School choice program reduces crime, saves taxpayers
A new study highlights the benefits of school choice programs outside the classroom. High-risk students who used vouchers were less likely to commit violent crimes. As a result, costs to society at large dramatically decreased.
by Michael Wille
School choice can dramatically alter the path of a child’s future. Whether it’s increased graduation rates, better performance outcomes or parentalsatisfaction, educational choice programs have greatly improved the lives of students in cities and states across the country. One performance measure rarely reviewed though is the effect on criminal activity and future costs to taxpayers as a result of incarceration and government assistance programs. David Deming (assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education), in his comprehensive analysis of Charlotte-Mecklenberg’s voucher program, answers this seldom asked question: “Does School Choice Reduce Crime?”
Looking at demographic, crime and performance data from 2002-2009, Deming controlled for a number of factors to ensure that the analysis would look at the direct effect on crime of receiving a voucher versus those students who did not receive a voucher and returned to their neighborhood zoned school. He separated the students based on middle school and high school level. The results are nothing short of stunning. High school students that used a voucher at their choice school saw a significant decrease in the number of felony arrests and their direct costs to society at large. Deming puts the results in monetary terms:
“The average social cost of the crimes committed by high-risk lottery winners (after adjusting the cost of murders downward) is $3,916 lower than for lottery losers, a decrease of more than 35 percent. (Without adjusting for the cost of murder, I estimate the reduction in the social cost of crimes committed by lottery winners at $14,106.) High-risk lottery winners on average commit crimes with a total expected sentence of 35 months, compared to 59 months among lottery losers.”
Middle school students who won a voucher spent less time in jail and saw their social costs reduced as well:
“Among high-risk middle-school students, I find no effect of winning a school-choice lottery on the average number of felony arrests. Although the number [of] arrests for violent felonies falls, this is offset by an increase in the number of property arrests. Because violent crimes carry greater social costs, however, winning a school-choice lottery reduces the average social cost of the crimes committed by middle school students by $7,843, or 63 percent. It also reduces the total expected sentence of crimes committed by each student by 31 months (64 percent).”
While the study is limited, it is an important contribution to the growing body of evidence supporting parental choice in education. Students at the highest risk for committing violent crimes saw a striking difference in their behavior as a result of winning the lottery and attending a school of their choice. The benefits of school choice have already been clearly demonstrated inside the classroom. Deming’s study gives powerful weight to the argument that school choice has enormous potential to improve student’s lives outside of the classroom as well.