Students First Foundation

The Facts

We pay now - or we pay later.

Public education benefits everyone.

	Adults involved in the criminal justice system are severely undereducated. Nineteen percent of adult inmates are completely illiterate, and 40% are functionally illiterate, which means, for example, that they would be unable to write a letter explaining a billing error. 2
	Over 70% of all people entering state correctional facilities never even finished high school, while 46% had some high school education, and 16.4% had no high school education at all. 2
	Our failure to produce productive citizens means fewer opportunities for everyone and increasing costs for corrections and social services.

Public education reduces crime and costs to society.

	Just one additional year of school lowers murder and assault rates by 30%, car thefts by 20%, arson by 13%, and burglary and larceny by about 6%. 7
	A 1% increase in high school graduation rates can prevent 100,000 crimes and save $1.4 billion. 7
	A 10% increase in graduation rates lowers murder and assault arrest rates by about 20%, motor vehicle theft by about 13%, and arson by 8%. 7
	Although increasing police forces is a cost-effective policy proposal, increasing high school graduation rates offers far greater benefits when both crime reduction and productivity are increased. 7

SOURCES: 1 Illinois Economic Observatory / Regional Economics Applications Laboratory, University of Illinois; 2 Project READ; 7 Joint Center for Poverty Research