2018_EJRNL_PP_MARGARET_GILES_1.pdf
Terbatas Noor Pujiati.,S.Sos
» ITB
Terbatas Noor Pujiati.,S.Sos
» ITB
Abstract
Incarceration costs are high; in Australia, for example, each prisoner
costs an average of AUD 115,000 per year. Other countries are also feeling the fiscal
pinch of high incarceration costs, and a number of jurisdictions are now closing
some of their prisons. Most prison costs are non-discretionary (accommodation,
meals, etc.). But some of the costs relate to discretionary activities, services and
facilities (including schooling). In terms of correctional education, many prison
managers try to invest any meagre correctional education resources available to
them in those classes and courses which have proven to have the best results, such
as improved labour market outcomes and reduced recidivism, minimising subse-
quent re-imprisonment. Course offers for prisoner-students include vocational
training, adult basic education (ABE) and art studies. The two-tiered question this
paper asks is: do art classes and courses produce these measurable outcomes and, if
not, are there other reasons why they should continue to be funded? Addressing
these issues, the authors argue that (1) these measurable outcomes are too narrow
and do not reflect the complex but less quantifiable benefits to the individual and the
community of studying art in prison, and (2) better measures of all impacts of art
studies in prisons are needed, including qualitative and humanitarian aspects.