Reduce recidivism Education and professional skills are mandatory in life. Education affects all aspects of life. Without proper education you are limited to the basic rewards of life. Not to say that money is the only reason for education, but it seems to be the force that drives criminals to continue crime. If you don't have basic education, the best thing to do would be vocational training. Vocational training is a great way for some people with a low level of education to escape the life that put them in prison and achieve a positive position in society. According to a study by Beck and Shipley, education is the area that society needs to worry about. . The study was conducted on 16,000 prisoners from 11 states in an effort to reduce recidivism. The study showed that “62.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years.” This study showed that prisoners with a high school diploma or less were rearrested at a rate of 61.9%, while those who had a high school diploma were rearrested at a rate of 57.4%. From the numbers alone one can conclude that education is vital to the rehabilitation of offenders. There are many types of education that offenders can use. Many prisons have already started programs to help inmates get an education. Programs designed to help inmates read and write, obtain a General Education Development (GED) certificate, and job training. Most of these programs are already in place and working effectively. The problem occurs when prisoners are not exposed to education while incarcerated. The programs should be mandatory and... middle of paper... convicts are not rehabilitated, they are simply locked up for their sentence. Dr. Cobun believes more emphasis should be placed on educational and vocational programs that would give prisoners a future in the community and give them a chance at parole. States should not spend extra funds on educational programs, and the government should not fund higher education for incarcerated individuals. Convicted felons should be allowed to get the GED but should not have the opportunity to go to college while incarcerated. If the government wants to spend money on education it should do so for low-income families who can't afford it and not for a prisoner trying to pass the time. If states want to spend money, they should spend it on training programs that will help prisoners once they are released.