Biloxi police chief: Early learning reduces crime

It may be surprising to hear this from a police chief, but one of the best ways for us to keep our community safe and reduce crime is to ensure more of our kids start school ready to learn.

What may be less surprising is the fact that six out of 10 inmates in state prison nationwide do not have a high school diploma. My officers and I know from our own firsthand experience that the way children start their lives has a direct impact on their development as productive citizens. Many of those that we arrest never had a strong foundation early in life.

When kids don’t have warm, nurturing environments, they start kindergarten behind their peers. Many are never able to catch up, which makes them likelier to be held back a grade, less likely to graduate high school on time, or more likely to drop out.

Here in Mississippi, too many of our children are starting school behind their peers. According to the 2018-19 Mississippi Department of Education Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, only about one in three kindergartners in our state demonstrated readiness to succeed in school, with nearly 10 percent of them being held back at the end of the school year. That’s a problem for employers that depend on an educated workforce –– including law enforcement –– and it is a problem for our public safety.

Research shows that high-quality pre-k programs nurture children’s development, making them better prepared and less likely to be held back or in special education, while also increasing their math and reading performance. These outcomes ultimately help more kids graduate from high school and be successful, functional members of the workforce.

Studies also show these programs lead to less crime and fewer prisoners. A Chicago pre-k program found that kids not served by the program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18. The kids that did attend the program were 20 percent less likely to have served time in jail or prison by age 24.

Fortunately, Mississippi has one of the top 10 early learning programs in the country––the Mississippi Early Learning Collaboratives (ELCs). The National Institute for Early Education Research found that the ELCs meet nine out of 10 benchmarks for a high-quality program. Only seven other states have met at least nine.

And this program is working. Of the students who attended an ELC, 77 percent met their end-of-year kindergarten readiness target scores. However, far too few children are being served by this high-quality program. Currently, only about 8 percent of 4-year-olds in the state are served at the 18 ELC sites.

This needs to change. We must invest in high-quality programs that enable Mississippi children to start kindergarten on the right foot and ready to learn.

Our elected officials in Jackson have an opportunity this session to ensure the ELCs continue providing high-quality early education, as well as expand access to more of our 4-year-olds. Given the low-cost of providing access to this high-quality program compared to the high cost of arrest and incarceration, the decision is a no-brainer. For the sake of our future public safety, our future workforce, and, most importantly, our children’s future well-being, we must invest early on in our children’s lives so they have a good shot at growing up to be productive adults.

We can pay a little bit now –– or pay much more later.

John Miller is the police chief in Biloxi and member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.