Specifying the Employment and Street Crime Relationship: Employment Matters Most When There Is No Illegal Income

• In Event: Recent Perspectives on Employment and Crime

Abstract

Despite the somewhat pessimistic outcomes of correctional job program evaluations and some other unsupportive evidence, many scholars embrace the potential for redemption embedded in higher quality bonds to employment. We examine the relationship between employment and street crime (self-reported property and violent offenses) during a period spanning eighteen “street months” preceding a prison spell, nested within a random sample of 250 prisoners. The spell was the first for about sixty percent of the sample. Thus, the months reflect a period in which they are at high-risk for street crime. For the remainder, who experienced between one to five prior prison spells, the months reflect a period of reentry. Employment measures distinguish employment versus non-employment, wages, hours worked, and subjective job commitment. We find that higher wages are associated with diminished odds of street crime in the subsequent month. Going beyond previous research, we further distinguish employed participants by whether they earn illegal income, and that is consequential. When participants are employed and have no illegal income, the odds of street crime in the following month are reduced by about 75 percent and that explains away the impact of wages. We discuss the implications for public policy.

Authors

• Paul Bellair, The Ohio State University

• Mike Vuolo, The Ohio State University

• Eric G. LaPlant, The Ohio State University

• Robert Apel, Rutgers University, Newark