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- Creators: Department of Economics
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Abstract What began in 1971 as a "War on Drugs," led to the political position of being "tough on crime" and has ultimately given birth to the mass incarceration crisis that we see in 2017. The United States composes 5% of the world's population, yet holds 25% of the world's incarcerated. At least 95% of those incarcerated in the United States will be released at some time and each year, 690,000 people are released from our prisons. These "criminals" become our neighbors, our colleagues, and our friends. However, the unfortunate reality is that they will go back to prison sooner than we can embrace them. In order to end this cycle of recidivism, higher education in prison must be made more available and encouraged. Those who participate in education programs while incarcerated have a 43% less chance of recidivating than those inmates who do not participate. This thesis dissects that statistic, focusing on higher education and the impact it has on incarcerated students, how it affects society as a whole, and the many reasons why we should be actively advocating for it. Additionally, I wish to demonstrate that students, educators, and volunteers, as a collective, have the power to potentially change the punitive function of the prison system. That power has been within education all along. While statistics and existing research will play heavily in the coming pages, so will anecdotes, first-hand experiences, assessments of established programs, and problems that still need to be overcome. By no means are the following pages a means to an end, but rather a new beginning in the effort to change the interpretation of being "tough on crime." Keywords: higher education, prison, recidivism
ContributorsGood, Hannah Rose (Author) / Wells, Cornelia (Thesis director) / Herrera, Richard (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The United States has an institutional prison system built on the principle of retributive justice combined with racial prejudice that despite countless efforts for reform currently holds 2.3 million individuals, primarily minorities, behind bars. This institution has remained largely unchanged, meanwhile 83.4% of those who enter the system will return within one decade and it currently costs nearly $39 billion each year (Alper 4). Because the prison institution consistently fails to address the core root of crime, there is a great need to reconsider the approach taken towards those who break our nation’s laws with the dual purpose of enhancing freedom and reducing crime. This paper outlines an original theoretical framework being implemented by Project Resolve that can help to identify and implement solutions for our prison system without reliance on political, institutional, or societal approval. The method focuses on three core goals, the first is to connect as much of the data surrounding prisoners and the formerly incarcerated as possible, the second is to use modern analytic approaches to analyze and propose superior solutions for rehabilitation, the third is shifting focus to public interest technology both inside prisons and the parole process. The combination of these objectives has the potential to reduce recidivism to significantly, deter criminals before initial offense, and to implement a truly equitable prison institution.
ContributorsGilchrist, Troy (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Wenrick, Lukas (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
DescriptionDo existing programs offered during incarceration successfully reduce recidivism rates in the United States and if so, how can criminology theories be leveraged to understand why?
ContributorsMorken, Maya (Author) / Hostal, Katherine (Co-author) / Samuelson, Melissa (Thesis director) / Korets, Lora (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2022-05