Tucson is changing its job applications. The city is removing the question about a candidate’s criminal history. Martha Durkin, Tucson’s Interim City Manager, said she was approached about a national program called “Ban the Box,” which aims to make it easier for some former offenders to get jobs and found the argument to use the program “very persuasive.”

Durkin said the city has already removed the question about criminal history from applications. She expects to have the complete list of jobs which require background checks and the process for applicants to question their disqualification by the start of the new year.

The group that went to Durkin is the Phoenix-based William E. Morris Institute for Justice. Its Director, Ellen Katz, said the group has also approached Maricopa and Pima Counties and the city of Phoenix. But she said Tucson is the first municipality in the state to adopt the program.