Doctoral Dissertation Research: Criminal Records and Housing Discrimination: An Audit Study

在过去的四十年里，美国有犯罪记录的人口比例急剧增加，研究记录了犯罪记录如何创造和加强就业，健康和其他结果的不平等。 然而，关于犯罪记录如何影响获得住房的问题，人们知之甚少。该项目将查明在住房申请过程的早期阶段利用犯罪记录取消申请人资格的普遍程度和范围。它还将查明房东在考虑犯罪历史时是否存在种族差异。它考察了邻里的不利条件是否会影响犯罪记录的污名化效果。最后，它促进了对房东如何权衡犯罪背景调查以及他们如何实施要求在这些交易中使用犯罪历史的法律的最新变化的理解。 项目的研究结果将使人们更好地了解美国的住房政策是如何运作的，特别是对那些有犯罪背景的人。这个项目包括实地实验和定性访谈。一个基于电子邮件的出租住房单位的审计研究将涉及联系房东和询问，看看出租物业。这些电子邮件将表明潜在申请人的种族和犯罪历史状况。审计研究将与房东的访谈相结合，了解他们如何在申请过程中使用犯罪记录，以及他们对最近政策变化的理解，这些政策变化涉及在此类评估中使用犯罪记录。 这项研究将有助于越来越多的刑事司法接触的持久影响的调查结果，以及财产管理人员如何适应和遵守政策变化的社会法律研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The proportion of the U.S. population with a criminal record has dramatically increased during the past four decades, and research has documented the ways in which a criminal record creates and reinforces inequalities in employment, health, and other outcomes. However, less is known about how a criminal record affects access to housing. This project will identify the prevalence and scope of criminal record use to disqualify applicants at an early stage of the housing application process. It will also detect whether there are racial disparities in the consideration of criminal histories by landlords. It examines if neighborhood disadvantage conditions the stigmatizing effect of a criminal record. Finally, it advances understanding of how landlords weigh criminal background checks and how they implement recent changes in the laws that require use of criminal histories in these transactions. Project findings will provide greater understanding of how U.S. housing policy is working, particularly for those with criminal backgrounds.This project consists of a field experiment and qualitative interviews. An email-based audit study of rental housing units will involve contacting landlords and inquiring to see the rental properties. These emails will signal race and the criminal history status of the potential applicants. The audit study will be paired with interviews with landlords about how they use criminal histories in the application process, and their understanding of recent policy changes regarding criminal record use in such evaluations. This research will contribute to a growing body of findings on the durable effects of criminal justice contact, as well as socio-legal research on how property managers adapt to and comply with policy changes. It also contributes to sociological theories focused on discrimination, racial inequality and urban residence.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.