Rehabilitation of Prisoners Confined to County Jails and State Prisons

Adopted as amended

WHEREAS, one in four African-American males between the ages of 16-30 will spend some time in either a county jail or state prison; and 

WHEREAS, there are more African-American males in county jails and state prisons than in the state colleges and universities; and 

WHEREAS, the cost of incarcerating a prisoner for one year can be as high as $30,000.00, and the average cost spent on education for a student per year in the United States is approximately $7,500.00; and 

WHEREAS, the average cost to society for an individual, who is confined to the prison system over his/her lifetime is approximately $1,000,000.00 in prison cost, lost income, tax payments to the state and local governments, victim costs, etc.,; and 

WHEREAS, the human cost in victimization, lost property, personal losses, and effects on the quality of life in inner-city urban communities is immeasurable; and 

WHEREAS, it is statistically proven that the higher the education level of an individual the lower the possibility that the individual will engage in criminal acts; and 

WHEREAS, that the lack of education is a key element in those who are most likely to commit criminal acts; and 

WHEREAS, those who are sent to jail or prison are likely high school dropouts; and 

WHEREAS, counties and states provide little or no educational or job training opportunities to those they incarcerate; and 

WHEREAS, idle minds in jail and prison, and a culture of crime, failure and denial manifest itself in hardening those in prison, who gain no educational experience while incarcerated; and 

WHEREAS, all state and local communities would benefit from educating and training the incarcerated during their time in prison; and 

WHEREAS, they would have some type of employable job skill, or literary training upon leaving jail or prison, that would lower the possibility of them re- offending. 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP promote any and all legislation, rules and regulations that mandate the education and/or the teaching of employable job training skills for all prisoners in county jails and state prisons throughout the United States; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP, through its National Office, State Conferences and Branches conduce educational seminars on critical program and policy of project labor agreements to support local hiring and training of citizens in jurisdictions of infrastructure projects; and 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP work to advance legislation, rules and regulations to further the cause of providing mandatory educational opportunities and job training programs to all prisoners in all county jails and state prisons in the United States.