Incarceration rates continue to rise, but are we as a society benefiting from this overall imprisonment?

America has a prison population three times greater than the European average according to the Council for Europe Annual Penal Statistics. And with that comes an incredible amount of people who are affected by that title once they are released.

Over 60 percent of inmates never obtained their high school diploma, according to the Bureau of Statistics, and inmates are much more likely to commit another crime if they’re illiterate, 58 percent more likely, to be exact.

There are many contributing causes to the high level of jailed individuals in the United States, but illiteracy and education could be some of the greatest factors. Although some prisons offer college programs, less than a third are capable of offering sufficient courses for inmates.

By adding adequate college programs to prisons, the United States could potentially be able to lessen its incarcerated population greatly and reduce the risk of recidivism.

Education has always been the solution. People who receive adequate education are able to get better job opportunities so that they don’t resort to crime. It is a civil right, opening the door for increased social involvement and allowing for people to be more empathetic.

The mass incarceration issue that America faces in this age could directly correlate to the mass undereducation a vast portion of our society still experiences today. Having programs like these would contribute greatly to the advancement of American society as a whole.

As a community, we should understand that not everyone receives the same level of education as we do. We need to start using our privilege to help those who need it so that we can have any chance of reconstructing such a broken system.