Reducing Recidivism Through Prison Education
by Heather D. Burton
Abstract
America imprisons more people per capita than any other industrialized nation. We currently have more than 2.2 million people in our prisons and jails. This number is expected to grow over the next few years. This population growth results in our Federal and State governments spending an increasing amount of taxpayer money on criminal corrections every year. Prisoners have the lowest educational rates and the highest levels of illiteracy and disability of any segment in our society. Most all these people will be eligible for parole at some time in the future, and most are unprepared for life outside of prison. As a result, a large number of those released from prison will eventually return. Our society views prison as a place of punishment. We place very little emphasis on the rehabilitation of prisoners. Despite the substantial success that educational programs have displayed, funding for educational programs has not kept pace with the exploding prison population. In fact, many states have opted to reduce funding for prison education. Educating prisoners is admittedly only one of many policies that can and should be used to reduce recidivism. Education can help reduce our prison population and our society is facing a desperate need for such a reduction.
Table of Contents
Introduction 2
The Prison Population Explosion and Recidivism 2
Population Growth 2
Expense 5
Capacity 6
Re-entry and Recidivism 7
Prison Education 9
The Effect of Prison Education on Recidivism 11
Suggestions 14
Restore Funding 15
Increase Inmate Participation 19
Modify Society’s View of Incarceration 21
Conclusion 24
The good man is the man who, no matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better.
- John Dewey
America is the land of second chance and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.
- President George W. Bush
Introduction
The prison population in the United States is expanding at a very rapid pace; it has increased more than three-fold in the last few decades. An increasing prison population places a very heavy financial burden on our Federal, State, and local governments. An important way to ease this enormous burden is to reduce the number of people in prison. This can be accomplished by reducing the number of recidivists. Recidivists are individuals who return to prison or jail after having previously served time in such a facility. Unfortunately, a large number of inmates fall into this category. Prisoners who participate in educational programs while incarcerated are less likely to recidivate. Thus, prison education can help reduce our prison population. Prison education works and, even better, it is also more cost-efficient than other recidivism-reducing options. Despite a long history of success, our society seems to value incapacitation more than rehabilitation. It makes no sense to overlook options that are beneficial and successful. We need to restore and expand funding to prison educational programs, encourage greater inmate participation, and come to the realization that some offenders can be rehabilitated. I believe these measures would reduce the number of prisoners and, in turn, save our Federal, State, and local tax payers millions of dollars every year.
The Prison Population Explosion and Recidivism
Population Growth
In the United States, we incarcerate people in Federal, State, and local correctional facilities. Each of these criminal correction systems is an enormous enterprise, and combined, they are extraordinarily expensive to maintain. Over the last few decades, the U.S. has experienced a substantial growth in the population of these Federal, State, and local prisons and jails. We have also seen an increase in the number of individuals under correctional supervision (probation and parole). Our country is now incarcerating more people per capita than any other industrialized country in the world.[1] In 2006, the U.S. incarceration rate reached 497 per 100,000 residents.[2] The most recent survey conducted by the Federal government reveals that there are now more than 2.2 million people in prison or jail.[3] In addition, there are more than 5 million people under correctional supervision.[4] All in all, the lives of more than 7 million individuals (or approximately 2.5% of the total U.S. population) are either fully or partially supervised by our Federal, State, and local criminal correction systems.
The number of incarcerated and supervised individuals in the U.S. is alarmingly high. More alarming is the trend of rapid growth for this group. This enormous growth has occurred despite the fact that the current U.S. crime rate is at a forty year low.[5] The total number of incarcerated individuals is increasing because, every year, we are bringing more prisoners into our prisons and jails than we are releasing. More people in means more people will eventually come out. As a result, the number of individuals on parole has increased. Over the last several decades, the number of people incarcerated or under correctional supervision has expanded each and every year.[6] In fact, is has nearly quadrupled since 1980. The number expanded from around 1.8 million people in 1980 to more than 7 million in 2005.[7]
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Key Crime & Justice Facts at a Glance,”
correctional population chart, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/corr2.htm.
This amazing growth is projected to continue over the next few years. According to one report, we can expect to see a 13% increase in our prison population by 2011 (triple the rate of the expected growth in the general U.S. population).[8] The prison population in the U.S. has already reached an almost unmanageable level. Further growth in this population could be devastating to our already stressed correctional systems.
Expense
The cost of incarcerating prisoners in the United States is expanding right along with the incarceration rate. On average, the individual States spend about 10% of their annual general-fund budget on criminal corrections.[9] Criminal corrections are one of the fastest growing budget expenditures that State governments face today.[10]
The Federal, State, and local correctional systems have no choice but to spend the incredibly large amount of money that is required to cope with the expanding prison population. Early release is not a sensible option. We cannot simply free criminals because we have no room, or because they cost too much. This leaves our correctional systems with little choice but to find a place to house additional inmates, and find the money to pay for it. Accommodating a large inmate population inevitably means spending a lot of money. This spending occurs in the form of building new facilities, hiring employees to supervise the inmates, inmate health care, inmate education, and other inmate programs.[11]
Each year, we are spending an increasing number of tax dollars on criminal corrections. We have seen an unbelievable 600% increase in spending over the last 25 years. In 2005 alone, the U.S. spent more than $200 billion dollars on Federal, State and local correctional facilities.[12] The national average cost of keeping one inmate incarcerated for one year is approaching $25,000.[13] Consider that in contrast that with the mere $8,700 (average) we spend each year on educating one K-12 student.[14]
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Key Crime & Justice Facts at a Glance,
expenditure chart, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/expgov.htm.
The $200 billion accounts for the costs of incarceration alone. It does not even begin to touch upon the associated costs of prison-capacity expansion, law enforcement, courts, parole and probation, social welfare systems, lost wages, or lost tax dollars. As you can see, the criminal corrections system in America is indeed a very expensive endeavor.
Capacity
The inmate population explosion in the United States has put a lot of stress on our Federal, State, and local correctional facilities. Many American prisons and jails are presently operating well beyond their original intended capacity. According to the Federal government, the Federal prison system is currently operating at 34% over capacity.[15] Prisons and jails that are operating over capacity incur additional expenses. Much of this can be attributed to supervision and the building of new facilities. It is not hard to imagine that the bigger the resident population, the more difficult it becomes to control the inmates.[16] Additional guards are needed to ensure safety and order in the facility.
Also, when a correctional facility reaches its population capacity, steps must be taken to either expand the facility, or find another place to keep the prisoners. Expansion is understandably expensive. Unfortunately, the prison population growth has occurred at such a rapid rate that, even though we are continually building new facilities, the expansion effort just is not happening fast enough to keep up with the growth. When expansion is not possible, correctional facilities end up paying in the form of reduced space for non-essential activities. Many prisons and jails have been forced to convert areas once used for recreation, education, and other inmate programs into crowded inmate dormitories.
Re-entry and Recidivism
On top of the exploding population and exorbitant cost increases, the U.S. criminal correction systems are faced with various re-entry and recidivism problems. Every year, thousands of inmates are released from our jails and prisons. Recent calculations estimate that we release more than 670,000 inmates from our Federal, State, and local correctional facilities every year.[17] Today, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) releases more prisoners in one year than it held in the entire Federal prison system 20 years ago.[18] There are more than 2.1 million inmates in prison right now that will eventually be eligible for release. We want to lock criminals away, but we seldom consider the financial impact, or the impact such action has on society when the criminals are released.
Inadequate education together with a recent criminal record places limits on the job opportunities that are available to individuals released from prison. American prisoners have consistently tested at the lowest levels of educational achievement, and at the highest levels of illiteracy and educational disability of any segment in our society.[19] More than half of the adults in American prisons have less than an 8th grade education, and cannot read or write effectively.[20] In our current system, nearly all prisoners will come out of prison just as poorly educated as they were when they went in.
This trend is even worse for the young black males in our jails and prisons. Today, more than 1/2 of all black men without a high school diploma have prison records (compared to 10% of white male drop-outs).[21] In California, nearly all black males who did not graduate high school have served time in prison.[22] This is a trend that our society cannot afford to continue. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has estimated that 29% of all black males born in 1991 will spend some time in prison.[23] Statistical trends suggest that these percentages are increasing and that 32% of all black males born in 2001 will serve some time in prison.[24]
Considering the vast number of inmates that do not possess the basic social and educational skills that they need to function in free society, it should come as no surprise that many of those released from prison or jail will eventually return.[25] If they cannot find a job to support themselves, it becomes much more likely that they will spend their time engaged in some criminal enterprise that will eventually put them back inside. An astounding 2/3 of all inmates released will eventually be re-arrested for a new crime, and many (estimated at 1/2) will be re-incarcerated.[26] This in-and-out-of-prison cycle is very costly to our government and to society as a whole. There are programs that we can employ to alleviate some of the prison population expansion. To ignore such programs is fiscally irresponsible. Prison education is such a program, and it has proven itself time and again.
Prison Education
Prison education has deep roots in the American correctional system. Inmate educational programming has been a part our criminal corrections system for more than 200 years. The first government-sponsored American prison was established in Philadelphia in 1791, and the first educational program for inmates was added to this prison in 1798.[27] The Congressional act that created the BOP clearly states that the BOP will be responsible for the education of Federal prisoners.[28] The BOP embraces this responsibility in their mission statement which says they will “provide work and other opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.”[29] By the 1930s, the Federal prison system had made educational courses for all illiterate prisoners mandatory.[30]
Today, Federal inmates who do not have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate are required to participate in literacy programs until they obtain a GED (or reach 240 hours of instruction).[31] At least 26 states have also implemented some sort of mandatory education program for inmates who did not complete high school.[32] Other Federal and State inmates may participate in a variety of programs (literacy, adult continuing education, parenting, health and wellness, vocational programs, and some college). However, participation and completion of these programs is entirely voluntary. [33] All in all, 100% of Federal correctional facilities and about 91% of State facilities have some variety of educational programming available.[34]
It is clear that educational programs in our prisons have a long history, but recent years have seen a decrease in participation and funding for these programs. This decline couldn’t come at a worse time for those facing imprisonment. Nearly half of our inmates have not graduated high school, and only about 5% hold a college or advanced degree.[35] About 2,000 inmates are released from prison every day, and half of them do not have the educational skills that they needed to succeed in legitimate employment.
The key to success in free society for many these uneducated prisoners is education within the prison. What better way to help prisoners re-enter society successfully and break the in-and-out-of-jail cycle than to provide them with the skills that they need to succeed in the outside world?
Prison education can provide a vital service for our prison population. These people need help in attaining the competence that is necessary to succeed in life outside the prison walls. Without this help, the likelihood of released prisoners making it in free society are not very high. If the prisoner cannot make it legitimately on the outside, he will very likely return to a life of crime. Correctional education programs have been a proven recidivism reducer. We cannot disregard viable solutions to our increasing prison populations and overcrowded facilities. Recidivism and the rising prison population are very expensive problems. Prison education can help our governments save precious resources by reducing the problem.