Incarceration Rates by Education Level 2022

Incarceration refers to the state of being forced to live in a prison, usually as the punishment for the crime that has been done. While it has been known that the United States tops the list of the countries with highest incarceration rates in the world in 2022, a lot of people want to know about the incarceration rates by education level 2022.

Unfortunately, there is no data of incarceration rates by education level 2022 found on the internet. Instead, there is one for 2003. This one was done and released by Caroline Wolf Harlow, Ph. D, a BJS statistician.

Educational attainment for correctional populations and the general population

• 68% of State prison inmates did not get a high school diploma.
• According to about 26% of State prison inmates, they had completed the GED while serving time in a correctional facility.
• There are some groups of State prison inmates who had not completed high school or the GED, such as 40% of males and 42% of females; 27% of whites, 44% of blacks, and 53% of Hispanics; 52% of inmates 24 or younger and 35% of inmates 45 or older; 61% of noncitizens and 38% of U.S. citizens; 59% with a speech disability, 66% with a learning disability, and 37% without a reported disability; 47% of drug offenders; 12% of those with military service and 44% with no military service.
• Even though the percentage of State prison inmates who reported taking education courses while confined fell from 57% in 1991 to 52% in 1997, those who had participated in an educational program since admission increased from 402,500 inmates in 1991 to 550,000 in 1997.
• Here is the list of the groups of State prison inmates who had participated in an educational program since their most recent admission to prison: 54% without a high school diploma, 60% with a GED, 42% with a high school diploma, and 43% with postsecondary education 52% of males and 50% of females 49% of whites, 54% of blacks, and 53% of Hispanics 58% who were 24 or younger and 47% of those 45 or older 54% of noncitizens and 52% of U.S. citizens.

Once again, about 41% of inmates in the Nation’s State and Federal prisons and local jails in 1997 and 31% of probationers had not graduated from high school or its equivalent. To compare, 18% of the general population who are 18 or older had not graduated the 12th grade. From 1991 to 1997, the percentage of the inmates in State prison with no high school diploma or GED was the same, which was 40% in 1997 and 41% in 1991. As for the inmates in State prisons, 293,000 in 1991 and 420,600 in 1997 had been living behind the bars without having a high school diploma in their hand and the percentage increased 44%. Educational programs are provided in more than 9 in 10 State prisons for the inmates. Half of the inmates said they had joined the program since their most recent admission to prison.

It has been known that those who spend their time in prison do not have the same chance as the ones who live in the outside world when it comes to education. While it is a fact, it is such a shame as it makes it nearly impossible to earn the credentials that they need to succeed after they are getting released or out of prison.

According to the report done by the National Former Prisoner Survey, the formerly incarcerated people are usually relegated to the lowest parts of the education ladder. More than half of them have only a high school diploma or GED. What is sad is that a quarter of them do not have credentials at all. Both while they are still behind bars or after they are released from the prison, it is rare to find these people getting the chance to make up for the educational opportunities from which they have been excluded. These opportunities clearly impact their chances of trying to get success.

It has been known that education is really important for those who are looking for employment after out of the prison. According to the previous research, which revealed a staggering 27% unemployment rate among formerly incarcerated people, those who have low levels of formal education face even higher unemployment rates. Specifically, formerly incarcerated ones who do not have a high school credential report extreme unemployment rates, and the outlook is not good for people of color. These bad results clearly need transformations of the educational and criminal justice systems as soon as possible. That’s why a series of fundamental policy recommendations is important to cut the current inequalities faced by criminalized ones across the United States.

There are some interesting facts about the level of educational attainment for formerly incarcerated people age 25 years and older, as follows:

• People who have been incarcerated are nearly twice as likely to have no high school credential at all.
• More than half of people who have been incarcerated hold only a high school diploma or GED.
• Those who have been in the prison are more likely to have GEDs than they are to have traditional high school diplomas, which is different compared to the general public. Apparently, three quarters of those GED certificates are obtained in prison.
• Those who have been incarcerated are 8 times likely to complete college compared to the general public.

By looking at the incarcerated rates by education level, everyone would agree that the government must do something to make everything better. Offenders are still humans and they deserve education even though they are sitting in prisons, jails, or detention centers.

Tia Varborough

A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.