25 Years In, We're More Sure Than Ever that Crime Prevention Starts in Early Childhood.

• Author: Ramos, Michael A.
• Position: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids

In the early 1990s, violent crime in the U.S. was reaching unprecedented rates. The response we saw was a wholly tough-on-crime approach, with talk of "superpredators" and stringent, punitive policies like the 1994 crime bill. These policies may have helped contribute to a slowing crime rate, but they undoubtedly inflated the country's incarceration rates--and drained the nation's checkbook--in the meanwhile.

But, two years later, in 1996, a different movement took shape. U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Sandy Newman--a crime victim himself--looked at crime data and found that there is another story. In fact, they hypothesized, a preventative approach would work incredibly effectively. That approach: targeted investments in children that steer them away from crime and towards successful lives.

For many prosecutors, chiefs of police, and sheriffs across the U.S., the research gave credence to what we instinctively knew for years. We've interacted with kids who grew up in neighborhoods that lacked opportunities, or who were traumatized, abused, or neglected. And we've watched as too many of those kids became involved in the criminal justice system later in life. We knew intuitively that giving kids the foundation they need to succeed would end up making our own jobs easier, and help our communities thrive in the long run.

Over the 25 years since Fight Crime: Invest in Kids was founded, its membership of chiefs of police, sheriffs, and prosecutors who believe this principle to be true has grown to 5,000 strong. These 5,000 voices have consistently reached state and federal policymakers on both sides of the aisle, helping them understand the importance of investments in high-quality early childhood education, voluntary parent coaching, afterschool programs, and juvenile anti-recidivism interventions when it comes to public safety.

To celebrate Fight Crime: Invest in Kids' 25th anniversary, I want to pay tribute to my fellow prosecutors and attorneys general who have been instrumental in many of the legislative victories we've had over the past 25 years.

Some highlights of the past quarter century include historic new investments in:

AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING

Today, the importance of afterschool programs in kids' social-emotional development and in keeping kids safe after school hours is common knowledge. But, in 1997, afterschool programs were not yet part of the crime prevention conversation, and few federal dollars were dedicated to...