An Exploration of Whether Prison Education and Employment Skills Impact on Reducing Re-offending

Abstract

Exclusion form education often leads to inclusion to the criminal justice system for black people in the UK and the US. Statistics in the UK shows a huge disproportionality of prisoners from the Black community although they only make up 3 % of the general population. Against the backdrop of King’s challenge to discrimination, it continues to manifest itself within the prison system where Black males in the UK excluded from education contribute to the 50 % youth unemployment. Statistics also show consistency between 2012 and 2015 where 26 % of prisoners were from a Black or minority ethnic background. 13 % of this figure in prison, identified themselves as Black/British/Caribbean. A reduction in the disproportionate number of Black people in prison is imperative and employment opportunities are needed to break the cycle of poverty, which will inevitably force them to return to prison.