Educating Maryland’s Youth is the Best Investment for Safer Communities
We all benefit from living in safe communities – however, when politicians focus on being “tough on crime,” the types of laws they enact often end up jailing more people for non-violent and petty crimes and creating longer prison sentences. These policies have had high costs for taxpayers and have not made our criminal justice system more effective.
Over the last 30 years, how much Maryland spent on keeping people in its jails and prisons increased at more than twice the rate of state spending on education, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Education. Between 1980 and 2013, Maryland’s spending on prisons and jails went up 278 percent. In comparison, education funding only grew by 128 percent during that same time period.
Yet it turns out that education is all-important for having safe communities. It’s one of the most crucial factors for improving Marylanders’ economic mobility and growing the economy. Focusing public investment on education rather than prison can help reduce crime rates and make our neighborhoods safer. Students who receive a high-quality education are less likely to end up going to jail.
By comparison, research shows that that high rates of incarceration have a limited effect on reducing crime. The U.S. has the largest incarcerated population in the world and research shows that the “effectiveness of imprisonment declines as an incarcerated population grows.” Incarceration is particularly ineffective compared to investing in other crime prevention policies, including education. Other studies find that a 10 percent increase in high school graduation rates could result in a 9 percent decline in criminal arrests.
Part of the reason for the sharp increases in spending on jails and prisons is that Maryland began incarcerating adults at a much higher rate over the last three decades, even as crime rates went down. The percentage of jailed and imprisoned Marylanders grew by 199 percent from 1980 to 2013 while the total adult population in Maryland went up by only 50 percent. Incarceration rates dramatically increased despite crime rates decreasing by more than 50 percent in that same time period.
Continuing the high incarceration rates of the past 30 years will not reduce crime rates as much a greater commitment to improving public education would, particularly if we better address the needs of students in schools that are struggling. When young black males who do not hold a high school diploma, for example, have a higher chance of being imprisoned than being employed, it is important to ask why that is and to develop policies that can help everyone succeed. Ensuring that more students complete high school and gain the skills needed to enter the workforce or go on to continue their education could reduce crime without the heavy social and monetary costs of incarceration on individuals, families, and the community.
Implementing the criminal justice reform legislation passed this year, which eliminated mandatory minimum sentences and reduced recommended penalties for many nonviolent offenses, and building on that legislation in future years is so important to our communities and our state’s economy. Now in Maryland a person convicted of processing even a small amount of drugs to distribute will no longer face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. Reducing spending on jails and prisons will free up resources to invest in education, substance abuse treatment, mental health care, worker training, and other effective strategies proven to keep people out of jail. Maryland could save at least $80.5 million dollars over the next decade as a result of the changes and reduction of the prison population and capacity. In doing so we will create a more equitable and prosperous Maryland economy.
