Georgians are finally ready to have a tough conversation about our criminal justice system. In his inaugural address, Gov. Nathan Deal noted that one in 13 Georgians is under correctional control (more than double the national average) at a cost to Georgia taxpayers of $3 million a day. And recently, an unprecedented show of support from all three branches of state government surrounded the introduction of a bill to create a bipartisan Special Council on Criminal Justice to make recommendations for reform.
But there is a small step we can take now to protect public safety, save tax dollars and help thousands of Georgians who are struggling to find work. House Bill 402, if passed, will allow people who have been arrested and not convicted to become taxpayers, rather than tax burdens.
It comes as a surprise to most people that every person arrested in Georgia (almost 2.5 million people), whether convicted of a crime or not, has a criminal history. In Georgia, criminal history information is maintained by the Georgia Crime Information Center. If you are arrested, the record of that arrest stays on your GCIC “rap sheet” indefinitely. Even if the charge is dismissed for lack of evidence. Even if the arrest happened 30 years ago. Even if a jury finds you not guilty.
Keeping arrests that did not lead to convictions on criminal histories hinders Georgians who are looking for jobs. We no longer live in a world where only high-security jobs require background checks. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 90 percent of U.S. employers do background checks on applicants.
Arrests on an individual’s criminal history are not overlooked; 63 percent of U.S. employers say they are not inclined to hire applicants with an arrest record, even if they weren’t convicted. The actual number may be higher. A 73-year-old Georgian woman, whose case I am familiar with, was turned down for a child care position last year because of her criminal history. The only charge on her history was a 1976 arrest for writing a bad check, and it was dismissed in court. Georgians who are arrested are marked for life.
Georgians who have arrests that didn’t lead to convictions can go through the expungement process to remove the charges from their history. Each of the more than 600 arresting agencies in the state sets its own expungement requirements. The four-step process can take up to a year, require certified court documents and cost up to $50 (more if you hire an attorney) — a huge burden for out-of-work Georgians who need it the most.
HB 402 would change this inefficient and costly process, and remove a roadblock for people who are eager to work. The bill, drafted with the support of GCIC, would automatically delete charges that are dismissed or not prosecuted from an individual’s criminal history, getting rid of the expungement process and freeing up law enforcement resources for more pressing needs.
Public safety is not at risk under this bill. Currently, convictions can never be removed and this bill does not change that. Employers still would have full access to a potential employee’s convictions and pending charges. And law enforcement (police and prosecutors) will always have access to all records, including arrests.
Study after study has shown that the best deterrent to future arrests and crime for anyone who has had contact with the criminal justice system is a job. We need to give people an opportunity to support themselves, so taxpayers won’t have to support them down the road.
Ken Stewart is former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and former chairman of the Georgia Justice Project.
