[giaour]

Having (or having had) an outstanding bench warrant for your arrest sounds like the kind of thing that could really mess up your employment prospects, though!

I'm really not sure what you're trying to dispute. It seems like you and OP agree that there are many ways that someone can get themselves a criminal record and that a record shouldn't be a lifelong burden that prevents you from getting a decent job.

[Kranar]

My original post was not in response to OP but to someone who is shocked that 70 million people have a criminal record, because most people when asked assume that a criminal record means some kind of conviction, it does not.

It was OP who decided to dispute me and argue that unpaid parking tickets are unlikely to result in an arrest or a criminal matter. I replied pointing out with sources that his claim is wrong. A surprising number of people are in jail over unpaid parking tickets and in Texas in one year alone over 1 million unpaid tickets became a criminal matter resulting in jail time.

I agree that OP seems to argue against this is bizzare since even a record for unpaid traffic offenses can needlessly disqualify someone from a job, but I am not OP and all I really care to do is point out the facts.