Using $7.3 million in funds seized from criminals, seven colleges in New York State will be able to sustain or expand their course offerings to prisoners this fall with hopes that education behind bars will cut down on crime. 
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
“The end goal is fairly simple,” Dr. Robert Eap, academic director for the Cornell Prison Education Program, told Diverse. “We would like to see as many of our students walk out of prison with a college degree as possible.”
The reason, Eap said, is because research shows the more education inmates receive while serving time, the less likely they are to return to lives of crime. For instance, a RAND Corporation study found that, “Inmates who participate in correctional education programs had a 43 percent lower odds of recidivating than those who did not.”
And lower recidivism rates mean lower costs to taxpayers in the long-run, Eap said, because lower recidivism means lower prison costs.
“It’s a very positive benefit to the society,” Eap said. “This is money that won’t need to be spent.”
Eap made those remarks following Monday’s announcement by New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (D), and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., of a new College-in-Prison Reentry Program.
“It makes no sense to send someone to prison with no pathway for them to succeed when they get out,” Vance said. “Investing in college education programs is a proven, cost-effective way to break the harmful cycle of recidivism and keep our communities safe.”
