Criminal records and housing: an experimental study

Abstract

Securing housing is a fundamental necessity for ex-offenders reentering society. Un-fortunately, this fundamental necessity can be difficult to acquire for many ex-offendersbecause of the stigma of a criminal record, even an old or minor one. The presentstudy’s results showed that a tester possessing evidence of rehabilitation was signifi-cantly more likely to be considered for housing than a person possessing the samerecord but without such evidence. This finding is especially intriguing as this particularmechanism (i.e., a CQE) was designed to relieve collateral consequences in employ-ment. The findings of this study provide insight for reentry planning, as discussed in thesupplementary materials. However, in order to strengthen the current findings, replica-tion is needed in other locations and with more attention to important factors like race.Only with more research can we lessen the impact of collateral consequences andimprove the possibilities of successful reentry.