We constantly hear about people being convicted of misdemeanors, but we rarely hear how it affects their job prospects, or how applicants with a criminal record appear to potential employers. Have you ever been to the local supermarket and witnessed a fellow shopper’s attempt to conceal an item in their clothes or purse? Have you ever been with someone or have tried yourself to walk out of a store with stolen merchandise? If you answered no to either of these questions, you are one of the select few who have not been exposed to a trend that has become exceedingly common in our society. Or, you are probably lying.
If college students and people of all ages are informed on how a conviction like petty theft affects their futures, they will be less likely to walk out of a store without paying. In 2009, the U.S. National Association for Shoplifting Prevention reported that 1 in 11 Americans shoplift, and the loss-prevention and security firm Jack L. Hayes International Inc., estimates that there are 615,000 thefts a day. All of these incidences add up to a yearly loss of $36 billion. While Americans feel the drain of a rough economy in their wallets, the best idea may seem to be stealing, but the consequences of such a rash decision far outweigh the benefits.
While the consequences of petty theft charges are not exactly common knowledge among college students, second-degree burglary seems to be even less understood. In most cases, walking alongside a friend who attempts to steal means you will also be held accountable until proven innocent.
In cases like this, you are considered an accomplice and charged with second-degree burglary. Depending on what the District Attorney decides, you will have to appear in court and proceed with a sentence in the same manner as a person charged with petty theft. If the result is a conviction, the charge stays on your record and will be noticeable in background checks.
When asked if she would hire a college student with a misdemeanor on their record, Badia Zuriek, manager and owner of Joe the Greek Café in San Jose said, “I wouldn’t hire them, because we deal with so much cash at my place that it just wouldn’t make sense. When I don’t know someone, my first thought would be, ‘You stole once, you’ll steal again.’ ”
Any person on the hunt for a job realizes the difficulty of getting hired and the possibility of having to accept a job that pays minimum wage. A person with petty theft on their record will have an even harder time finding a job.
Scott Appel, vice president of the human resources department at Cal State Long Beach, said that he has never come across an applicant convicted of a crime while working in his position, but that if this situation arises “most organizations have a criteria that they follow.” When asked whether he would hire a student with a record, he said it would be hard to decide without “seeing case-to-case.”
Nancy Sullivan with The Los Angeles Times said, “The Los Angeles Times Media Group conducts a thorough background check on all candidates who receive an employment offer…if an issue is discovered during the background check, the Times Human Resources staff will discuss the issue with the hiring manager to determine whether the candidate can proceed with the hiring process.” This statement may give the impression that a person may, with a criminal record, still get hired, but realistically this is a time when the job market for college students and graduates is extremely competitive, and such an assumption would be naïve.
Pretend for a moment that when you were 18 you were caught stealing a CD you couldn’t afford — but had to have. You were convicted of petty theft. Does that make you a bad person? No. Does that make you a person who will have to work twice as hard as those without a record to prove yourself as a trustworthy and valuable employer? Yes.
Don’t make life any harder than it has to be. If you thought about your future enough to get a college education, you should realize how a criminal record can prevent you from achieving all that you have worked for, and set you back so much more than the $5.99 bottle of mascara you ‘didn’t feel like paying for.’
Sofia Yassine is a sophomore journalism major and contributing writer for the Daily 49er.