Officials say early education key to preventing crime

Education must be a key component in long-term crime prevention plans, officials supporting a national effort to deter children from a life of crime said here today.

By Jeremy Peppas
Stephens Media

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Education must be a key component in long-term crime prevention plans, officials supporting a national effort to deter children from a life of crime said here today.

More than 30 law enforcement agencies across Arkansas are participating in Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nonprofit anti-crime organization that educates the public about strategies that keep children from becoming criminals.

“Our mission is to take a hard-nosed skeptical look at what the research shows really works. The goal is keep children from ever becoming involved in crime,” Mark Rogers, state director of the program in Tennessee, said during a news conference at the Redwood Early Childhood Center.

North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley and Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay joined Rogers at today’s news conference, held in part to urge Arkansas’ congressional delegation to support the proposed federal Early Learning Challenge Fund.

The Obama administration proposal would provide $1 billion a year for states to expand and improve early childhood development initiatives.
“I’ve seen the cycle of poor education, low achievement and crime,” said Bradley, who was a patrol officer before becoming the North Little Rock police chief. “It repeats itself. The officers who are out there today are dealing with the children and grandchildren of the same people I dealt with.”

Rogers cited a Pew Center study that showed higher levels of crime are associated with those who have low levels of education. The study also showed 70 percent of all prisoners were high school dropouts.

“You aren’t out there arresting a lot of Ph.Ds are you chief?” Rogers asked Bradley, who shook his head no.

The Arkansas prison population was 15,385 on Monday, including 1,783 state prisoners backed up in county jails across the state awaiting bed space in overcrowded state lockups, state Department of Correction spokeswoman Dina Tyler said.

The number does not include averages of 1,500 or so federal prisoners or 4,500 county jail inmates in custody around the state on a given day, according to the Arkansas Sheriffs Association.

The prison system’s current budget for care and custody of inmates is $296.75 million, Tyler said.

“The cost, not just in money terms, but in human terms, can be so much lower when you prevent crime early,” Rogers said. “High-quality, early learning helps prevent later prison costs.”

Bradley added, “This is about a long-range plan to reduce crime. We have to have safe neighborhoods, so you can have an environment where you can have a good education.”

Among the other Arkansas participants in the program are the Fort Smith, Rogers and Jonesboro police departments, along with the sheriff offices of Washington and Pope counties. Nationally the program has more than 5,000 members.

Arkansas does not have a state office for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids program and is currently affiliated with the Tennessee office. Rogers said an effort is under way to hire a state director