Is there evidence that literacy, vocational instruction and, most especially, higher education are, in fact, effective and underused tools in the crime-fighting arsenal?
Q. Which is more in the public interest: to offer in-prison higher education opportunities, or to deny inmates even minimal access to things calculated to improve their condition? Q. Will federal lawmakers consider appropriating funds to the states earmarked for establishing or re-establishing higher education opportunities in prison? Q. Will lawmakers enact legislation mandating postsecondary education as an option for every prisoner in the federal prison system? Prison populations are soaring, with in excess of 2 million persons incarcerated. Much of that population includes repeat offenders whose recidivism poses an enormous burden on state budgets nationwide. While some public policy makers view a return to rehabilitative strategies as the answer to the danger and daunting costs of career criminality, lawmakers at the federal and state levels often seem addicted to punitive practices. The elephant in rehabilitation – higher education – is being pretty much ignored, so far. Few peop
