I have read all of the articles and proposals and I am going to give the funding to a local group that targets education and literacy. Education has been a proven factor in lowering drug use and crime rates among at risk children. Keeping kids in school thorough high school can benefit them in so many ways because after high school they can choose to go onto college or just not go to school anymore, but at least while they were in school they learned something and have make a better life for themselves instead of committing crimes and doing drugs. Similar programs have had success and this one can as well if all people are on board with it. The DARE program happens to early in most schools and kids forget about what was said and end up doing drugs and getting into trouble. If we were to raise the amount of citizens patrolling the streets it will do absolutely nothing for the people selling drugs and committing the crimes. Citizens on patrol are merely just people with a radio and by the time they call it in to the police they drug deal or crime has already been done. Citizens on patrol are not the answer to the continuing problem we have in the community.
We need to focus on schooling for these children so they can be educated and become successful members of society instead of drug dealers and thieves. In the article by Welsh it states that the most important risk factors we have to focus on are parenting, literacy, and other school related factors. Studies show that if we focus on all these factors and intervene at early ages then the at risk children will have a better chance of not being a criminal. In order for us to do this we would need parent, students, and faculty of the schools to be on board with us so our program can succeed like so many other ones have in the past. If we can get all of the children in the neighborhood to take part and really indulge themselves in their school work then we can really have a chance to save them from a life of...