out in unveiling his "reform" initiative earlier this month, society has a real interest in finding productive employment for the 20,000 inmates who are freed from incarceration each year. But that interest is hardly served by making it more difficult for employers to find out whether an applicant has a history of embezzlement or worse.
Blodgett, whose talk to the Salem business group ran the gamut from casino gambling (he's not opposed, as long as steps are taken to beef up law enforcement in the affected communities) to the scourge of drug addiction, made the point that access to information and the effort to reduce recidivism are separate issues.
We don't think the state should be in the business of trying to erase history in the interest of increasing employment opportunities for ex-convicts.
Besides, as was stated in this space previously, the best means of maintaining a clean record is to obey the law.
