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HISTORY

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2006.

Founder Sanford Newman's commitment to cutting crime began after a terrifying event at his home. In the middle of the night, Newman and his wife were awakened by the presence of an intruder crouched between their bed and the crib where their daughter, Ashley, slept.

Newman jumped up and gave chase. The intruder ran out of the house. The moment of real terror occurred when he returned to the bedroom and saw an empty crib. Fortunately, Ashley was safe in her mother's arms in another room.

Although police officers caught the intruder a few minutes later, Newman realized that if something had happened to Ashley, their action would have been too late to undo the damage. He asked himself: What might have prevented the intruder from showing up in the bedroom in the first place?

After reviewing the research over several years, it was apparent to Newman that what was needed was greater investment in the programs proven to help kids get the right start in life and prevent them from becoming criminals. It also became clear that the most effective voices to communicate the need for investment to policy-makers were the voices of law enforcement leaders and crime survivors.

Former U.S. Attorney General Elliott Richardson worked with Newman to develop strategy for the organization and was influential in helping to obtain the first small foundation grants. He also helped to recruit members. Among the first to sign up and to recruit other members was Patrick Murphy, former New York, Detroit, Syracuse and Washington, DC, police commissioner.

Other early law enforcement members who gave the organization immediate credibility and remained active supporters included former Chicago Police Superintendent Matt Rodriquez; former New York police commissioner and now Los Angeles Chief William Bratton; former San Diego Chief Jerry Sanders; the former president of the Fraternal Order of Police and former Albuquerque Chief Gil Gallegos; former Arapahoe County, Colo., Sheriff Patrick Sullivan; former Denver District Attorney Norm Early; Multnomah County, Ore., District Attorney Michael D. Schrunk and Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist.

Gordon and Elaine Rondeau of Marietta, Ga., whose daughter Renee was murdered in Chicago, were the first violence survivor members and served for years as key recruiters and representatives to crime survivor organizations. Others survivors who signed up early and played critical roles in the organization's development were rape victim Ellen Halbert, of Austin, Texas; Jean Lewis, of Sarasota, Fla., whose son Scott was murdered by drug dealers; Carole Grant Hall, whose son Lateef was shot to death on a Chicago playground; and Marc Klass, whose daughter, Polly, was abducted from their Petaluna, Cal., home and murdered in a notorious case.

Until his death, Richardson served on the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids board of directors. Gil Kerlikowske, then the chief of police in Buffalo and now chief in Seattle, joined the board in 1997 and became chairman in 2001. Kerlikowske has given tirelessly of his time to guide the organization through a period of rapid expansion. He has been a spokesman for the organization, recruited new members and helped in fund-raising. Other members of the board are Newman, Murphy, Halbert, Gallegos, Springfield, Mass., Police Commissioner Edward Flynn, and Sagadahoc County, Maine, Sheriff Mark Westrum.

At the beginning, the staff consisted of Newman and several young interns including Amy Dawson and Brendan Fitzsimons. Now, over 40 staff members work in Washington, D.C. and nine state offices. A new office is planned for Washington State. In 2005, Newman turned over day-to-day operational responsibility to Executive Director David Kass. Newman remains president. Other officers are vice presidents Dawson (the former intern in pre-launch days), Jeff Kirsch and Miriam Rollin.

At the time of the 1996 news conference announcing the new organization, fewer than 50 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence survivors had signed on as members. Now, there are 3,000.

Seventy-five law enforcement and crime survivor organizations have endorsed the key components of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids' School and Youth Violence Prevention Plan.

Since Fight Crime: Invest in Kids started educating policy makers about the value of investments in children in 1996, federal funding for Head Start has increased by 90 percent. Child care investments have gone up 118 percent and funding for after-school programs has gone from $13 million to $968 million, an increase of 7,446 percent. Lots of organizations and individuals worked hard to achieve those investments, but few would deny the important role of the members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids in convincing members of Congress and other public officials that investments in kids will cut crime and make all Americans safer.

The unmet need continues to be great so much remains to be done. The situation has become worse in the last few years as federal investment in critical crime prevention programs has failed to keep pace with inflation and in some programs funding has been cut.