Impact of educational variables on the criminal justice system

The purpose of the thesis was to address the issue of the impact of educational variables on the criminal justice system. The research design consisted of a retroactive time series model that analyzed the years 2000 to 2003. The data analysis concluded that a strong correlation existed between high school dropout rates and crime index rates. As dropout rates increased, crime index rates increased as well. Data analysis concluded that no relationship existed between state education spending per student and crime index rates. Standard multiple regression was conducted to determine the accuracy of the independent variables state funding per student, and high school dropout rates to predict crime rates in the United States. Regression results indicated that the overall model significantly predicts crime rates. This model accounts for 49% to 88% variance in crime index rates for the years examined.