An entire division of the Justice Department is now under orders to stop describing people as “felons” or “convicts” — and instead say “person who committed a crime” or “individual who was incarcerated.”

No, that’s not a joke.

OK, the agency in question, the Office of Justice Programs, is charged with helping ex-cons find their way in the outside world. And the language games come as OJP launches its first National Reentry Week — highlighting new ideas to reduce recidivism.

Here’s Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason: “The labels we affix to those who have served time can drain their sense of self-worth and perpetuate a cycle of crime, the very thing reentry programs are designed to prevent.”

Well, yes — but using painfully awkward phrases only highlights the hard facts you’re trying to downplay.
True: A criminal record makes it much harder to get a job or even a place to stay. And it’s very much in everyone’s interest to help ex-cons find a niche on the right side of the law.

But ordering Justice Department officials to speak gobbledegook isn’t even a step toward a solution. Finding real answers always starts with talking honestly about the problem.