Policy Briefs from the Justice Policy Institute
Education and
Public Safety Policy Brief
8/29/07
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August 31,
2007
First of
Four in New Policy Brief Series on Public Safety:
States that invest more in education have lower rates of violent crime and
incarceration
Washington D.C.- The Justice Policy Institute today launches the first in a
series of research briefs that examine the impact of positive social investments
on public safety. "Education
and Public Safety," one of four briefs, finds that states that invest
more in education have lower rates of violent crime and incarceration. The
upcoming briefs will examine the intersection of policies on housing,
employment, and drug treatment with safety and crime rates.
Key findings from "Education and Public Safety" include:
Graduation rates were associated with positive public safety outcomes.
Researchers have found that a 5 percent increase in male high school graduation
rates would produce an annual savings of almost $5 billion in crime-related
expenses.
States that had higher levels of educational attainment also had crime rates
lower than the national average. Nine out of the 10 states with the highest
percentage of population who had attained a high school diploma or above were
found to have lower violent crime rates than the national average, compared to
just four of the 10 states with the lowest educational attainment per
population.
States with higher college enrollment rates experienced lower violent crime
rates than states with lower college enrollment rates. Of the states with the 10
highest enrollment rates, nine had violent crime rates below the national
average. Of the states with the lowest college enrollment rates, five had
violent crime rates above the national average.
States that made bigger investments in higher education saw better public safety
outcomes. Of the 10 states that saw the biggest increases in higher education
expenditure, eight saw violent crime rates decline, and five saw violent crime
decline more than the national average. Of the 10 states that saw the smallest
change in higher education expenditure, the violent crime rate rose in five
states.
The risk of incarceration, higher violent crime rates, and low educational
attainment are concentrated among communities of color, who are more likely to
suffer from barriers to educational opportunities. Disparities in educational
opportunities contribute to a situation in which communities of color experience
less educational attainment than whites, are more likely to be incarcerated, and
more likely to face higher violent crime rates.
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September 30, 2007
The Justice Policy Institute today launches the second in a series of research
briefs that examine the impact of positive social investments on public safety.
"Employment, Wages and Public Safety," one of four briefs, finds that increased
employment rates and wages are associated with public safety benefits. The
release of this brief corresponds with concerns about U.S. job losses and the
small uptick in the national crime rate.
Key findings from "Employment, Wages and Public Safety" include:
Increased employment is associated with positive public safety outcomes.
Researchers have found that from 1992 to 1997, a time when the unemployment rate
dropped 33 percent, "slightly more than 40 percent of the decline [in overall
property crime rate] can be attributed to the decline in unemployment."
Increased wages are also associated with public safety benefits. Researchers
have found that a 10 percent increase in wages would reduce the number of hours
young men spent participating in criminal activity by 1.4 percent.
States that had higher levels of employment also had crime rates lower than the
national average. Eight of the 10 states that had lower unemployment rates in
the United States also had violent crime rates that were lower than the national
average. In comparison, half of the 10 states with the highest unemployment
rates had higher violent crime rates than the national average in 2005.
The risks of incarceration, higher violent crime rates, high unemployment rates
and low wages are concentrated among communities of color. Communities of color
and African Americans, specifically, experience more unemployment and lower
average wages than their white counterparts. At the same time, communities of
color are more likely to experience higher rates of violence than are white
communities, and African Americans are more likely to be incarcerated than are
whites.
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Housing and Public Safety
11/1/07
November 1, 2007
The Justice
Policy Institute, today, releases the third in a series of research briefs that
examine the impact of positive social investments on public safety. "Housing and
Public Safety," one of four briefs, finds that increased availability of
quality, affordable or supportive housing is associated with public safety
benefits. The release of this brief corresponds with concerns about the U.S.
housing market and economic stability.
Key findings from "Housing and Public Safety" include:
Some studies found that substandard housing—particularly where exposure to lead
hazards is more likely to occur—is associated with higher violent crime rates.
Studies have shown that exposure to lead--associated with older, deteriorated
and lower-quality housing--can result in increased delinquency, violence and
crime.
For populations who are the most at-risk for criminal justice system
involvement, supportive or affordable housing has been shown to be a cost
effective public investment, lowering corrections and jail expenditures, thus
freeing up funds for other pubic safety investments. Additionally, providing
affordable or supportive housing to people leaving correctional facilities is an
effective means of reducing the chance of future incarceration.
States that spent more on housing experienced lower incarceration rates than
those states that spent less. Of the 10 states that spent the larger proportion
of their total expenditures on housing, all 10 had incarceration rates lower
than the national average. Of the 10 states that spent the smaller proportion of
their total expenditures on housing, five states had incarceration rates above
the national average (with two states having incarceration rates just below the
national average).