The re-integration of people with criminal records into society does face many challenges, but the specific difficulty depends on multiple factors, including personal background, social support, legal policies, and social concepts. The following is the analysis of key points： --- ###**1. Main challenges** 1. **Employment difficulties** -**Workplace discrimination**: Many employers have prejudices against people with criminal records, especially in sensitive industries such as finance, education, and medical care. -**Legal restrictions**: Some occupations (such as lawyers and teachers) expressly prohibit those with criminal records from practicing. -**Skills disconnect**: Long-term imprisonment may lead to a disconnect between vocational skills and social needs. 2. **Social relations and prejudices** -**Stigma**: Society's label of “criminal” may lead to exclusion and even affect family relationships. -**Social isolation**: Some people actively reduce socializing due to low self-esteem or external pressure. 3. **Institutional barriers** -**Housing restrictions**: Some areas or landlords refuse to rent to those with criminal records. -**Credit and benefits**: Loan applications and social benefits may be restricted. 4. **Psychological stress** -**Self-denial**: Long-term negative evaluation can easily lead to a low sense of self-worth and increase the risk of reoffending. --- ###**2. Positive factors: How to promote integration? ** 1. **Legal and policy support** -**Criminal record storage/elimination**: Such as the “Expungement” of the United States or China's juvenile criminal record storage system. -**Anti-discrimination legislation**: Some regions prohibit employers from asking about criminal history in the early stages of recruitment (such as the “Ban the Box” campaign). 2. **Social support system** -**Vocational training and employment assistance**: Skills training and employment docking services provided by the government or non-governmental organizations. -**Psychological counseling**: Help rebuild self-confidence and cope with social pressure. -**Family and community acceptance**: Family support and community inclusion are essential. 3. **Personal efforts** -**Continuous learning**: Enhance competitiveness through education or skill upgrading. -**Active integration**: Participate in voluntary activities and community service to rebuild trust. --- ###**3. Success stories and data** -**International experience**: Through “restorative justice” and humane prison management in Nordic countries such as Norway, the recidivism rate has been reduced to less than 20% (much lower than that of the United States, which is more than 70%). -**China Practice**: Some regions have piloted the "Sunshine Employment" program, cooperating with enterprises to provide jobs for people released from prison, and the recidivism rate has decreased significantly. --- ###**4. Conclusion: Difficult but not impossible** Criminal records do raise the threshold for integration into society, but they are not insurmountable. **The combination of institutional security, social tolerance and personal efforts can significantly improve results. For example, American entrepreneur Curtis Carroll was imprisoned for robbery, but learned to invest in prison and became a financial mentor. After being released from prison, he successfully transformed. This shows that even in the face of huge challenges, it is still possible to rebuild life. **Key recommendations**: Society needs to reduce “one-size-fits-all” exclusion and shift to more detailed risk assessment; individuals should actively seek support and gradually accumulate social trust. In the end, a more tolerant mechanism can reduce the recidivism rate and promote the overall safety of society.