Cite as:
Fletcher D R, 1999, "Ex-offenders and the labour market: a review of the discourse of social exclusion and consequences for crime and the New Deal" Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 17(4) 431 – 444
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Ex-offenders and the labour market: a review of the discourse of social exclusion and consequences for crime and the New Deal

D R Fletcher

Received 11 March 1998; in revised form 7 October 1998

Abstract. The growth of mass unemployment and concerns about crime in industrialised countries have been paralleled by an increasing preoccupation of policymakers with social exclusion. A key feature of the social exclusion discourse has been its emphasis on paid work as a mechanism of integration. The author outlines how ex-offenders are excluded from the labour market. The consequences for crime and implications for policy focused on the New Deal are also discussed. The key findings are that exclusion is as much a social and political phenomenon as an economic one. Consequently, the focus of the New Deal on reinforcing immediate labour-market attachment by enhancing individual employability is unlikely to succeed in reintegrating ex-offenders through work. The central challenge for policy remains the tackling of inequality in the labour market.

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