"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress."
Computers in Cells Roundtable Discussion.
Providing education to people in prisons is vital in reducing recidivism. A recent study found that inmates that participated in educational programs while in prison were 28% less likely to commit another serious offence than those that didn't participate. Therefore, providing education to prisoners is vital not only for the safety of the community, but also for the furthering of people in prisons. Providing prisoners with access to eduational services through computers in cells is a cheap and effective way to achieve this.
What is education? Put simply, education is power. It is the power of opportunity and self-determination.
The access and quality of education services to those within the prison and mental health care systems continues to be an area of great debate and discussion. However, education is a basic human right (Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) to which all deserve access irrespective of social or economic status, or personal circumstance. Australia formally acknowledged its recognition of and commitment to this right (Article 13 of the ICESCR) through its involvement in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The denial of education should not be used as a punitive measure by corrective or mental health care services.
Education is a multifaceted concept that targets and promotes opportunity, growth, wellbeing and awareness. One of JA's aims is to educate prisoners and forensic patients, figures of authority and the community as to the education rights and benefits of those within the prison and mental health care systems. Through this, JA also seeks to increase the advocacy for and acknowledgement of these rights.
See our Report on the United Nation's Investigation into Education in Detention.
See also the Community Justice Coalition Forum on Education in Prison 2016 and our discussion paper.
For the good of our community, we need a computer in every prison cell. Computers are a tool to target and decrease recidivism rates through education, awareness and self-betterment. With the majority of prisoners spending up to 18 hours each day in their cells, providing prisoners with educational tools and resources in their cells would take advantage of this otherwise wasted time to reduce prison disruption and prisoner deviancy, and to increase deterrence and the likelihood of prisoners becoming productive members of society when they return outside.
By simply providing incarcerated individuals with a computer of their own, recidivism rates could be drastically reduced. While there are specific security issues that would have to be considered, technological advancements are rapidly ensuring that such concerns would be easily addressed. Although providing prisoners with computers in their cells has been successful in the ACT, Victoria and Norway, computers are currently not provided in individual cells in NSW and most prisons around the world.
Read more on the Computers in Cells Campaign here.
See The Conversation's article: Offline Inmates Denied Education and Skills that Reduce Reoffending (24/04/2015).
The benefits of providing education through computers in cells are numerous.
Education is a positive direction of energy and reduces the incidence of destructive behaviour. We urge the government to provide an adequate allocation of resources to prisons and mental health care facilities, in areas including the provision of teachers, computers and other educational materials. This will better equip prisoners and forensic patients seeking to develop themselves and make positive lifestyle changes, providing them with a much-needed lifeline. Such changes will benefit not only the individual, but also society as a whole – the benefits of individual enrichment and community costs of recidivism far outweigh the short-term cost of increasing education access in correctional and mental health facilities.
While in 2013-2014, NSW prisons facilitated the delivery of 18,335 hours of TAFE courses for prisoners, by 2015 we have seen this number reduced by 20%, with only 7,000 hours contracted for the first semester of 2015. Unfortunately, cost is a major barrier to prisoners accessing this shrinking supply of practical education. For someone receiving unemployment benefits the cost of a Certificate 1-4 TAFE course is $240, whereas prisoners, who are not in receipt of government benefits, must pay $1730 for the same course.