An Open Letter from Law Enforcement Leaders Opposing Proposition 302
Dear Fellow Arizonans:
Your safety is our priority. As your police chiefs, sheriffs and county attorneys, our first job is to protect your safety and keep dangerous offenders off the street. But we can’t simply arrest, prosecute, and imprison our way out of the crime problem. One of the best strategies to increase public safety is to help at-risk kids get a healthy start in life and to make sure they arrive at school ready to learn.
First Things First helps kids and promotes community safety. In 2006, Arizona voters approved a ballot measure that created First Things First, a state initiative funded by a tobacco tax dedicated to “increase the quality of and access to early childhood development and health services for children up to five years of age.” This year’s Proposition 302, initiated by the legislature, would put an end to First Things First, but not its funding source. It would instead turn the funding over to the legislature, and end the dedicated use of those funds for helping our youngest children.
That’s why we oppose Proposition 302 and urge the public to vote against it in November.
Our experience and the research both tell us THIS WORKS. The research is very clear that early intervention with young children from birth to age five – coaching for pregnant mothers and new parents; quality early education and care, like pre-kindergarten; and appropriate screening and treatment for mental or behavioral problems – makes a critical difference in vulnerable kids’ lives and makes it much more likely that those kids will steer clear of crime. For example, we know from the research that coaching new, at-risk parents, such as through the Nurse-Family Partnership programs supported by First Things First, can cut in half subsequent rates of child abuse and neglect, and also cut in half the likelihood that the children from those families become involved in crime when they grow up. We also know from long-term research that at-risk kids left out of high-quality early childhood education, such as that supported by First Things First, were five times more likely to become chronic offenders than similar individuals who had benefited from that early education.
Prop 302 is short-sighted and unwise. Funding for First Things First is a powerful crime-fighting investment. And because crime is an expensive outcome, these crime-cutting quality early childhood investments generate long-term savings that more than pay for themselves. Eliminating funding for First Things First, which has been dedicated by Arizona voters to give our youngest children the right start in life, is shortsighted and increases the risk of crime down the road.
Therefore, we urge our fellow Arizonans to vote “no” on Prop 302.
We invite you to learn more about children’s programs that work to reduce crime by visiting: www.fightcrimeaz.org
Terry Goddard, Attorney General, Arizona
John R. Armer, Sheriff, Gila County
John J. Bennett, Chief of Police, Paradise Valley
Charlie Dennis, Chief of Police, Page County
Dennis L. Donna, Former Chief of Police, Mesa
Clarence W. Dupnik, Sheriff, Pima County
Sherwood S. Eldredge, Jr., Chief of Police, Pinetop/Lakeside Police
Tony Estrada, Sheriff, Santa Cruz County
Donald E. Jones, Chief of Police, St. Johns
Kenneth E. Kimmel, Chief of Police, Sierra Vista
Barbara LaWall, County Attorney, Pima County
Alberto M. Melis, Chief of Police, Douglas
Lawrence R. Rodriguez, Chief of Police, Tolleson
George Silva, County Attorney, Santa Cruz County
J. Jeffery Smythe, Chief of Police, Show Low
Terry Tometich, Chief of Police, Marana
Roberto A. Villasenor, Chief of Police, Tucson
Jake Weaver, Chief of Police, Willcox
John D. Wintersteen, Former Chief of Police, Paradise Valley, and Director of Public Safety Programs, The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management
