Doesn’t seem like much of a contest, does it? I think most would choose getting an education over spending time in a federal penitentiary. Unfortunately, for many the choice has ended up being the later rather than the former. It is estimated that 75% of all inmates in the American penal system have no post secondary education. Some, while incarcerated, are wise enough to realize that time spent under lock and key would be better spent educating themselves so that a return trip through the legal system will not be their only option. Those who do decide to finish high school and get a college diploma greatly reduce their chances of recidivism.
In the United States, 53% of men and 39% of women who have spent time in jail are re-incarcerated. This is not particularly surprising if those released from jail re-enter society with the same skill sets that they had before being incarcerated. Many inmates, depending on their length of stay, may not have access to education or are not motivated to do anything about it, due to a lack of funding and resources. Really, by the time someone enters the legal system it is too late.
An unfortunate by-product of the high incarceration rates in the USA, is that that money that should be spent on education is being used to deal with the ever growing prison population. Since 1980, there has been exponential growth in the population of prisons. In the past three decades, the US has seen its prison population swell from 500,000 to 2.3 million, with an annual incarceration cost of 70 billion dollars.
Where is all the money coming from to pay for housing and feeding inmates? Unfortunately, it is being drawn out of social programs, most notably, education. That, coupled with a suffering global economy, makes even less funds available for education. This is a very worrying trend that is not likely to change in the near future. Actually, it is likely to get worse as one trend is adversely affecting the other and is ensuring the continued growth of the penal system.
With all of the aforementioned in mind, it really comes down to the individual to help reverse this trend. Whether for oneself or one’s loved ones, planning for a post secondary education is a most. Do the leg work in your community and find out what grants, bursaries and loans are available. In addition, to rent textbooks could potentially save one thousands during the course of earning a degree. Check with local colleges and universities and ask, “How does renting textbooks work?”
