Kentucky residents may be interested in learning about the long-term effects that the increased arrest rate in the United States has on people’s lives. It’s estimated that a person who gets arrested at least once by the time they are 26 years old is going to make around $5,000 less per year than their counterpart who has never been arrested. If a person has been arrested multiple times by the age of 26, they will make around $8,000 less than someone who was not arrested by that age. This means that over the course of their life, a person who gets arrested by can lose between $180,000 and $275,000.
The challenges increase if a person is convicted of a crime. Their employment options are limited for a number of reasons. If a person spends time behind bars, they are not going to have the work experience or the work skills needed to attract the attention of some employers. Many employers opt to hire people who have clean records. Occupational licensing requirements, which are needed for around 25% of all jobs, require that a person have a clean record before they can apply.
This may be troubling to some in light of statistics showing an increase in arrest rates in recent years. About 23% of Americans born from 1979 to 1988 have been arrested while only 6.4% of Americans born between 1949 have been arrested. Some of these arrests are for violent crimes, like assault, theft and robbery. However, many of them are for nonviolent misdemeanors. In fact, miscellaneous misdemeanors represent around 31% of arrests for women and 28% of arrests for men.
Being arrested and convicted can negatively impact a person’s life. This is why it is not advisable for them to try to defend themselves in court. Criminal defense attorneys may be able to work with their client in creating a defense that aims to create probable doubt of their guilt. Alternatively, an attorney may recommend that their client plead conviction to a lesser charge. The attorney may represent their client while they are in court and during any proceedings that follow court.