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(NEW YORK) Capitol Region Law Enforcement Leaders Visit Preschool, Back Early Education To Cut Crime


Sheriffs and District Attorneys stress need for high-quality early education;  Call on legislators to boost quality of early learning programs statewide


Albany Police Chief Steve Krokoff reads to children at Joseph L. Bruno Family Resource Center in Troy.
Troy, New York (August 15, 2012) — Four of the Capitol Region’s top law enforcement officers — Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, Albany Chief of Police Steven Krokoff, Rensselaer County Sheriff Jack Mahar and Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally — joined youngsters at a local preschool program today to kick off a 12-month state campaign in support of high-quality early education programs as an effective way to reduce crime and save taxpayers money.

The press conference took place at the Commission on Economic Opportunity’s Joseph L. Bruno Family Resource Center in Troy.

The law enforcement leaders called on the Governor and state legislators to implement QUALITYstarsNY—a new quality rating improvement system designed to ensure quality in all early care and learning settings across the state.

The law enforcement leaders also took time to sit down with a class of preschool children and read them a story. Capital district law enforcement officials said high-quality early education not only prepares children to succeed in school, but also prevents future crime and dramatically reduces costs associated with crime and corrections.

A long-term study of the High/Scope Perry Preschool in Michigan found that at-risk children excluded from the program were five times more likely to grow up to become chronic lawbreakers than those who attended the program. By age 40, those left out of the Perry Preschool Program were twice as likely to have been arrested for violent crimes, four times more likely to have been arrested for drug felonies, and seven times more likely to have been arrested for possession of drugs than those who attended the program.

“Reactive responses to crimes, once they are committed, are necessary, but very expensive,” Sheriff Mahar said. “We also need to be thinking about prevention. No child is born destined to become a criminal. We need to provide our young children with a high quality early learning experience, so they earn high school diplomas instead of rap sheets.”

The State Office for Children and Family Services (OCFS) has just completed the field-testing in over 230 sites across the state of a Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) called QUALITYstarsNY that would ensure early education programs are high quality. The law enforcement leaders urged policymakers to enact a plan to implement QUALITYstarsNY as the state’s quality system for all early childhood programs. They also encouraged OCFS, the State Education Department (SED) and the legislature to work together in advance the initiative.

“The early years in a child’s life lay the foundation for all that follows,” District Attorney McNally said. “But developing and maintaining high quality standards for early learning programs and services is essential. They help children develop valuable social and learning skills, learn to understand the difference between right and wrong, and respect for their peers and adults. They help children arrive at kindergarten happy, healthy and eager to learn.

“The research shows that children who start behind, stay behind. We need to do much better than this” Chief Krokoff said. “Families, whatever their circumstances and wherever they live in the state, need to have confidence that their children are in safe programs that properly support their child’s growth and development so that all children have the opportunity to arrive at school on day 1, ready to learn. We all have a stake in this.”

According to Sheriff Apple, high-quality early education is both cost effective and a wise investment in our communities. “The bottom line here is that New York can’t afford not to invest in high quality early learning. The decisions we make today affecting our youngest children have a long-term impact on the safety of our communities,” he said. “Investments made early in a child’s life reap large benefits and can save taxpayers millions of dollars. But even more important are those thousands and thousands of families in the future that will be spared the agony that crime and violence leave in their wake.

Sheriff Apple, Chief Krokoff, Sheriff Mahar and District Attorney McNally are members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids New York, a bipartisan anti-crime organization of over 300 police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys and violence survivors that advocates for programs and services that have strong research that shows they prevent crime. It is part of a national organization of more than 5,000 law enforcement members and victims of violent crime.

Assemblyman Stephen McLaughlin (R-Melrose) also joined the law enforcement leaders behind the podium.

“Today’s kickoff is a great way for our local law enforcement officials and educators to be proactive in getting our children focused on giving kids the right start in life and strong foundation for school to help stay out of trouble later,” said Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin. “In Albany, I’m focused on ensuring our community schools have all the resources necessary to enrich the education of our children. This program takes it a step further and will work toward keeping our kids in school, reducing crime in the long run, and saving taxpayer dollars. This is an initiative we can all be proud of.”

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"The Unforgiven"

New blood joins this earth
And quikly he's subdued
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules

With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub the unforgiven

You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub the unforgiven