Essay on Prison Inmates Should Be Allowed to Take College Courses

     “It is not a surprise to see that prisoners all have a low education level. I guess a more educated person has enough sense not to be involved with crime…the relationship between crime and education is easy to see when viewing these facts” (Cordes 1). This is the view of most people when asked why people are in prison. People simply say that criminals were ill educated. As hard as we may try, we cannot do a lot about what happens before they enter prison, but there are many programs inside prisons to help rehabilitate them for when they leave the prison.

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

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Everyone knows that you can’t help someone unless they want to help themselves. When the prison system was first established, the possibilities in rehabilitation were nothing like they are

The correctional educational programs plays a role in reducing recidivism. Recidivism remains high nationally, with four in 10 inmates returning to prison within three years of release. Most inmate that goes to prison had less education than the general population. I feel that it's

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

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)

Moreover, the studies had also been conducted to evaluate correctional programs’ effects on recidivism. All studies point to one conclusion; offenders who participate in correctional education programs are less likely to return to prison after being released. For example, researchers at the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) evaluated correctional education’s effect on inmates who participated in the programs offered in IDOC and compared their results with a group that had not

Preamble: Whereas at this time, many of the incarcerated men, women, and children of our great nation are not sufficiently educated to be employed by the various corporations in the United States of America. To further develop the potential workforce of America, these incarcerated peoples should become proficient in the reading and writing of the English language. This in turn will help reduce the tax rates of the Federal Bureau of Prisons by lessening the amount of people imprisoned. According to the article Educated Prisoners are Less Likely to Return to Prison found in the Journal of Correctional Education, the prisoners who undergo an educational program during their incarceration are far less likely to return than prisoners who did not received any education during their confinement. In the state of Ohio, the total rate of recidivism (an inmate 's relapse back into criminal behavior after they received sanctions or underwent an intervention for a previous crime) was 40 percent while the prisoners who had completed an academic program during imprisonment had an overall rate of 18 percent. When the recidivism rate is lowered, these aforementioned correctional education programs produce hundreds of millions of dollars worth of savings annually for the country. Additionally, the education of the incarcerated peoples of America will increase the national literacy rate and promote the general welfare of the country.

Most of today’s prisons focus only on punishing criminals, and not rehabilitating them. This is why so many inmates struggle to reintegrate into society and end up being arrested multiple times throughout their life. If prisons increased their focus on rehabilitating criminals and preparing them for outside life when they are eventually released, more inmates would be able to get their life back on track and become productive members of society. Some other areas of the prison system that need attention include overcrowding, health care, and the education of prisoners. Improving the prison system will benefit inmates, their families, the economy, and the community around them. There are many issues with the

     The idea of sentencing a criminal for a period of time in a prison isn't working, so prisons should focus more on changing their rehabilitation programs. Life in prison should be like the outside world as much as possible, given the fact of imprisonment. Prisoners would be less prepared if the prison environment is artificial and abnormal compared to the outside world they will have to encounter later on. A prisoner also needs to keep family ties. Research in

Prison reform is a significant issue that the United States government should enforce. It would aid in creating a more organized system of incarceration. Prison reform is an attempt to improve, change, or eliminate certain conditions in prisons. It is believed that it should be enforced due to the cases of overcrowding, lack of proper education, and the lack of rehabilitation that could inform prisoners of societal values. Prison reform would increase the self-esteem that was diminished in the prisoner’s personal history. Prison reform is significantly important as it will heighten the amount of self-worth in the prisoner and cause a decrease in the population of prisoners who return to a life of crime. Recidivism, or chance of recommitting a crime, will therefore be reduced. Prisoner who are released will not have all the negative ideals or influence from the prison that is usually spread until their release. Prison reform will help society if the increase in education and decrease in overcrowding is ensued upon the prison system with this policy.

Education reduces the recidivism rate. According to www.ed.gov, “Employment after release was thirteen percent higher among prisoners who participated in either academic or vocational education programs than among those who did not.” Education gives

Education is not a fix all by any means, but it is the best start to solving the large literacy rates of US prisons. Of course, it will require much hard work on the part of the prisoner getting out, and there may be a large percentage who do not desire to take advantage of such programs, but Americans should encourage and give these individuals tools to help them back into society. Pont sums it up best, “Our aim should be to propel offenders into, rather than away from, successful participation in the labor force” (23). Stimulation of involvement in the work force will encourage offenders of the law to stay out of trouble rather than to take the revolving door that always leads back to the same place.