EDUCATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS AS A VARIABLE FOR REDUCING CRIME RATES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This study aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between education and the reduction of crime rates in Brazil. The research problem is, therefore, to verify whether Youth and Adult Education has the potential to influence crime rates in Brazil. As a hypothesis, it is suggested that youth and adult education has the potential to influence crime rates in Brazil for at least two reasons: i) for a logical reason, the time in which the student is in class is not available for criminal activities; ii) education allows for better placement in the job market, changing the opportunities and costs of involvement in criminal activities. To confirm or refute the hypothesis, it was necessary to understand the historical construction of youth and adult education in Brazil, identify the profile of the prison population and verify how education has the potential to influence crime rates. At the end of the research, the hypothesis was confirmed.