Oregon Public Broadcasting

Law enforcement officials from the Portland metro area heard a new report Wednesday by the group Fight Crime Invest in Kids.

It says investing in early-education programs like Head Start would prevent thousands of crimes and save  millions of taxpayers dollars annually.  Andrew Theen reports.

Martha Brooks is  the state director of Fight Crime Invest in Kids. She says Head Start helps socialize at-risk youth at an early age. And that increases their odds of graduating from high school on time and avoiding a life of crime.

Law enforcement lauded the importance of prevention efforts, but also acknowledged that two anti-crime measures are on the  ballot this fall that would put more people behind bars.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk says ideas like ballot measures and ramping up  police patrols are often  "sexy." But he says stemming the tide of high school dropouts is crucial.

Mike Shrunk: "If they can stay with, hang with that education system, odds are they will not end up in prison, they will not be eligible for property crimes or a Ballot Measure 11 crime."

Meanwhile Martha Brooks with Invest in Kids says she hopes Congress will fully fund Head Start.  That would cost $2 billion.