Bivariate Application And Interpretation Assignment

Last, in most prisons they have disciplinary credits. This is a system originally created as an incentive for good behavior. It gives inmates the opportunity to take educational classes, such as GED instruction, literacy education, and substance abuse treatment. There are also vocational programs that inmates can take to learn a trade or skill. Each class or program that is completed the inmate receives points or credits. Points can be used to shorted the inmates time spent behind bars. A lot of these degrees have nothing to do with future behavior, it 's just a way for the inmate to get out early. Inmates will pile up class after class, which when many are completed can take years off a long sentence. Inmates have been

The prison system realizes that an immense majority of inmates will be released; we need to prepare them for outside life. Without the efforts of educational programs, a prison can become a “revolving door, with inmates having nowhere to go but back” to the prison with no future (Young 1). A majority of the states offer a GED program, but North Carolina profits from a Community College system that offers classes in academics, auto mechanics, masonry, wiring, plumbing, and computer literacy. The Community Colleges offer two-year degree programs in many areas. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers business association classes to inmates over twenty-five years of age. Because of the excellent programs they have to offer, more than five thousand of about thirty thousand inmates are in the education program and these numbers continue to grow.

Although several educational programs are widely available, many inmates are unable to take advantage of them, do not complete them, or lack follow up in the form of ongoing support services once released from the correctional system. The following table displays this concern: Table 2. national and state data on inmate participation and completion . Approximate Numbers 1993-2007: Institution Type Total Number of Inmates System 165,000 167,717 Number of Inmates Enrolled in Education Programs 54,000 87,624 Rate of Attendance, At Completion of Course 50% 60% Rate of Completion

Many offenders will be released from prison and yet approximately 60% will return for violating the law (Beard, Johnson, & Kemp, 2003). An inmate that has an education equivalent to a

The article "The Impact of Career and Technical Education Programs on Adult Offenders: Learning Behind Bars" by Howard Gordon and Bracie Weldon (2003) studies of how prisoners receiving educations in prison reduces the recidivism rate. Gordon and Weldon studied the inmates who were participating in the educational programs at the Huttonsville Correctional Center in West Virginia and claimed that inmates who participated in the educational programs were less likely to recidivate once released back into the population as compared to inmates who did not participate in these programs (Gordon & Weldon, 2003). This study provides valuable information as to the effectiveness of educational programs in prison and how they affect prisoner's lives

We’ve all seen it at least once. We’ve all passed by a middle or a high school and seen a police car on campus. Sometimes we even happen to see a teen in handcuffs getting detained. When you see things like this happen do you ever just stop and think whether students that are detained or incarcerated get the education they need? There are few experiences in the lives of children as critical as education. While all children learn directly and indirectly from their families, neighbors, and peers, formal education and school experiences provide the foundation and establish the trajectory for post-secondary education, employment, and wellbeing in adulthood. Historically, one group of students in the United States has received grossly inadequate education: children in juvenile correctional facilities. Little to nothing is known about educational programs in juvenile detention centers. Limited information is available on best practices for educating youth in the juvenile justice system whether committed or detained. Koyama cites that existing empirically based educational practices do not readily transfer to the unique environment of a secure setting or adequately address the intense needs of court-involved youth (ctd. in Koyama 36).

There are numerous programs available for inmates who are incarcerated, and the individuals who capitalize on these programs show subsequent improvement after being released. However, these programs only help those prisoners who are willing to change. While incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, there are numerous programs inmates can take advantage of that will help them in a variety of fields such as, “Education and Vocational Training, English-as-a-Second Language Program, Drug Abuse Education, Sex Offender Treatment Programs – Nonresidential, Skills Programs,” and more (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). On the educational side, the BOP offers a program called the Bureau Literacy Program (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015).

Inmates need to be educated and rehabilitated in order to be released back into society. If prisoners receive a good education they are less likely to commit misconduct in the future. The Three State Recidivism Study

Many programs have been initiated to help the problems of overcrowding and negligence. These include education, rehabilitation programs, work-release programs, and other preventative measures. Numerous education programs are offered to inmates. Some prisons even mandate the completion of a GED if the offender never finished high school. Many colleges in the prison’s community partner together with each other to enable higher learning as a possibility for offenders to obtain college credit. These services help inmates succeed in an inmate’s preparation to reintegrate into society with less chances of being arrested again. Offenders that are more prepared to leave prison are not as likely to commit a crime which improves the safety of the public and also saves money from taxpayers. (Office of Vocational Adult Education, 2009)

While in prison, education would provide a crucial key for inmate rehabilitation. Part of that rehabilitation can be in the form of education. Education in the prison system generally geared

2015) Research shows that a one dollar investment in prison education reduces incarceration costs by four to five dollars during the first three years after an inmate’s release. Most released inmates with no education return to prison within the first three years of getting out. Inmates with an education have a thirteen percent higher chance of finding employment after being released which reduces the chance of them returning to a life of crime and prison. John Johnson, imprisoned for life as a three-time felon says “that classes offered in prison helps him realize that he is alive and a human being.”

The majority of criminals that come into contact with the criminal justice system tend to have low education levels. According to Florida Department of Corrections in 2009-2010, 71.7 percent of inmates had less than GED prep skills, which is below 9th grade level, and 25 percent had functional literacy skills of 9th graders and below (6th -8.9 grade levels) (dc. State.fl.us 2010). These statistics are based on Florida correctional facilities only not at the national level. Although the levels of literacy may vary between states, it is known that the majority of inmates do not have the proper education level. Recidivism rates amongst multiple states released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics is nearly 50%. On the other hand, Prisoners who receive some type of educational treatment in prison have a less

4. Participation by inmates in appropriate education opportunities, job training, and substance abuse counseling or treatment; and

Wilson, David B., Catherine A. Gallagher, and Doris L. MacKenzie. "A Meta-Analysis of Corrections-Based Education, Vocation, and Work Programs for Adult Offenders." Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 37.4 (2000):

The position that education and criminal activity play integral roles with public safety may have some merit; however, they are not entirely - cause and effect. In the article, Education and Public Safety, I believe the authors are a little biased towards the criminal justice system with the assertion that there should be reduced funding to law enforcement and corrections in order to fund education - “rob Peter to pay Paul”. Also, they did not address the issue of recidivism and the educational opportunities that inmates have access to that the general population does not. I am curious to see how many re-offend after taking advantage of educational opportunities in prison.