Study links graduation rates to incidents of violent crime
CITYWIDE The number of violent crimes in the state of California will decrease substantially if more funds are channeled into school drop-out prevention programs, such as high school small learning communities and topnotch preschool programs, according to a report released on Thursday.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a non-profit organization comprised of more than 3,000 law enforcement officials and survivors of violent crimes, released a report on Thursday that linked the state’s high drop-out rate to crimes such as murder and aggravated assault.
An estimated one in three high school students in California does not graduate on time, and of the 500,000 Californians that turn 20 each year, approximately 120,000 do not have a high school diploma, according to the study.
The report found that if the graduation rate increased by 10 percent, violent crimes would drop by 20 percent, preventing 500 murders and 20,000 aggravated assaults in California every year.
Every county in the state was analyzed for its school drop-out rate and violent crimes. Los Angeles County was found to have the most significant relationship between graduation rate and illegal activity, most likely because of the geographic size, according to Brian Lee, the lead author of the study.
In Los Angeles County, the report found that approximately 214 homicides and more than 7,200 aggravated assaults could be prevented if the graduation rate overall increased by 10 percentage points.
While the drop-out rate in the state is considered high, graduating from high school on time seems to be less of an issue in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, where in 2005-06, the one-year drop-out rate in grades 9-12 was 0.3 percent.
The findings by the Oakland-based organization did-n’t come as a surprise to Oscar de la Torre, vice president of the Board of Education, though he argued that not having a high school diploma isn’t a ticket to jail.
“The likelihood is higher, but there are other factors too,” said de la Torre, who works with at-risk youth and Brandon Wise LEARNING THE HARD WAY: A new report found that if the graduation rate increased by 10 percent, violent crimes would drop by 20 percent, preventing 500 murders and 20,000 aggravated assaults in California each year. An estimated one in three high school students in California does not graduate on time. some high school dropouts as the executive director of the Pico Youth & Family Center. “There is poverty, there is race, there are drugs and a lot of other factors that lead to criminality that are much stronger.”
The report suggests that if more money is spent toward improving preschools and implementing the small learning communities, it would not only decrease the crime rate, but would also result in long-term savings to taxpayers.
“Every dollar invested in these programs reach big dividends to taxpayers,” Lee said. “There’s less crimes, people earn more and they’re less likely to collect welfare.”
The non-profit organization sent a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging state officials take action to reform the education system in California. The letter is signed by more than 200 law enforcement officials, district attorneys and victims of violent crimes. Among the signatories is Santa Monica Police Chief Tim Jackman.
The police department works closely with the public schools in Santa Monica to keep the city’s youth on the right path, from the school resource officers to the Police Activities League’s afterschool programs and the Explorer Program, through which students can attend the police academy, according to Lt. Alex Padilla.
“If kids aren’t in school where they’re supposed to be and getting educated and learning about life, then they’re left to fend for themselves in the streets, and more often than not, they will participate in some illegal criminal activity,” Padilla said. “They’re left to the pickings of gangs, drugs and other activity.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 14, 2007. Read the original PDF.