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Main Page Gov.: Shield Criminal Records Sooner From Would-Be Employers
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Posted by: kwflatbed

Supporters Say Jobs Help People Rebuild Lives

BOSTON -- People with criminal records would be able to more quickly shield that information from prospective employers under legislation filed Friday by Gov. Deval Patrick, who says the change will give them a better chance to become productive citizens.

Patrick's proposed overhaul of the state Criminal Offender Record Information or "CORI" system is aimed at giving people a second chance after they've served prison or probation terms, and even after being cleared of criminal charges.

"It improves their opportunity to get employment," said Kevin Burke, Patrick's secretary of public safety.
Currently, people convicted of felonies can seek to seal their criminal record after 15 years. Patrick's bill shortens the wait to 10 years, and shortens the wait on misdemeanor convictions from 10 to five years - if the person stays out of trouble.

Misdemeanor violations of restraining orders would remain unchanged at 10 years, while sex offenders would never be eligible to seal records.

Employers search CORI records to weed out job applicants. Bradley MacDougall, a vice president Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which represents 7,000 employers, said there are mixed opinions about the bill.

"There are concerns with the sealing of records," MacDougall said. "The employers benefit by seeing the window of time."

But Burke said his research has shown that the longer an ex-offender stays out of trouble, the less likely he is to re-offend.

"Ten years is enough time to demonstrate character," the secretary said. "Character flaws would occur well within a 10-year period."

The legislation also would make it easier to prosecute anyone who inappropriately uses CORI information, and would give law enforcement officers access to sealed records.

In addition, Patrick signed an executive order restricting the CORI checks in state government hiring. It says a criminal background check can only be ordered after an applicant for a state job has been deemed qualified.

The executive order also calls for investments in training employers on how to interpret the sometimes confusing reports, and improves technology.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino hailed Patrick's proposals as "much needed."

"Ex-offenders often have little or no support upon release, in effect giving them life sentences by denying them opportunities for work and setting them up to re-offend," Menino said in a statement.

A spokesman for House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said the legislation is being reviewed. A spokesman for Senate President Therese Murray said she hadn't seen the bill and declined to comment.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...48/detail.html

Posted by: Sniper

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwflatbed

Supporters Say Jobs Help People Rebuild Lives

"It improves their opportunity to get employment," said Kevin Burke, Patrick's secretary of public safety.
Currently, people convicted of felonies can seek to seal their criminal record after 15 years. Patrick's bill shortens the wait to 10 years, and shortens the wait on misdemeanor convictions from 10 to five years - if the person stays out of trouble.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...48/detail.html

FREE THEM ALL DEVAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: 01/12/2008
Governor moves to reform criminal records law
By Edward Mason
Staff writer

BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick, making good on a campaign promise, yesterday acted to overhaul the state's Criminal Offender Record Information law, which some critics contend makes it too difficult for people with records to get jobs.

Patrick would limit some access to criminal history records, lift barriers to law enforcement seeking those records and reduce the time criminals who've completed their sentences have to wait to ask a judge to seal their records.
The governor also would forbid sex offenders' records from ever being sealed from public view.
"We can employ people who are employable, identify people who are a threat to public safety and reduce recidivism rates," said Kevin Burke, secretary of public safety.
Patrick, through an executive order, would let state officials see parts of Criminal Offender Record Information, or CORI, relevant to the job being filled.
He also ordered the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to study ways to remove some barriers barring individuals from employment in the health and human service field.
Patrick also would have the state revamp the way criminal records are recorded so they are easier to read.
The governor also filed legislation that would allow law enforcement officials to see all sealed criminal records, something they cannot currently do. To make it easier for ex-offenders to get work, the governor would let people with a felony conviction seal a criminal record in 10 years after their release, down from 15 years. The governor would also reduce the time for misdemeanors, from 10 years to five years.
Rep. Michael A. Costello, a Newburyport Democrat who chairs the House Public Safety Committee, called the initiative a "good balancing act." It would make it easier for ex-offenders who don't provide a public safety risk to get work while improving law enforcement agents' ability to see currently secret information about criminals, he said.
Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett applauded the steps Patrick took to let police and prosecutors see sealed criminal records.
"That's a critical piece," Blodgett said. "There are often times when we'd make better decisions (when charging people with crimes)."
Blodgett also supported Patrick's proposal to simplify the way crimes are recorded on CORI forms.
"Sometimes it's difficult for people who have access to understand," Blodgett said. "To make it more clear is very important."

But Debbie Savoia, a North Andover mother and victims' rights advocate, criticized Patrick for making changes to the CORI law that benefit people who committed crimes.
"I don't know why he's so worried about criminals," Savoia said. "What about victims' rights?"
Rep. Bradley Jones Jr., R-North Reading, described the plan as a "mixed bag." He also raised concerns about the governor's proposal to make, in some cases, CORI records harder to access.
"I am more comfortable with the idea that your criminal record is your criminal record," Jones said. "Those are things you've gone through. But you're responsible, and unfortunately or fortunately they are part of your record for your life and the public has a right to know."
CORI reform was an issue in the last governor's race. Both Attorney General and Democrat Thomas Reilly and Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey used Patrick's backing for greater protections for criminals to say he was soft on crime.
Patrick, though, argued that a person shouldn't be denied a second chance because of a criminal history.

Posted by: kwflatbed

Patrick urges passage of CORI reform bill

By Paul McMorrow

State House News Service / March 19, 2008

Declaring yesterday that the existing Criminal Offender Record Information system "undermines public safety in the Commonwealth," Governor Deval Patrick urged the Legislature's Judiciary Committee to pass his CORI reform bill."I believe public safety must be about both law enforcement and crime prevention," Patrick told a crowd that spilled out of two hearing rooms.
Pointing out that 20,000 inmates reenter the Massachusetts mainstream every year, Patrick said, "Successful crime fighting also means reducing the risk that former inmates will return to crime by helping them rebuild their lives."
Patrick hinted at interest in overhauling the state's criminal history records system even before taking office and filed his CORI bill in January. The bill would constrict the timeline for sealing former offenders' felony records to 10 years after release, down from the current 15; misdemeanors would be sealed after five years, instead of the current 10. The legislation would also make CORI reports easier to read and process and order the state's Criminal History Systems Board to consider "the importance and value of successful reintegration" as part of the CORI certification process.
The governor stressed that sex offenders' records would not be sealed and that criminal justice agencies would retain "full access to sealed records."
He said the effort is part of a larger agenda that includes his pending Mandatory Post Release Supervision bill and a January executive order that severely curtails the use of CORI data when filling executive department jobs.
The question of when or if members of the public should have access to individuals' criminal histories has roiled the State House in recent years. CORI reform advocates argue that public access to criminal records impedes access of former prisoners to good jobs and housing and hinders their successful reintegration into society. Landlords and employers counter that background checks are necessary.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts issued a statement supporting Patrick's efforts to improve CORI accuracy and usability, but opposing "any changes to the current system for the sealing of records" for misdemeanors and felonies.
Representative Eugene O'Flaherty, Democrat of Chelsea, said that he and his cochairman - Senator Robert Creedon, Democrat of Brockton - would like to tackle CORI reform this year.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...i_reform_bill/

Posted by: kwflatbed

Friday, May 23, 2008 CORI reform unlikely

Local marchers rally in Boston

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
jmonahan@telegram.com

BOSTON— While people charged with crimes are deemed innocent unless proven guilty in court, many never convicted are punished for years after an arrest, denied jobs and housing based on records of their arrests distributed by the state Criminal Offender Record Information system as public records.

It is one of many complaints about the criminal record system that brought several hundred people to the Statehouse yesterday calling for reform, including about 20 who joined a four-day march from Worcester to Boston.

Upon arrival, however, the group learned the proposed CORI reforms have run aground in the House Judiciary Committee, and the chances of the law covering criminal records being reformed before the Legislature ends formal sessions for the year in July now seem remote.

The legislation would eliminate reporting of arrests and court proceedings that did not result in a conviction or guilty finding, reduce the length of time convictions remain on public records and impose new standards for accuracy in response to widespread reports of inaccurate information appearing on criminal histories routinely distributed to employers, government agencies and others.

State Sen. Edward M. Augustus Jr., D-Worcester, recommended the demonstrators talk to lawmakers and urge them to act on the reforms over the next two months. He said when the government says it wants people to go to work and stay on the “straight and narrow” and then puts in place barriers to those goals, it is “sending a mixed message.”

“I had one person tell me they were in court and the judge from the bench said, ‘Oh I see your client beat the system once before,’ because they had an acquittal come up on their CORI,” Mr. Augustus said. “That means you are innocent. It shouldn’t inhibit you from getting a job or getting an apartment.”

Under the current system, Mr. Augustus said, criminal convictions and often arrests without convictions, “become a life sentence” as the system allows the records to follow them for many years when applying for jobs or renting a home.

The proposed legislation would reduce the public reporting of most felony convictions from 15 to 7 years after a probation or sentence period ends, and limit misdemeanor conviction reporting to 5 years. If adopted, the changes would not prevent police from accessing those records.

“The period of time we go back on misdemeanors and felonies is way too long. We need to shrink that window of time. And then we need to make sure that things like acquittals and arrests with no convictions are not on CORIs. We need to change the law,” Mr. Augustus said.

Earlier this week, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, D-Boston, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, reported that the bill has run into a lot of “roadblocks” because of the many complicated issues involving reintegration of ex-convicts into communities and the interest of employers to job screen applicants. His comments gave little hope the bill could be acted on soon.

One Worcester resident at the demonstration, Marylyn Moore, said she and her two children, ages 8 and 12, are now homeless and living in one room in a shelter as she tries to overcome past substance abuse and ongoing health problems. She said she has been denied jobs and housing by the Worcester Housing Authority because of misdemeanors on her record involving shoplifting and other lesser offenses.

“I want to bring my kids up decently. My kids deserve to live in a good place,” she said, adding she is now almost 50 years old. When she has found work, she said, “I have to worry every day I go to work, if they are going to find my CORI.”

She said she is hoping reforms limit public access to her past record to three years, to give her a chance to improve her life.

Yakov Kronrad, 27, who ran unsuccessfully for the Worcester City Council in 2003, said serious drug convictions as well as some charges that did not hold up in court appear on his CORI record and have hurt his job prospects even though he completed college and earned a post-graduate degree. He said he lost jobs as a teacher and working on computer software when his CORI record surfaced in the past.

He said although his were “nonviolent drug offenses,” he will not be able under the current system to get his record sealed until 2019. Changes in the law would allow him to have the conviction record sealed in 2011, he said.

http://www.telegram.com/article/2008...805230434/1116

Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

I think we should just have a big "do-over" and everyone can start with a clean slate

Posted by: kwflatbed

Making start on CORI

By Adrian Walker

Globe Columnist / July 8, 2008

The idea of making it easier for convicts to get jobs has always been a tough sell at the State House.

But even though the Legislature appears almost militantly opposed to passing bills this session, there is a good chance that some changes are in store for the much-maligned Criminal Offender Record Information law, better known as CORI.
Reform would be too strong a description, especially for legislation that has literally been years in coming. The finished product will shorten the period before records are sealed and may make it easier for those who are arrested, but not convicted, to have their record cleared.
People hoping for more are frustrated by what it will not include. Advocates were especially hopeful that employers could be banned from asking applicants right off the bat whether they had ever been convicted of crimes. Employers would have been able to ask about criminal history later in the process.
Most of all, they worry that if a watered-down bill is passed this session, the Legislature will not revisit the issue for years. "It is a major concern, because we know that CORI has not been touched in any significant way in decades," said Aaron Tanaka of the Boston Workers Alliance, which has taken a leading role in lobbying for the bill.
There isn't much dispute in the Legislature that CORI needs fixing, but there is vast disagreement over what is wrong with the law and how to repair it. Before Governor Deval Patrick essentially seized control of the issue, there were more than two dozen bills on file purporting to address it. Some would ease access to records, some would limit it. While the warring bills have been eliminated, the factions that produced them remain vital.
Representative Eugene O'Flaherty, the House chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told me he worries that a flurry of competing and contradictory amendments could still sink efforts to change the law. He said he hopes to persuade his colleagues to stick as closely as possible to the legislation as written.
I realize many people view CORI as a remote issue. But the reality is that almost everyone convicted of a crime will eventually reenter the work force or will try to. There is strong argument for making that path easier than it is now.
One of the great complications in reforming CORI, as O'Flaherty points out, is that different kinds of employers have different needs. Obviously, employers in areas affecting public safety, for example, need to know the background of the people they are hiring, and they may as well know right up front. Some would argue that in other areas, a long-ago conviction for a relatively minor infraction is less crucial. But crafting a bill that takes every possibility into account is impossible. Flaherty says he hopes to persuade legislators to buy into this bill as a first step, which can be refined down the road.
CORI is interesting because it mirrors our whole conflicted view of how to deal with people who commit crime. We struggle with whether we really believe in rehabilitation, whether we want convicts living down the street, whether we want them as co-workers, whether a debt to society is ever really paid.
The bill O'Flaherty is proposing will include several provisions unrelated to CORI, including one that would ease penalties for first-time drug offenders arrested in school zones.
"My whole district is a school zone," notes O'Flaherty, whose district includes Chelsea and Charlestown. "I don't think someone arrested at 3 a.m. should necessarily go to prison because they are arrested within 1,000 feet of a school." Yes, O'Flaherty is a defense lawyer, as many will no doubt point out.
This bill doesn't solve every problem with criminal records, but some action is preferable to the lip service this issue has received to date. Helping criminal offenders restart their lives is no simple task. One hopes that the governor and the Legislature are sincere when they suggest that this bill is just a start, rather than the last word, on how we plan to treat people with prison in their past.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...start_on_cori/

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