Linking crime and education pitfalls

By Devon Dick

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Research, Planning and Legal Services Branch should be commended for producing the March 2012 study, 'Education and Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates in Jamaica'. It shows a commitment from the JCF to be data driven and multidisciplinary in tackling this monster of crime.

The research developed a personal profile of the "typical" inmate in the prisons and discovered that he is Jamaica-born, male, under the age of 34 years, hails from Kingston, St Andrew, or St Catherine, and comes from a single-parent home. Such an inmate typically has had some exposure to a secondary-level education at a non-traditional high school and dropped out of high school before reaching grade 11, without achieving any subject passes in external examinations. So far, so good.

This is not the first study to examine the profile of prisoners. Attorneys-at-law Delroy Chuck and Derrick McKoy developed a profile of the typical inmate in their 1986 book, Understanding Crime. Interestingly, nothing much has changed as it relates to the profile. The JCF study might have also benefitted from examining works on Jamaican criminology done by professors Anthony Harriott and Bernard Headley.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The JCF study, to its credit, encourages further research on other variables and the 12 recommendations are good, including the call for more resources for non-traditional high schools and early-childhood education. It also recommends parenting education during holidays and more monitoring of students with problems by the police in the safe-schools programme.

However, to link certain schools to crime has many pitfalls. One would have to show that the school by its curriculum is teaching students the basics of criminality or, by its extra-curricular activities, is deliberately and intentionally promoting criminality.

The study refers to the Lochner and Moretti (2001) study, which claims that it is possible to reduce crime rates by raising the educational level of potential criminals. This, however, does not mean that a low level of educational achievement causes crime. It perhaps is more dependent on the type of education. In other words, teaching children how to make critical decisions and knowing how to discern right from wrong might help. But it is possible that the reason better educated persons are not part of the profile is that they have contacts so that their acts of criminality do not go to court or they and their parents have access to better lawyers. Furthermore, last Saturday, Dr David Tennant of University of the West Indies, in addressing the Boulevard Baptist Church's Annual Men's Breakfast, said that a study of the profile of persons who engaged in the recent Ponzi schemes in Jamaica found that 60 per cent had tertiary-level education. Therefore, higher education does not necessarily lead to better decision-making. Additionally, it would be unwise to claim that universities are producing students to engage in Ponzi schemes.

MORE PITFALLS

The pitfall of the link would be further compounded if a study should examine which basic schools prisoners attended and infer that certain basic schools are producing criminals.

Additionally, if the question were asked of the inmates, what is their religion, perhaps 80 per cent would say Christianity. However, to make a causal link to state that Christianity is producing criminals and try to identify which denominations and congregations would need intervention might not be smart.

That certain schools need more resources is impatient of debate. That certain schools could benefit from better quality leadership from principals and better equipped and committed teachers is unquestioned. However, this intervention should be based on the fact that we need to ensure equal opportunity for all our children to learn, thus purposing our mantra 'Every Child Can Learn, Every Child Must Learn'. It should not be on the basis that certain schools are producing criminals - a conclusion which is set on the premise of personal profiles of inmates showing that they attended certain schools.

Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew. He is author of 'The Cross and the Machete', and 'Rebellion to Riot'. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.