Vancouver police welcome landmark business report making economic case for
early childhood investment: Pay now, or pay more later

Report: Kids 'N Crime: Economic Aspects of the Development and Prevention of Criminality among Children and Youth, September 2010  

VANCOUVER, Sept. 13 /CNW/ - Investing in early childhood development, particularly before the age of five, will save governments and society millions of dollars, according to a new research report by The Vancouver Board of Trade and Justice Institute of British Columbia released this morning, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010. And timing is critical. The report makes the case: Pay now, or pay more later.  

In the report, Kids 'N Crime: Economic Aspects of the Development and Prevention of Criminality among Children and Youth, September 2010, the business organization takes an economic approach to the benefits of positive early childhood intervention, resulting in enhanced productivity, GDP growth, reduced crime and a drastically decreased financial burden on health, justice and social programs needed throughout adult life.  

The report finds investing in efforts to influence positive development has proved most effective the earlier in life it begins. Dollars invested in a pre-school child will result in a much bigger return down the road than dollars put in at a later stage. "A dollar invested in early childhood yields three times as much as for school-aged children, and eight times as much for adult education," the report reveals, quoting research by Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman (Catch 'em Young, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 2006). 

From pregnancy to five-years-old is identified as a crucial time period when a child can be influenced to either go on to lead a positive life, or to grow "into youths and adults who may become involved in criminal activity." Positive intervention can include early home visitations by specially trained nurses, centre-based programs, and early detection and remedial treatment of learning disabilities.                                           

Continued investment, especially in programs directed to youth at risk, also has substantial positive economic impact. Key research in the U.S. shows efforts to divert a youth from a life of crime at any age has a value well in excess of $2 million, largely due to reduced taxpayer and crime costs (Cohen & Piquero, New evidence on the monetary value of saving a high risk youth, Journal of Quantitative Criminology 2009). 

The report explores the economic return of investing in child development and preventing criminality among youth at risk in 12 main areas: Parenting education; monitoring and home visits; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), early childhood development and education; childcare/pre-school; learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); youth at risk; high school graduation; aboriginal youth; impact of trauma and aggression. 

It concludes: "there is already enough credible data to indicate that for many interventions, the cost is significantly less or greatly less than the benefits that can be achieved… Investing in these interventions is good public policy. Diverting children and youth from a life of crime achieves outstanding positive results in terms of both social and economic dimensions, including costs borne by government." 

"The Vancouver Police Department supports the findings in the report, Economic Aspects of the Development and Prevention of Criminality Among Children and Youth," commented Deputy Chief Constable Warren Lemcke, Investigation Division, Vancouver Police Department.  "The report, produced under the auspices of The Vancouver Board of Trade, provides an insight into factors that can negatively affect youth and lead to criminality. It is a regrettable fact that in policing today, law enforcement and the courts often have to deal with youth  who are affected by the issues described in the report. Not only do these troubled youth create a tremendous demand on police resources, but more importantly, police see the tragedy and heartbreak that occurs when youth take that wrong turn. The many recommendations contained in the report that detail ways to assist youth need to be considered as there is no doubt that getting to them early will reduce costs and greatly improve their chances of being positive contributors to society and successful in their adult years," he said.   

Dr. Paul Kershaw, University of British Columbia, Human Early Learning Partnership said, "The 2010 Sequel to the Kids 'N Crime Report is important.  It affirms the growing body of evidence which leaves no doubt that supporting families with young children before they even reach school is good public policy - good for the economy, good for crime reduction, good for health promotion, and good for young kids and their parents. UBC research confirms this conclusion.  Smart family policy investments can cut the B.C. crime rate by 31 per cent and increase GDP by 20 per cent over the working lives of children who start kindergarten today. The Justice Institute of BC and The Vancouver Board of Trade are to be commended for continuing to focus public attention on the need to invest further in families with young children."     

A panel of spokespeople   ̶  report author David Park, research associate, Justice Institute of British Columbia and economist emeritus, The Vancouver Board of Trade; Jack McGee, president, Justice Institute of British Columbia and Jason McLean, new chairman, The Vancouver Board of Trade discussed the findings of the report at a morning  media conference. 

"The Vancouver Board of Trade and its partners are to be applauded for undertaking this benefit-cost analysis of kids and crime - the evidence demonstrates that the right investments in human capital can provide a significant return in terms of quality of life for individuals and society at large," said McGee. "The report advocates that social and economic situations of increasing numbers of British Columbians can be significantly enhanced through rational, strategic investments in early childhood education and family support, especially for the increasing numbers of children who are born and live in poor households."  

McLean has already pledged early childhood development will be one of his main areas of focus during his year's term, backed by Vancouver's business community.  

"In 2006, The Board released the Kids 'N Crime 2006 report, which highlighted the relationship between early childhood indicators and criminality. This follow-up Kids 'N Crime Economic Report digs deeper, placing economic value on strategic investment in early childhood development and making a clear business case for directing more resources to children under five, especially to those in at-risk families.  

"The Board will be sharing these findings with a broad audience in order to influence decision-makers. I am keen to assist with this initiative as it fits squarely into our target priorities of reducing crime, improving productivity, and building healthier communities. I believe the business community has a great deal to contribute here," he said.  

Guests attending included: Deputy Chief Const.  Warren Lemcke, Vancouver Police Department; Janet Austin, CEO, YWCA Vancouver and Director, The Vancouver Board of Trade; Mary Collins, Director, BC Healthy Living Alliance; Dr. Paul Kershaw, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia, College of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP); Max Chalmers Senior Manager, Security and Life Safety, Vancouver Properties, Cadillac Fairview Corporation; Shirley Chan, CEO, Building Opportunities with Business; Barbara Hislop, Executive Director, Variety, The Children's Charity and Director, The Vancouver Board of Trade; Kate Hodgson, Executive Director, Network of Inner City Community Services; Craig Jones, Executive Director, Richmond Chamber of Commerce; Laura Jones, Vice President, Western Canada, Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses; Judy McGuire, Community Safety Strategies, DBA Frontline; Dr. Michel Tarko, Justice Institute of BC; Dick Vollet, President and CEO, Streetohome Foundation. 

Kids 'N Crime: Economic Aspects of the Development and Prevention of Criminality among Children and Youth (September 2010) has been prepared in cooperation with the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the Justice Institute of British Columbia Foundation, and The Vancouver Board of Trade Foundation. The report builds on the original Kids 'N Crime Report released in October, 2006 by The Vancouver Board of Trade with the support of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. The Vancouver Board of Trade represents 5,600 members.   

For further information:

Terry Hadley 604-640-5471 or[email protected]