Education, always has been, and always will be, the most effective way to combat adversity.

Rather than harshening laws to prevent people from making mistakes, we can encourage them to
become productive members of society by providing them with the education and training.

Increasing crime and murder rates are one of the biggest problems in today’s world, and as a
result, more and more money and resources are being fuelled into correction facilities and
measures dealing with crimes and the consequences of such things. In contrast, funding towards
education, particularly early childhood education and development is deteriorating at an
alarmingly rapid rate. Budget cuts target educational facilities before any other sectors, as the
prevalent thought in society is that safety and protection are the top priority. Many fail to realize
that by putting more funding and resources into early childhood education programs, and
education programs in general, we will be both reducing future crime rates and saving money,
contributing to society as a whole.

Quality Education Reduces Crime

Studies have been done to determine whether education really does make children less prone to
commit crimes as they get older. One study focused on 3 and 4-year-old children that were
enrolled in an education program for 15 years. It found that children who didn’t participate in the
preschool program, who therefore missed out on some important opportunity for early childhood
development, were 70% more likely to be arrested for a crime by the age of 18. This shows that
early childhood education and development is integral in ensuring the mental health and
development of children, and helping prevent crime at later ages.

Early childhood education also plays an integral role in the mental health development of
children. During the first three years of a child’s life, they develop their cognitive and
behavioural traits, many of which are the threshold for their future personality traits. In
particular, children learn skills regarding how to tackle problems and confrontations, and in these
periods of a child’s life, exposure to a safe learning environment is integral in helping them
develop safe and un-violent methods of confrontation. For instance, if a child is having struggles
cooperating and is acting out, if they are participating in early childhood education programs,
they would have access to teachers and instructors that would help the child channel their
frustrations and negative energy into productive actions that would simultaneously teach them
how to control their anger and discomfort.
Copyright: Oksana Kuzmina

Copyright: Oksana Kuzmina

Such behavioural and characteristic traits are integral in a child’s mental development, and will
act as the threshold for their mental development as they age. If a child grows up in an abusive
and violent environment, and does not have access to any educational support, their chances of
becoming juvenile delinquents and potential criminals are much higher.

Addressing Crime Problems

In our society, most of the time, when issues of crime prevention are brought up, the first line of
defense and retaliation is a reactive measure to a crime or a series of crimes. For instance, when
looking at the increasing numbers of substance abuse in many communities, the first method of
response is often finding a way to harshen punishments and penalties to discourage substance
abuse. If not finding ways to stricken punishments, the next focus goes towards finding ways to
restrict access to such substances, another preventative measure that focuses on preventing the
action, not the motivation behind the action.

Copyright: SpeedKingz

Copyright: SpeedKingz

By putting more focus on education and early childhood development measures, children will
hopefully be less interested and prone to committing crimes as they get older. A focus on
education helps provide a more permanent solution to this problem, as the mentality of the
potential perpetrator of such crimes has completely shifted due to their education and upbringing.

The Importance of Role-Models

Another argument is that cause for crime stems from a lack of a moral compass, which is often
passed on from parents onto children at their early ages. From this ideology, it is equally integral
for parents to play a vibrant and active role in their children’s lives. But what about parents who
have to work for a living and cannot dedicate as much time to taking care of their children? This
is where preschool and daycare programs come into play. Having well equipped programs and
teachers who can teach children the importance of morality
By providing strong educational programs from the early childhood development years
(preschool to elementary), all the way to grade 12, we would be encouraging children to
complete their education and be more prepared for the workforce.

Copyright: VGstockstudio

Copyright: VGstockstudio

Rather than harshening laws to prevent people from making mistakes, we can encourage them to
become productive members of society by providing them with the education and training
necessary to partake in the world. Poverty is a leading factor in causing people to commit crimes,
another reason why education can help crime prevention.

Education, always has been, and always will be, the most effective way to combat adversity. It
battles ignorance and helps create a more open-minded and respectful society. By fuelling more
resources and funding into educational programs rather than preventative measures, we can
encourage people to focus more on educating themselves and becoming productive and
contributing members of society rather than delinquents.

https://novakdjokovicfoundation.org/long-term-benefits-education-crime-prevention-measure/
https://www.google.com.jm/search?
q=comic+strip+on+how+does+education+reduce+crime&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X
&ved=0ahUKEwib4P222bXbAhXSt1kKHUCCAm4QsAQIKQ&biw=1440&bih=769#imgrc=c
QYSiPhQxBNezM
 Plan of Investigation
How Does Education Reduce Crime
The topic I chose for my portfolio is “How Does Education Reduce Crime” derived from the
main topic “Education”. The topic is of interest to me because it enables me to better understand
how “Education Reduce Crime”.
This research will benefit me by building my writing, thinking, speaking, and research skills. I
can also improve my knowledge of the Jamaican Standard English and enhance my vocabulary
and also enabling me to learn about crime reduction.
Finally I intend to collect relevant information suitable for this topic by utilizing a relevant
online blog, a comic strip and a picture.
 https://www.google.com.jm/search?
q=how+does+education+reduce+crime&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIjJy92
7XbAhVSrlkKHfstA3AQ_AUICigB&biw=960&bih=513#imgrc=k50cqeWGmQfytM: