The Missouri House of Representatives could debate a bill soon that would incentivize non-violent ex-convicts to get a full-time job.
State Representative Derek Grier, R-Chesterfield, wants to give those on probation or parole 20 days off their sentence for every 30 days of verified, full-time employment.
“We’re talking about people that, you know, aren’t violent offenders, but these folks are at high risk of recidivism. So if we can find a way to help these folks get into meaningful work and find jobs that they’re sticking with and staying with, then they are three times less likely to end up back in our prisons. This just says that, you know, hey, instead of just rewarding you for not committing a crime, we’re going to reward you for actually being a productive citizen and actually going out and finding work because that’s going to be better for you, your family and it’s going to, I think the real incentive here is not even just like having the job itself and the money that that might afford you, but it gives you the ability to get off of that supervision. I mean, who wants to be on parole,” he asks.
Under current law in Missouri, Grier says a person on parole or probation can earn 30 days off their supervision sentence for general compliance. This means that a person is rewarded with a reduced supervision sentence for simply not committing a new crime or violating their terms of supervision.
Grier says Missouri’s experience with its earned time credits policy has been positive. After they were adopted in 2012, officers’ caseloads dropped by 16%, which allowed them to focus on higher-risk offenders (more than 9 out of 10 individuals who earned credits were nonviolent offenders). Additionally, the recidivism rates for people who were able to complete their supervision sentences earlier were virtually unchanged.
Grier says the bill could also help to fill some of Missouri’s open jobs. The state has about 200,000 positions available.
“You know this is something that’s not it’s not a Republican issue it’s not a Democrat issue – it’s one that everybody kind of recognizes is a really positive step that we can take to encourage people to work and discourage the recidivism,” he says.
To view the bill, click here.
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