October 24th and 25th at Alfred Lerner Hall, Columbia University
Does Education Reduce Participation in Criminal Activities?
Presenter:
Summary:
Increased educational achievement in young men reduces the probability that they will engage in criminal activity, and thereby decreases crime-related costs incurred by individuals and society.
- Increasing the high school completion rate by just 1 percent for all men ages 20-60 would save the U.S. up to $1.4 billion per year in reduced costs from crime.
- A one-year increase in average years of schooling reduces murder and assault by almost 30%, motor vehicle theft by 20%, arson by 13% and burglary and larceny by about 6%.
- Extrapolating from current high school graduation rates and arrest rates, a 10% increase in graduation rates would potentially reduce murder and assault arrest rates by about 20%, motor vehicle theft by about 13% and arson by 8%.
- Had high school graduation rates in 1990 been 1% higher, an estimated 400 fewer murders and 8,000 fewer assaults would have taken place. Nearly 100,000 fewer crimes would have taken place overall.
- The current difference in the education levels of white and black men accounts for 23% of the higher incarceration rates for black men.
- The direct costs of one year of high school were about $6,000 per student in 1990. Society has since lost between $1,170-$2,100 per year in costs of crime for each male non-graduate from that year.
Linking additional education to reduced crime has tremendous policy implications.
One study finds that each additional police officer placed in large U.S. cities costs $80,000 and saves $200,000 in annual crime costs. An additional 100 high school students would have to graduate to generating equivalent crime-related savings, at a one-time cost of $600,000. However, those additional 100 students would also generate an additional $800,000 per year in human capital and annual productivity.
Does Education Reduce Participation in Criminal Activities?