Nashville Law Enforcement Leaders Champion Pre-K To Cut Crime

Apr 29th 2009

NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Tennessee's Commissioner of Safety David Mitchell and Nashville Police Captain Marlene Pardue signaled their support for Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program during a news conference today, saying that early childhood education aids their efforts to prevent crime and violence.

They released a report entitled "Law Enforcement's Case for Pre-K" from the group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Tennessee. The report cites research showing that children who benefit from early learning experiences are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and avoid crime later in life. The law enforcement leaders highlighted the educational and crime prevention benefits of pre-k and urged lawmakers to maintain the current level of funding for early education in the state.

Pre-kindergarten programs, which serves 4-year olds, boost early literacy, learning and social skills among children who participate. In addition to the educational benefits, long-term research studies have shown that at-risk children who attend high-quality early education programs are also significantly less likely to commit crimes as adults.

"We can arrest, rearrest and incarcerate until the cows come home, but that's only half the battle. We also need to focus on approaches that will help young people become productive members of society so they never turn to crime in the first place. Early education will help us accomplish that," Pardue said.

A 40-year study of Michigan's Perry Preschool Program, which has served as a model for many early education programs, found that children who did not attend the high-quality program were five times more likely to be chronic offenders than children who did participate.

The children who did benefit from the early learning were 44 percent more likely to finish high school than their peers who missed out. By age 40, the children who attended were half as likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

They were also more likely to be employed and less likely to collect welfare payments. The Perry program saved the public $16 for every dollar invested through reductions in crime-related costs, welfare spending and other expenses.

In recent years, the state of Tennessee has made continued progress in expanding pre-kindergarten services for at-risk children. The state's Voluntary Pre-K Program now ranks among the nation's top state early education programs-only two states have higher standards for state pre-kindergarten.

Mark Rogers, state director for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Tennessee, said that in order to ensure the long-term benefits of early education, policymakers should continue to pay close attention to the quality of the programs and continue to expand access.

"We know from the research that early education has a real impact on kids who participate, but it has to be high-quality to make a difference," Rogers said. "Tennessee's lawmakers should stay the course, focus on the quality of teaching and learning, and make sure that every family who is income eligible can enroll their child if they choose. If we commit to these goals, more children will be on track for success and our communities will be safer in years to come."

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