Guest Column: New policies needed to reduce crime, create youth opportunities

(Editor’s note: The following is a condensed version of the report Laura Nauser presented to the City Council at the April 21 meeting)

Crime has always been an issue in public-policy decisions for government officials. Over the years society has looked to enforcement as a primary deterrent to criminal activities. With the breakdown of the family, the increased availability of drugs and alcohol, the influence of pop culture and the ongoing effects of peer pressure, our children are at greater risk of becoming involved in criminal behaviors.

We all know that criminal behavior will never be eliminated. However, communities such as Columbia can successfully reduce the rate of crime with proper leadership and community support.

In 2007 crime rates hit an all-time high in the city of Columbia, with violent crimes such as assault, robbery and rape topping the list. One only needs to pick up a daily newspaper to read about drug arrests, fights involving large groups of people with weapons in parking lots, home invasions, etc.

What is more troubling, according to statistics provided by the Columbia Police Department, is the vast majority of these crimes were committed by persons 29 years of age and younger.

An outward and visible sign that our community is suffering from increased crime is the increased visibility of graffiti. On March 10, I drove through the downtown area of Columbia and within 30 minutes discovered eight sites and photographed more than 20 pictures of graffiti.

While it is widely known that there are many gangs in the United States, many people do not think about such activity within our own community. Recently, an article in the Columbia Daily Tribune discussed several gangs operating here in Columbia; the recognized names of these gangs are: The Mississippians, Louie Bound and The Cut Throat.

In addition to the trend in crime rates, the high school dropout rate in Columbia has averaged 211 students a year since 2003. According to current data, the Columbia Public Schools district has the fourth-highest dropout rate among the school districts used as benchmark communities by Columbia Public Schools.

In addition to the relatively high dropout rate, other silent underlying issues include: a workforce in which 27 percent of workers are underemployed and 12 percent have not earned a high school diploma; an emerging labor shortage in the skilled trades; and a median household income of $42,163, which is below the national median of $48,201.

While these trends could be considered liabilities, they should be viewed as a baseline toward improvement and as an example of why we need to refocus our public policy decisions on youth and family issues.

To effectively tackle the growing trend of youth crime in our community, the city must institute a shift in community priorities and funding. In the City of Columbia’s budget for fiscal year 2008, the Parks and Recreation Department is allocated $12.5 million. About half of the money comes from sales tax revenue, and about one-third comes from recreation fees. The balance of approximately $2.3 million comes from general funds.

From the overall Parks and Recreation budget, $409,057 is allocated to the Career Awareness and Related Experience Program (C.A.R.E), and $349,546 is allocated to the Community Recreation Section of the Department’s Recreation Services. These funds support the majority of recreation programs for at-risk youth, as identified in the December 10, 2007 council report.

While approximately $1,051,226 from the fiscal year 2008 budget was allocated toward at-risk youth programs, it should be noted that only $384,970 was budgeted for economic development.

If this community is going to continue to thrive and provide the necessary infrastructure and opportunities for success to our citizens, especially our youth, we must have adequate employment opportunities. The citizens of Columbia must not continually rely upon the top five employers in our city to provide new job growth. Not only do we need to actively promote economic development in our community through the creation of high-tech jobs, we need to address the need for job creation in the skilled labor market and job opportunities that offer potential for those individuals who do not attend college.

In conjunction with economic development, our community must address the high school dropout rate in order to provide resources and opportunities to those individuals who do not fit into the traditional learning environment.

According to the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, “the U.S. taxpayer could reap $45 billion annually if the number of high school dropouts were cut in half.” This savings would be achieved by the reduction in tax revenue expenditures in public health, welfare and criminal justice. There also would be a direct increase in private economic benefits to the individual. The community at large would see public benefits through increased tax revenues and economic stimulus.

If this community is going to appropriately address the issue of youth crime, we must begin to focus on family issues, economic stability and growth. Our strategy should incorporate proactive measures, intervention and strong enforcement policies.

The first step that the City of Columbia should embrace is a commitment to shift our focus to family issues. This commitment should focus on and include the “Five Promises for America,” which provide children with: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others.

The city’s commitment to our youth and families should be made through a public proclamation/resolution issued by the mayor and the city council. This platform calls for a two-part process. The first process is to develop the essential “infrastructure,” or process for carrying out the following critical tasks that strengthen families: 1) identifying needs, opportunities and priorities for future actions; 2) promoting effective city-school collaboration; 3) encouraging and supporting youth voices, engagement and leadership; and 4) measuring progress.

The second part of the platform process is for the city leaders to take specific action steps in the following areas: 1) early childhood development; 2) youth development; 3) education and after-school programs; 4) health and safety; 5) youth in transition; 6) family economic success; and 7) neighborhoods and community.

In order to adequately focus on family and youth issues, the community must simultaneously work on improving opportunities in education, such as early childhood education, alternative high schools and an increased availability of technical vocation schools while addressing our economic development activities.

The focus on family and youth issues needs to be a comprehensive approach that includes all sectors of the community—from local governments, businesses, faith based and charitable organizations, and, most important, our youth.

We MUST:
• Approach the issue through measures that are proactive, provide adequate interventions and strongly enforce the laws we impose;
• Streamline our programs and focus on those that reach the greatest number of persons in need and provide the highest level of measurable outcomes;
• Increase our funding levels to support the most effective agencies and programs;
• Work to decrease the high school dropout rate in our community;
• Work to promote growth in economic development.

Without adequate local employment opportunities, most of our future efforts will be in the realm of increased police enforcement and inmate facilities.

Laura Nauser is the 5th Ward  City Council representative.