Education as Crime Prevention

This research brief presents the most recent data on the impact of education on crime and crime prevention, and examines the debate on providing higher education to inmates.

In response to the American public’s growing fear of crime and the call for more punitive measures to combat such fear, many legislators and policymakers have promoted building more prisons, enacting harsher sentencing legislation, and eliminating various programs inside prisons and jails.

With re-arrest rates averaging around 60%, it is clear that incarceration alone is not working. In fact, the drive to incarcerate, punish, and limit the activities of prisoners has often resulted in the elimination of strategies and programs that seek to prevent or reduce crime. For instance, research shows that quality education 2 is one of the most effective forms of crime prevention. Educational skills can help deter young people from committing criminal acts and can greatly decrease the likelihood that people will return to crime after release from prison.

Despite this evidence, educational programs in correctional facilities, where they have proven to be extraordinarily effective, have in many cases been completely eliminated. Over 1.6 million individuals are housed in adult correctional facilities in the United States, and at least 99,682 juveniles are in custody. The majority of these individuals will be released into the community unskilled, undereducated, and highly likely to become re-involved in criminal activity. With so many exoffenders returning to prison, it is clear that the punitive, incarceration-based approach to crime prevention is not working.

We need to promote policies and procedures that are successful. Education, particularly at the college level, can afford individuals with the opportunities to achieve and maintain productive and crime-free lives, and help to create safer communities for all.