I wish I could say that any and all the statistics were surprising, but there not. I majored in Justice and public safety in the early 90’s, these stats are very similar to the stats that I discussed with my professors. Here we are almost 3 decades later, millions of dollars spent on research and studies, and to what end. I will address a few statistics a couple statistics that inevitably makes you ask “How and why”.
About 9 in 10 State prisons, all Federal prisons, and almost 9 in 10 private prisons provide educational programs for their inmates. These facilities generally hold persons sentenced to at least a year in prison, giving inmates a long period to concentrate on achieving educational goals (Harlow, 2003 p.4). In State prisons between 1995 and 2000, the percentages of prisons offering classes increased for basic education (76% to …show more content…
A larger percentage of State prison inmates who were raised by a single parent or other adult, including relatives, friends, or other adults, compared to those who lived in a two parent household, failed to obtain a high school diploma or pass the GED; 43% of inmates raised by one parent, 47% by others, and 34% by both parents did not complete a high school diploma/GED (Harlow, 2003 p. 8). With that being said, should we not take this fact into account when we are attempting to look at the why of our incarceration problem? We talk education all the time, but how many times does the family, or lack thereof, get any traction in the conversation. I don’t believe in the magic bullet fix all scenario, I do believe in morals, discipline, respect, love and the notion of having a genuine concern for our fellow citizens. If and when we reach this state in society, only then will change ever truly be
About 9 in 10 State prisons, all Federal prisons, and almost 9 in 10 private prisons provide educational programs for their inmates. These facilities generally hold persons sentenced to at least a year in prison, giving inmates a long period to concentrate on achieving educational goals (Harlow, 2003 p.4). In State prisons between 1995 and 2000, the percentages of prisons offering classes increased for basic education (76% to …show more content…
A larger percentage of State prison inmates who were raised by a single parent or other adult, including relatives, friends, or other adults, compared to those who lived in a two parent household, failed to obtain a high school diploma or pass the GED; 43% of inmates raised by one parent, 47% by others, and 34% by both parents did not complete a high school diploma/GED (Harlow, 2003 p. 8). With that being said, should we not take this fact into account when we are attempting to look at the why of our incarceration problem? We talk education all the time, but how many times does the family, or lack thereof, get any traction in the conversation. I don’t believe in the magic bullet fix all scenario, I do believe in morals, discipline, respect, love and the notion of having a genuine concern for our fellow citizens. If and when we reach this state in society, only then will change ever truly be