Evaluating literacy and numeracy progressions in custody and desistance from crime

Project Summary

This project was funded by a grant awarded under the Western Australian Office of Crime Statistics and Research (WACSAR) Criminal Justice Research Grant Program, administered by the WA Department of Justice (the Department).

The aims of the project are to contribute to improved justice policies and outcomes relating to prisoner education through applied empirical evidence and an enhanced theoretical understanding of how and why participation in educational programs in custody leads to desistance from crime. Specifically, the research aims are to:

• assess the effectiveness of prisoner participation in literacy and numeracy programs and associated cost-benefit ratios to identify potential departmental cost savings and to guide resource allocation decisions
• generate insights into the causal mechanisms through which prisoner participation in literacy and numeracy programs impact upon post-participation behaviour to guide program design and to test competing hypotheses arising from crime desistance theory.