The Problem

Possession of a criminal history record is one of the biggest barriers to employment ex-offenders face when they return to the community.

Approximately 15,000 people are released from Maryland state correctional institutions each year.

Employers routinely conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees, and frequently are unwilling to hire persons with criminal history records, even if the conviction was for a minor offense many years before, and the sentence was satisfactorily served.

Nuisance Crimes

In Maryland, convictions of any kind cannot be expunged from an individual’s criminal history record, even in the case of minor, non-violent offenses, such as:

panhandling;

sleeping on or in park structures;

obstructing the free passage of another in a public place;

trespassing on public property;

loitering;

vagrancy;

public urination;

riding a transit vehicle without paying or displaying proof of payment; and

drinking an alcoholic beverage in a public place.

The inability to expunge “nuisance crimes” from one’s criminal record act as such a significant barrier to employment and self-sufficiency, that it is tantamount to the imposition of an additional sentence beyond what the court has imposed.

Policy Solution

The state should allow persons with criminal history records to have convictions for minor, non-violent “nuisance” offenses expunged after a certain period of time.

Enacting such a policy will make it more likely that these individuals will be able to find mainstream employment, support their families, and be contributing members of society.

For further information, contact:

Melissa Broome

Job Opportunities Task Force

(410) 234-8046

melissa@jotf.org