13th May 2009
A new research report from Barnardos, 'Written Out, Written Off', demonstrates the necessity for investment in educational services for children suffering from disadvantage.
Early school leavers have a higher risk of committing or being convicted of a crime. American research, for example, indicates higher incarceration rates among high school dropout males than among other groups (Lockner et al., 2004; Arum and Beattie, 1999).
In Ireland, there is little systematic information available on the educational profile of offenders or prisoners but smaller studies reveal similar results. A sample of prisoners in Mountjoy (O’Mahony, 2002) indicated that 80% had left school before the age of 16, 50% had left before the age of 15, while 75% had never sat a State examination.Over a quarter (29%) of the prisoners had difficulties in relation to literacy. The costs associated with each prison place are €97,700 per year (2007 figures).
For full details, please visit the 'Written Out, Written Off' section of the Barnardos website.
Source: Barnados (2009)
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.