Missoula Police Chief Says Early Childhood Programs Pay Off
Crime fighters release new report showing early education cuts crime, saves taxpayers dollars
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Ted Eismeier, ted@fightcrime.org
Cell: 315-335-9222, Desk: 202-464-5350
MISSOULA, Mont. (April 21, 2011)Noting that Montana taxpayers are spending more than $170 million a year on corrections, Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir today called on state and federal lawmakers to support high-quality early education as a critical strategy to reduce crime, lower prison costs and save taxpayers money. Muir says he opposes cuts to early education and supports efforts to strengthen and improve current programs.
Missoula Chief of Police Mark Muir signaled his support for early learning during a visit to the local Child Start Head Start facility on Thursday to read to children in the early learning program and discuss the value of early childhood education. The national anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is sponsoring the event as part of a law enforcement campaign to promote support for high-quality early childhood education.
Citing a new research brief called Pay Now or Pay Much More Later, the law enforcement leaders said that investing in high-quality early care and education can help at-risk children in Montana succeed, significantly reduce the likelihood that they will commit crimes and save taxpayer dollars from reduced prison costs.
Early education is the first opportunity we have to accomplish crime prevention goals, Chief Muir said. The kids benefit from a strong introduction to learning, and we all benefit by making sure communities are safe in the future.
While overall crime rates are decreasing in many jurisdictions, Montana still spent $170 million in 2010 on corrections with over 3,600 adults locked up in either state or federal prisons on the first day of 2010. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Montanas corrections spending quadrupled from 1982 to 2008.
A long-term study of Michigans Perry Preschool found that at-risk children who did not participate in the high-quality program were five times more likely to be chronic offenders by age 27 than children who did attend. Because of their increased involvement in crime, the children who did not attend were 86 percent more likely to be sentenced to jail or prison by the age of 40.
Law enforcement leaders also agree that cutting funding for early childhood programs would be shortsighted and risky since quality early care and education programs actually save money in the long run. The Perry Preschool Program cut crime, welfare and other costs so much that it saved taxpayers an average of $180,000 for every child served, with the vast majority of the public savings coming from reduced crime costs alone.
Muir called on Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Congressman Denny Rehberg to maintain funding for federal early care and education programs and strengthen them through legislative action.
Montana has no state-funded pre-kindergarten program, but the federally funded Head Start program serves 2,900 Montana children at a cost of $21.6 million and the Child Care and Development Block Grant serves 4,000 children at a cost of $22.1 million.
They say that crime doesnt pay, but like it or not we do pay for crime, Chief Muir said. We know from the research that kids who get early education are less likely to end up behind bars. Lets make sure every at-risk kid has that opportunity.
Chief Muir is a member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, the national anti-crime organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, attorneys general and violence survivors, with 60 members in Montana and over 5,000 members nationwide.
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