Philly’s top cop and top prosecutor want to fight crime using Pre-K classrooms

Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and District Attorney Seth Williams highlighted how important early childhood programs are for reducing crime. Kids who get quality Pre-K schooling are less likely to wind up committing crimes later in life, they said.

A new report by Pennsylvania’s Pre-K Counts suggests that a proper pre-school education can play a role in reducing criminal behavior later in life.

Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey along with the city’s District Attorney Seth Williams highlighted the report’s finding Monday in front of a child care center. A place Williams suggests is where crime prevention should begin.

“I’m proud to be here with Commissioner Ramsey, my partner in law enforcement here in Philadelphia,” Williams said. “Some people would say, ‘shouldn’t you be somewhere else?’ No, we are here at the right place, talking about the right issue, and investing in children.”

Both District Attorney Williams and Commissioner Ramsey are members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, an organization of police chiefs, prosecutors and others dedicated to preventing crime through children.