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Decreases to educational programs within correctional institutions are hindering prisoners' employment and training opportunities, ultimately posing a risk to public safety, according to a new analysis from a prison oversight agency.

Pattern of Reoffending Connected to Lack of Education

Repeat criminals often cause mayhem in their communities due to the inability of prisons to offer sufficient education and work programs that could help break the cycle of reoffending, the findings noted.

“I have significant concerns about the impact of real-terms education budget cuts on already inadequate services and about the absence of genuine appetite and drive for progress that this represents.”

Funding Reductions Threaten Reform Initiatives

In spite of commitments to enhance access to education, spending on direct educational services in prisons is being reduced by up to 50%, according to latest disclosures.

While the total education allocation has remained the same, the cost of course contracts has increased significantly, as claimed by prison governors.

• Only 31% of former inmates are working half a year after release
• Ninety-four of one hundred four closed prisons were rated “poor” or “not sufficiently good” for purposeful activity
• Average attendance in educational activities was just 67% in inspected institutions

Insufficient Conditions Hinder Reform

Overcrowding, a lack of training facilities, machinery breakdowns, and aging facilities have compounded the situation, per the report.

Many inmates wait for weeks to be assigned an training space and are often given whatever is open, rather than training applicable to their career prospects upon release.

Even when activities proceeded, full-day positions generally occupied prisoners for just five hours per day, with numerous positions split into part-time slots to stretch meagre provision further.

Official Position and Upcoming Initiatives

The prison system has a responsibility to protect the community by making inmates less likely to commit crimes again when they are released, but frequently it is falling short to meet this obligation.

The best governors understand that prisons, and ultimately our communities, are safer if prisoners are purposefully engaged, and that education, skill development and employment play a crucial role in motivating inmates to change their behavior.

It is understood that purposeful activity can help to facilitate secure and decent prisons and have a transformative effect on reoffending rates.”

Until officials in the prison system take the delivery of effective training and training more seriously, it is hard to see how extremely high recidivism rates can be reduced.

The spending reductions are also expected to hinder initiatives to introduce a new incentive-based correctional system that would enable inmates to earn time off their incarceration by finishing work, training and learning courses.