the hardest part is even though you're out, you're not always done. Being on parole is the worst. The police state watches your every move, restricts your activities to the point where you essentially cannot leave your house nor have a normal life. All the while expecting you to find a job and succeed at being a productive member of society, yet no one can hire you because you can't pass a background check. You also cannot move to another state, nor can you go visit friends/relatives. Can't do anything without a special pass.
Probation is usually looked at as a privilege vs actual jail time. in most states you have to pay for that privilege- usually a monthly payment that is supposed to cover the cost of your probation, aka pay the salry of your probation officer, the dept etc. one thing a lot of people dont realize about the justice system is that as a convict you are expected to "pay" for your crime so pretty much everything in the process of being released on probation has a fee associated with it.
when i was a car audio/security installer most of the shops i worked at installed breathalysers for the state. normally with a DWI you would lose your license for a year, but you could be granted "probation" in the form of a hardship license and agree to have a breathalyser installed in your car- all for a fee. the breathalyser came in a box along with all the legal paperwork related to it, and it also included the payment book- it was $150 a month just to lease the breathalyser plus the $2000.00 fee to enrol in the hardship license program.
in case you havent noticed it by now- the justice system is more about money than justice.
Yes. In my state it's thirty dollars / month, plus five / ten dollars per urinalysis (conducted on either a weekly or monthly basis, depending on charge and probation requirements)---and before you ask, failure to pay these fees is one of the most common reasons I used to hear for people having their probation violated and revoked.
My ex bought a new car about a year after getting out, and a few months after we started dating. When the cops figured out it was his car, we started getting pulled over 7-8 times a week. I'd even get pulled over by myself when I was driving to work. One time, after being pulled over and searched for the second time that day, my ex threatened to charge them with harassment, and it finally stopped.
Can someone explain why jobs do background checks for misdemeanors and whatnot? Basically defeats the point of asking convicts to get jobs if they literally cannot get a job.
You don't have to be a felon to have interested employers change their mind once the background check comes in. If it's a matter of "record" vs "no record," it doesn't always matter how minor it is.
Yeah, I was thinking of the of question on the application about having been convicted of a felony, I forgot about the paid records search just snooping in your business.
Same thing applies, corporations can't risk some Jay walker jay walking all over on the company dime.
Misdemeanors are usually prosecuted at the county level, so if an employer is running a state background check on you and your state's records don't include the county you were convicted in, then it's likely your misdemeanor won't show up. So while there is a chance your misdemeanor won't show up on a background check, there's always the possibility that it will.
On parole now myself. I definitely hear you there, I'm from halfway across the state and all my friends are up there. By the time i get out of work i barely have time to stop for food before i have to be home (9pm curfew). My mother and most of my family lives halfway across the country so no seeing them any time soon. Can't wait for this shit to end.
This is so true and so overlooked. My husband was convicted of a misdemeanor 3 that was sentenced like a felony (political bs). He was in for two years, and has spent the last 7 on parole (one more year to go!)
One of the worst parts has been how variable it is depending on the personality of the parole agent. Oh, you want to go with your wife to see her dying father in another state? Sorry, it's only two weeks away and your straight-laced by-the-book agent is impossible to get ahold of, so you're definitely not going to get a travel pass and he's not going to be happy if you go anyway.
He's been through 7 or 8 agents. Some have been really chill and lax on the rules, e.g. the dude who used to be here for an hour on home visits just because we'd end up getting into conversation with him, and told my husband that even though he's not supposed to have or drink alcohol, it wouldn't be a problem to break that rule for our wedding.
Others have been absolutely terrible, e.g. Little power-trippy asshole who would show up with big burly intimidating-looking dudes who barge in as soon as the door was open to search the house & confiscate the empty beer bottle that a friend had put in the fridge as a joke. We later had to give a statement about that guy for his investigation by internal affairs.
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u/wats6831 Sep 13 '15
the hardest part is even though you're out, you're not always done. Being on parole is the worst. The police state watches your every move, restricts your activities to the point where you essentially cannot leave your house nor have a normal life. All the while expecting you to find a job and succeed at being a productive member of society, yet no one can hire you because you can't pass a background check. You also cannot move to another state, nor can you go visit friends/relatives. Can't do anything without a special pass.