For decades, policymakers have asserted that increasing access to free education is a panacea for crime reduction. The premise is simple, education provides opportunities, opportunities reduce desperation, and lower desperation leads to lower crime rates. However, this assumption overlooks the more complex realities of human behaviour, incentives, and social structures.
From a Darwin perspective, where crime, unemployment, and social dependency are pressing issues, the relationship between education and crime must be evaluated through a critical lens. The key question is not whether education can be a deterrent to crime, but whether state-subsidised education as it currently exists fosters the values necessary to prevent criminality or merely enables dependency.
It is often claimed that societies with higher levels of education have lower crime rates. However, this is a correlation, not causation. Wealthier nations or communities tend to have both better educational opportunities and lower crime rates, but this does not mean one directly causes the other.
More importantly, the nature of education matters. If an education system instils discipline, critical thinking, and marketable skills, then it can indeed serve as a pathway out of poverty and criminality. But if education is merely a bureaucratic exercise in credentialism, producing individuals with entitlement mentalities but no real-world skills, then the outcome can be quite the opposite. The growing welfare class in the NT, whether that is through direct government employment, taxpayer funded NGOs and subsidised Intergovernmental agencies or those on welfare payments are a testament to the failures of the NT education system.
Free (taxpayer subsidised) education fosters a culture of entitlement rather than self-reliance, leading to higher dropout rates and a workforce ill-prepared for employment. This is due to the lack of personal financial stake in education, which leads to a mindset that external forces provide for individuals. This mindset carries over into broader social expectations, such as welfare dependence, aversion to hard work, and resentment when entitlement programs are reduced. A sense of victimhood replaces the drive for self-improvement in free education.
The connection between state-subsidised education and crime is not simply about economic conditions but about the psychological effects of entitlement. When people come to believe that society “owes” them a livelihood, they are more likely to rationalise criminal behaviour when that livelihood is not delivered to their satisfaction. This has a direct correlation on “white-collar crime” and bureaucratic corruption.
The problem is especially acute in communities where education is offered without corresponding accountability measures. When failure to succeed has no real-world consequences, because government programs cushion every fall, individuals are less likely to adopt the discipline required to function in society.
This is evident in the rising crime trends among youth who, despite having access to education, engage in destructive behaviours. In Darwin, school attendance programs, alternative learning initiatives, and youth intervention strategies have had little success because the fundamental issue is not lack of education, but lack of responsibility and accountability.
Another flawed assumption is that access to education automatically translates to job-readiness. In many cases, subsidised education produces individuals with degrees or certifications that have little to no market value.
The job market does not reward time spent in classrooms, it rewards skills, work ethic, and experience. A person who spends years in government-funded education programs without acquiring practical skills will still struggle to find employment. This frustration leads to disillusionment, resentment, and ultimately, a turn toward crime as an alternative means of survival or status-seeking.
Education, when properly structured, indeed serves as a crime deterrent, but only when it is accompanied by strong family and community structures. The most effective crime prevention is not a government-funded diploma but a stable upbringing that instils discipline, delayed gratification, and social responsibility.
In Darwin, crime trends often correlate more strongly with broken families and social dysfunction than with educational attainment. The most at-risk youth are not those who lacked access to a classroom, but those who lacked structure in their upbringing. The evidence provided internationally of the failures of the 2007 Intervention have had a very predictable effect on crime rates and experienced since.
Educational policies that ignore this reality will continue to fail. A subsidised education system that does not reinforce the values of hard work, accountability, and contribution to society is merely an expensive mechanism for delaying the inevitable reckoning of an unprepared workforce.
The market solution to education and crime prevention should align incentives with outcomes. This involves introducing a performance-based model, prioritising trade and practical skills, encouraging private investment in education, and reinforcing personal responsibility. Education subsidies should be tied to performance and effort, with scholarships and funding earned rather than indiscriminately distributed. Programs that reward indelible features like skin colour, disability or some other discriminatory practice over merit must be abolished. Programs should focus on real-world employment readiness and not just academic pursuits. Education should be seen as an opportunity that requires effort and commitment.
Access to education is not a guaranteed pathway to lower crime rates. When subsidised without accountability, it fosters a culture of entitlement, leading to social dependency and resentment when outcomes do not meet expectations. Those currently in parliament federally are a testament to the failures of a public education system and indoctrination in policies that taught children “what to think!” instead of “how to think!”
Darwin, like many places, has witnessed the failure of broad, state-funded educational initiatives that focus on access rather than effectiveness. The real solution to crime lies in a combination of structured education, personal responsibility, strong family values, and market-driven incentives. Free education, when detached from effort and accountability, does not create productive citizens, it creates individuals who believe they are owed success without earning it. And when success does not come, the likelihood of resorting to crime as an alternative rise.
Rather than pouring more public funds into subsidised education without meaningful reform, the focus should be on aligning education with real-world needs, reinforcing personal responsibility, and ensuring that those who benefit from education contribute back to society rather than merely extracting from it. The largest and most destructive union in the Territory is the teacher’s union. Their unwillingness to reform, to engage with real competition and innovation is extremely harmful to Territorians. Over $40 Billion has been invested in Territory schools since 1978 and the literacy rate has dropped dramatically. Until real change occurs in the education space and private alternatives and charter schools are encouraged to compete, Australia will remain a lucky country, but not a smart country. From the author.
The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security Consultant with 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organizations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.
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