The crime cycle often begins with an unfinished education and chronic unemployment and ends with a prison sentence. Then the cycle begins again, as getting hired with a criminal record is nearly impossible.
But increasingly, governments, schools and businesses are providing opportunities for ex-offenders to break this cycle with education and employment.
"We have a responsibility to play a role in the rehabilitation of these individuals where it is safe and appropriate to do so," Provost Ron Daniels said of Penn.
In the wake of the University's decision to reinstate Kurt Mitman, a convicted sex offender and an accomplished student, in the Economics graduate program after his parole from a Bucks County prison, Penn - along with the City of Philadelphia and similar institutions - is demonstrating a commitment to stopping the cycle of unemployment, under-education and crime.
Research supports these efforts: a 1994 study by Miles Harer, a research analyst for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, showed that 53.9 percent of prisoners who made no plans for post-release employment recidivated, or committed additional crimes. In comparison, only 27.6 percent of prisoners who arranged for employment committed further offenses.
The study also found that those who were employed full time or who attended school before they entered prison had a 25.6 percent rate of a return to crime versus 60.2 percent for those who did not go to school or hold a job.
The study also found that In efforts to lower recidivism in Philadelphia, the city government has implemented the Philadelphia Re-entry Employment Program for ex-offenders.
Approved Nov. 1 by City Council, PREP aims to "give people the means to help themselves [and] a greater sense of pride," said Maura Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Mayor Nutter.
Businesses that hire ex-offenders and contribute $2,000 toward their education receive a $10,000 credit against the city's business-privilege tax for three years. The ex-offenders themselves pay an additional 5 percent of their wages back to the city.
"Mayor Nutter believes that [this is] the greatest way to end the cycle of violence," Kennedy said. "There [are] lots of cities doing similar programs all around the country and they've been pretty effective."
No such incentive exists for non-profits like Penn, which are tax-exempt. But the University agrees with the spirit of Nutter's policy.
"We feel this is the nature of the way a community . should work in American society," Daniels said, adding that after an offender serves a prison sentence, "he should be allowed to re-enter society."
The University is currently reviewing hiring and admissions policies pertaining to criminal background.
