What I know…

The purpose of prisons and jails is to accomplish four specific functions. They satisfy society’s desire to punish or smite the iniquitous, they protect the public by taking dangerous criminals out of circulation, they serve to deter potential offenders, and they provide an opportunity to change the way offenders will think and act upon their release. My interest is in the latter two, and the general understanding that the average education level of a prison inmate is far below that of the typical law abiding citizen.

Nearly 80% of all inmates are functionally illiterate. Nevertheless, almost 80% of prison efforts go toward security, with prison policies and budgets allowing very little effective effort to help inmates reach a level of education that will allow them to be independently productive once they reach the outside. It would seem reasonable that educational reform is the key to reducing recidivism and deterring future criminals. However, it appears that society focuses on punishment and incapacitation, deeming criminals as no longer fit to mingle in society, and for the most part neglecting to help them reform and reintegrate into society.

Is there merit in mandating education as an integral component of all prison sentences, furthermore will doing so facilitate the conversion of our current prisons from holding pens and schoolhouses for criminals to true rehabilitation centers?

Ultimately, there are three kinds of inmates. First, there are those who will not change no matter what. To them, life is a game they are playing, and prison is simply a penalty box akin to the ones in hockey. Second, there are those who are struggling between old habits and the idea of trying to break away from them. Many of these will have a hard time breaking away from their habits because of the lack of education. Third and last, there are those who are committed to making changes, but again they are hamstrung by a lack of education and knowledge.

For the first group little can be done. They are caught up in a fallacy of their own creation, believing that they are impervious to the law, and it is the role of society to try to stop them. Conversely, the other two groups could profit greatly from educational rehabilitation programs. While the second group would undoubtedly retain a higher recidivism than the third due to addictions and other problems relating to their habits, both groups would benefit from the intrinsic ability to reason and resolve that comes with education.

There would still be the obvious obstacles that come with a criminal record, however compared to the expense of re-incarceration, which costs yearly from $25,000 to $45,000 per inmate, prison education is a bargain at one-tenth the cost. It seems obvious that educational rehabilitation programs are needed to help prepare inmates for success in the outside world. Not necessarily because criminals deserve the chance, that is an entirely separate issue, but because it is in the best interest of society.