The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Preschool is one of the most effective weapons in the fight against crime, according to a report prepared by a national anti-crime organization made up of police chiefs, prosecutors and victims.
The report released Wednesday by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids states that children who have been enrolled in preschool programs are less likely to become criminals later in life.
The group says in the report that at-risk children without quality preschool were 70 percent more likely to commit violent crimes.
“I’ve always believed there’s nothing better than tough policing,” Albuquerque Police Chief Gilbert Gallegos, a member of the organization, said Wednesday at a news conference. “But we also support programs that really work.”
That’s why Gallegos and other members of the group are calling on state officials to invest more in quality preschool programs.
New Mexico has about 26,000 4-year-olds, and about half of them aren’t in any kind of preschool program because of cost and availability.
“New Mexico has a special opportunity to take a big step forward in crime prevention,” said Jeff Kirsch, vice president of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. “Let’s not be penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
Kirsch said his group knows quality pre-kindergarten saves lives, money and cuts crime.
“It’s just common sense to invest now so our most vulnerable children don’t become our most wanted adults,” he said.
Gov. Bill Richardson and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish are pushing to create a statewide, voluntary program for preschool and intend to bring the proposal to the Legislature in January.
Denish said Wednesday she welcomed the support of law enforcement.
“The important voices are the ones we call nontraditional voices, speaking up for quality pre-kindergarten,” Denish said.
The pre-kindergarten proposal has met with resistance from spending-wary lawmakers and private providers of preschool who fear they will be put out of business by public-funded programs.
Richardson intends to devote $9 million to start a pre-kindergarten program in New Mexico. The plan hasn’t been fleshed out yet, but state officials have described a two-year, exploratory program that offers voluntary preschool to kids who otherwise would not have access.
“To make New Mexico safe, we must be as willing to guarantee our kids space in a pre-kindergarten program as we are to guarantee criminals a prison cell,” said Lanny Maddox, president of the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police and chief of police of the Village of Ruidoso.