As many as 1 in 3 people in the United States have criminal records, creating barriers across several domains. Certain groups in particular—including people of color, sexual minorities, transgender and nonbinary people, people with disabilities, people with serious mental illness, and people living in poverty—experience disproportionate, negative impacts related to the criminal legal system. These disparities reflect discriminatory policies that fuel systemic inequalities, burdening families for generations and perpetuating a cycle of poverty.
Criminal Records Create Cycles of Multigenerational Poverty