Richard O. Jones

It is an uneasy feeling for an ex-convict to put his or her prison past on an employment application and that feeling is compounded with visible tattoos. As a job applicant, the ex-con has severely handicapped his or her prospects. And usually after a few disappointments they resort to crime or drugs. However, such disappointments can be greatly decreased if inmates would begin to study to increase their academic level while incarcerated. Perhaps he or she can acquire or develop a skill that would enable them to become self-employed. Many skills can be learned through correspondence courses. Instead of having family members and friends send in packages of unproductive items such as edibles, cosmetics, radios, TVs, musical CDs, and street clothes, inmates should ask for academic material.  Perhaps a person could master one foreign language per year by using CDs and tapes. Imagine the expanded opportunities of a job applicant at a major airport or hotel that is bilingual or trilingual. Prison gives a person time to advance their horizons and sometimes a person's negative past is the key to their bright future.

The best resource to curb gang violence and crime is to use ex-gang members and ex-criminals as counselors. Every middle school and high school in America needs of youth counselors knowledgeable in street-life, whether they admit it or not. Inmates could earn a GED then study Criminology and/or Psychology while in prison and eventually qualify to earn a Bachelor's degree in less than four years. Then when he or she is released there will be opportunities based on their reform and past experience. The field of crime prevention always has a need for reformed convicts as public speakers. A well-read self-reformed inmate could become a highly paid independent public speaker with a focus on crime prevention. A convict could study journalism and become a columnist, a reporter, or write his or her life story, which may culminate into a published book. There are literally hundreds of ways, while incarcerated, to prepare for a rewarding career based on diligent study, commitment and level of self-rehabilitation including becoming a member of the clergy. Self-rehabilitated inmates, committed to a crime-free lifestyle, interested in learning how to become a crime prevention advocate or public speaker promoting justice upon their release may write: Richard O. Jones - c/o A.K. Quinn AME Church - 25400 Alessandro Blvd. #105 - Moreno Valley, CA 92553

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