Law Enforcement Leaders Ask for More Money for Early Education

Birmingham and Jefferson County law enforcement officials have joined forces to prevent crime by focusing on education.  A new study indicates there is a direct correlation between the high school dropout rate and the crime rate.  The study by the anti-crime organization called “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” shows high school dropouts are 3 1/2 times more likely to be arrested and 8 times more likely to be incarcerated.  And the way to decrease the dropout rate, according to the study, is to increase the availablity of early childhood education.  Wednesday a group of law enforcement leaders gathered to lobby state lawmakers to make funding those pre-kindergarten programs like Head Start a priority.  Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber says, “The people standing up here don’t get the opportunity much to practice preventive medicine but this is place that we can do that.“  The man who will replace Barber, Brandon Falls says the results of the study are common sense.  “It’s really easy to see that keeping kids in schools is going to keep them away from crime, they’ll spend less time on the streets, less time around temptation and less time committing crimes.“  The study shows many teens who don’t get a diploma end up committing crimes.  In Alabama, the group says about 40% of students fail to graduate on time.  According to “Fight Crime: Invest In Kids” increasing graduation rates by just 10% could decrease the rate of homicides and assaults by 20% in Alabama.  Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper says, “With new funding just announced to Alabama’s pre-k program the number of 4 year olds served will triple from just 2 years ago, but still 74% of the state’s 4 year olds are not enrolled in state pre k programs.“  That’s why thy’re urging state lawmakers to provide even more state dollars to make pre-k programs available to all Alabama children who qualify.  Amy Dawson with the national groups says, “We need pre-k and headstart and if we want to cut crime, save lives and save money we need it now.“  Dawson says the first step is to create a system to better track dropout rates so we can understand who’s graduating and who’s not.