Saturday, April 21, 2012

Education Lowers Recidivism



                Corrections, in every single state, keeps going in circles trying to find what is the best way to reduce recidivism. The reality is, the only ways to reduce recidivism costs a lot of money that taxpayers and the state do not want to pay, and reasonably so. If Corrections is truly designed to correct behavior, shouldn’t we be trying to find ways to correct the inmate’s behavior and trying to successfully reintegrate them into society?
                One of the best ways to predict whether an individual will recidivate, or commit a crime at all, is to look at how much education they have received. In the 1990’s, it seemed every institution had college courses or at least GED programs. Now, there are no in-house college courses offered in Illinois because of lack of funding and the wishes of the general public. There is a belief among the general public that a prison does not deserve to have more opportunities than the poorest free person, which is a contributing factor to why there are no college courses offered in IDOC anymore. However, a study done by MTC Institute and Correctional Education Association found that “Participants in correctional-education programs had a 48% rate of re-arrest, while the nonparticipants had a 57% rate.” The participants also had fewer rates of reconviction and were more likely to remain employed, and at higher wages than nonparticipants that did not participate in correctional education programs (journalistsresource). This study shows that there are indeed ways to help reduce recidivism. A similar study done at Bedford Hills Correctional Center, the only maximum-security female prison in New York found that fewer than 8 percent of former inmates who took college classes in prison returned to prison during the three-year period after release. Inmates who did not take any college classes in prison had an almost 30% recidivism rate (ncpa).
                Since states and departments of corrections have little-to-no money in these trying economic times, it is extremely hard to fund in-house educational programs. One way to offset the expenses is to allow inmates to receive grants or student aid to help pay for their college courses. The remaining balance from student aid and grants should be paid by the inmate or their family so the burden does not rest on tax-payers. Inmates could use the money they make in prison labor to pay for their college tuition or find some way to help exchange tuition for some goods or services to society, such as community service or contracting. Of course not all inmates will have equal opportunity to receive higher education due to mental illness or financial problems but this would reflect opportunities on the outside.
                Since it is proven that higher education helps reduce recidivism, I think it is a good idea that we help implement these programs. The ultimate goal of the DOC should be to help successfully reintegrate convicts into society, and this program could help to achieve that goal. The inmates need to bear the burden of paying for the classes, not the taxpayers. In this way the inmates would be taking responsibility of their own future and could help to solve prison boredom. Education has shown to have no adverse effects on recidivism, so why not try to re-implement these programs to help make society safer and help relieve some of the monetary burden on the state’s taxpayers because of those whom recidivate?


8 comments:

  1. I agree something should be done to help reintegrate inmates into the public. When you say an inmate shouldn't get more than a poor person, well majority of the incarcerated population is lower class. So I believe they should be able to have some type of foundation to stand on when they are released to keep them on a positive path and from returning to jail or prison. Some inmates also try to do right when they are released,but they have families to feed and they can't continue to get rejected. So they get violent or turn to drugs regardless if it's using or selling. These are things that can be resolved if college courses where allowed back into the system.
    College gives people a different way of thinking and a more positive outlook on a career and a fresh start.

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  2. The main goal of a prison is to help these inmates lower recidivism. I too agree that something should be done to help these inmates get socialized back into the community. The rule of prison is to make sure that the inmate doesn't get more than the average "poor" person. I back Misty up 100% on the whole aspect that inmates usually come from the lower class population already and some do deserve to better themselves and if education is shown to help lower recidivism, then why not? Education helps a person think critically and might be able to help most realize they need to change if they want to survive once they get out on the outside.

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  3. Politicians promise to “get tough on crime” to please voters, but the model of criminal justice that focuses on retribution or punishment has failed to lower the rates of recidivism. Incarceration is equally ineffective. The model we are slowly moving towards is a rehabilitation method that requires vast amount of time, effort, and money on prisoners. It has taken too long to conclude education results in less crimes and recidivism.

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  4. I agree with this article I believe that criminals should be educated especially if it shows that it helps them from committing future crimes. I also like the idea that it would be the inmates who pay to receive their education and not the taxpayers. I do believe that this would be a very useful way to prevent recidivism and I would like to see it implemented in some states. At this point I don't really see any harm coming from it and if it is going to cut down on recidivism then I don't see why we shouldn't at least give it a try.

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  5. Ya I can see educating less violent inmates as a positive thing because when they get out better jobs will be available and keep them out of trouble.

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  6. I believe it is a great idea to have inmates who actually want to receive education to pay for it themselves. I have a feeling that many people, those being taxpayers, would vote for this type of practice. No one wants to have their own money go to inmates. Although, I do believe that their should be more research on this idea. As far as I can see from this article, it is a great idea and is working. Everything is worth a shot to implement if it is going to lower the chances of recidivism. As a criminal justice system the main idea should be to reduce recidivism, and by doing that it can help lower prison populations/overcrowding.

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  7. I agree like the many above me. Actually trying to help inmates reintegrate is a great way to keep them from committing crimes even more. Programs in prisons that help prepare prisoners for life outside of the prison walls are proven to help prisoners get on their feet rather than going back to their old ways of committing crimes.

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  8. I want to start out by saying this was a well thought, well written article. I agree, if we are trying to change people in prison, and education helps lower recidivism, then by all means lets get them educated. I also think prison is a punishment, so I can see the side of people who say it is wrong to give inmates free education. After giving that some thought, I think in the big scheme of things, it is more beneficial to educate them in order to lower prison populations in the future.

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