Law enforcement wants school reform bill to help fight crime

Law enforcement officials met with Rep. Mike Castle in Wilmington, Delaware to discuss opportunities and incentives to reduce crime through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

WILMINGTON, Delaware, July 16, 2010 --  Law enforcement officials met with Rep. Mike Castle in Wilmington today to discuss opportunities to reduce crime through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Rep. Castle will be a key legislator in the renewal of that bill as a senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee -- the panel responsible for writing the reform legislation in the House of Representatives. Attending the meeting were New Castle Police Chief Kevin P. McDerby, Wilmington Police Chief Michael Szczerba and Delaware City Police Chief Dan Tjaden.

They met with Castle urging his support for education reforms that will help reduce future crime. They recognized Castle's strong focus on education issues in Congress and asked him to consider reforms that will help cut crime by helping kids succeed academically and stay out of trouble. They specifically recommended providing kids with early education, keeping school-age kids on track to graduation, and reducing bullying, school violence and drug abuse, which would all have a positive effect on preventing later crime.

"If we want to fight crime, we need to do more to make sure kids are succeeding in school and graduating. Kids who drop out are much more likely to get in trouble with the law. This bill presents an opportunity to prevent many crimes from occurring by improving our educational system and intervening with at-risk kids," said Chief McDerby of New Castle. 

The law enforcement leaders asked that the reauthorization of the federal education bill provide incentives for states to increase access to high-quality pre-kindergarten, encouraging a shift to pre-K through 12 education, not just a K-through-12 approach. Providing at-risk children with high-quality pre-kindergarten can significantly reduce later involvement in crime and improve graduation rates.

A study of the Perry Preschool in Ypsilanti, Mich. found that at-risk kids left out of the high-quality program were 5 times more likely to be chronic offenders by age 27 than their peers who participated in the program. The kids who attended were also 44 percent more likely to graduate from high school than those left out.

Research shows a clear connection between educational success and decreased involvement in crime. One study found that high school dropouts are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than graduates. Nationally, nearly 70 percent of state prison inmates lack a high school diploma. Research compiled by the anti-crime group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids also shows that a one-year increase of staying in school reduces murder and assault by almost 30 percent, motor vehicle theft by 20 percent, arson by 13 percent and burglary and larceny by about 6 percent.

"Research shows that investing in high-quality pre-kindergarten can save us a lot of money down the road by reducing crime and corrections. We need to focus on early childhood education so that more kids become high achievers instead of high-risk offenders," said Chief Szczerba of Wilmington. The group also urged that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act hold schools accountable for improving graduation rates and ensure graduation rates are calculated consistently and accurately.  Additionally, they asked that the reform measure include evidence-based programs that reduce dropout rates and cut down on bullying, school violence and drug abuse.

"The education bill provides a real opportunity to improve outcomes for our students and improve public safety in our communities," said Chief Tjaden of Delaware City. "We thank Congressman Castle for meeting with us to discuss this issue, and we hope he will support school-based approaches that have strong crime-prevention research."

The law enforcement leaders were representing Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national anti-crime organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence survivors with 21 members in Delaware and more than 5,000 members nationwide. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a non-profit organization and accepts no state or federal funding.

Source: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids