Pulaski and Union County Law Enforcement Leaders: Preschool Cuts Violent Crime

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 AM Wednesday, September 22
Contact: Sally Puleo, 630-677-8673

MOUNDS, IL (September 22, 2010) — Pulaski County Sheriff Randy Kern, Union County State’s Attorney Tyler Edmonds, and Union County Sheriff David Livesay visited a preschool class in Mounds today to call on state lawmakers to continue to make preschool a priority in the state budget. State Representative Brandon Phelps joined them read to preschoolers at Meridian Elementary School.

The law enforcement leaders pointed to research that shows preschool cuts future violent crime and saves money.
“After many years in law enforcement, I can tell you from my experience that preventing crime is every bit as important as responding to crime,” said Kern. “Law enforcement supports preschool because it really works to keep our communities safe.

Law enforcement’s experience and rigorous research supports the value of preschool. A study of the Perry Preschool in Michigan tracked at-risk children who attended the program and similar children that did not attend. At age 27, adult non-participants were five times more likely to have been arrested for drug felonies and twice as likely to have been arrested for violent crimes. Another study of the publicly funded Child-Parent Centers in Chicago found that kids left out of the program were 70 percent more likely to have been arrested by age 18 than those who participated.

“As state’s attorney, my first priority is prosecuting criminals,” said Edmonds. “But with every case I handle and every victim I meet, I am reminded of the value of preventing crime from occurring in the first place. Early education is a key strategy for crime prevention.”

Over the past eight years, Illinois has significantly expanded preschool opportunities for families. With the expansion of the Preschool for All program, southern Illinois has added over 200 slots for 3-and 4-year olds in state-funded preschool. But there are still more than 250 3- and 4-year olds in the region from families that cannot afford to pay for quality preschool on their own who are not enrolled.

Over 300 state’s attorneys, sheriffs, police chiefs, leaders of police officer organizations, and crime survivors are members of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS ILLINOIS. It is the state office of a national, non-profit, bipartisan, anti-crime organization with a membership of more that 5,000 law enforcement leaders.

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