Few studies are conducted regarding the forces that lower recidivism rates, but one stands out: The Three-State Study, released September 2001. Conducted by the Correctional Education Association (CEA), this study used three measures — re-arrest, re-conviction and re-incarceration — to test the hypotheses that participation in correctional education reduces recidivism.
Almost 3,200 inmates were included in the research, making this one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted in correctional education. Both correctional education participants, and a comparison group of non-participants, were followed for a period of three years after release from incarceration in Maryland, Minnesota and Ohio.
The CEA study confirms that correctional education significantly reduced long-term recidivism for inmates released in late 1997 and early 1998. It also reported that “the drop in recidivism is large and has important fiscal and policy implications. Education provides a real payoff to the public in terms of crime reduction and improved employment of ex-offenders. Investments in correctional education programs have been confirmed as a wise and informed public policy.”
The study also says, “Overall investment in education for the incarcerated seems wise. As a matter of public policy, the study shows that education should be emphasized as both a rehabilitative as well as a crime reduction tool. Further research is needed to determine what kinds or combinations of education programs are most effective. While it is difficult to generalize the results of a study from one state to another, the fact that the recidivism results were similar in three different states should be encouraging to those who consider budgets and policies for correctional systems everywhere.”
These and other studies combined show the link between the proclivity to commit crime and the perpetrators’ socio-economic conditions. Rates of recidivism are highest among low-income communities where schools and other social institutions are not equipped to fulfill the extreme need. Disproportionate segments of this population spill into the courts and prisons, where punishing conditions amplify the problem, turning perpetrators into victims.
Despite the results of studies showing that intervention and rehabilitation trump punishment as forms of treatment leading to functional lifestyles, scant resources exist to remedy a counter-productive cultural agenda. The findings highlight the need for more study toward the goal of investing intelligently in productive, conclusive consequences for crimes committed.
Tom Bolema is a Literacy Coordinator in the San Quentin Education Department.
